Recent weeks have found Megadeth vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine expectedly doing the press rounds for his legendary thrash metal band’s newly announced album “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” (due out September 02nd.) With press comes the inevitable questions regarding the 2021 firing of the group’s bassist David Ellefson following his sex video scandal and Mustaine‘s thoughts on the matter.
In a brand new cover story with Metal Hammer, Mustaine opened up some more on how he felt about the situation, given his lengthy history with Ellefson, which in the past has included a royalty dispute that was dismissed in court.
Mustaine commented:
“I have made mistakes myself and so I know what it feels like to have people gunning for you. But what we had to remember is that Megadeth has a lot of moving parts to it. There are four bandmembers, you’ve got their families, their management companies, the agencies, all of their technicians and on and on and on.
I can tell you, I’ve made decisions in the past that were detrimental to the security of the band, and I know what harm that caused. But I don’t want to be saying anything about anyone who is unable to defend themselves.
God, it’s so hard to tap-dance around this…
Let me just say this – it was a hard decision that had to be made. There were a lot of people involved and I had to make a decision, because unfortunately, when you’re the leader, you’re the one that has to suck it up and face the music.
All I wanted to do was make a clean break, and not hurt anyone, not hurt the fans and not hurt him. I just wanted to move on, and I hope the gentleman concerned is doing okay. I imagine there was some adjustment that had to take place when it happened.
It was hard for me when I lost my job. But I’ve forgiven him before when he sued me and I’ll forgive him a thousand times. I just won’t play music with him anymore.”
At the time of his firing, Ellefson had already recorded the bass parts for Megadeth‘s aforementioned new album. Steve DiGiorgio of Testament fame was brought in to re-record those parts, while former Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo has since rejoined the band as a permanent replacement. You can hear “Well Be Back“, the first single to be launched “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!“, here.
Megadeth‘s summer touring plans include the below U.S. run with Five Finger Death Punch, The HU & Fire From The Gods:
08/19 Portland, OR – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
08/20 Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheater
08/23 Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheater
08/24 Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheater
08/26 Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
08/27 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
08/30 Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
09/01 Del Valle, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
09/02 Houston, TX –The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
09/06 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
09/07 Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
09/09 Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
09/10 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
09/12 Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
09/14 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
09/15 Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion
09/17 Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
09/18 Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
09/20 Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
09/21 Pittsburgh, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake (no Megadeth)
09/23 Scranton, PA – Pavilion at Montage Mountain
09/24 Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
09/27 Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater (no Megadeth)
09/28 Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
09/30 Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
10/01 Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
10/04 Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center
10/05 Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
10/07 Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater – Summerfest Grounds
10/08 St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
10/10 Atlanta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
10/12 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
10/14 Denver, CO – Ball Arena
10/15 Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheater
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