Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson recently detailed his backstage encounter and experience watching Megadeth perform at a recent show, sharing his thoughts during an appearance on YouTube.
Ellefson discussed his experience at the Louder Than Life festival, where his current band, Metal Church, also performed. He explained what it was like being backstage and watching his former bandmates from the crowd.
“We did Louder than Life,” Ellefson said. “We played the day before you. People were wondering, you know, oh my god, Metal Church is on the same day as Megadeth, you know. I did see the guys. I went into catering. Dave was not there, so I didn’t see him. I’d heard he was there, and he walked out maybe when I walked in. I don’t know if that was related or not, but anyway. But we did not run into each other. I did say to Teemu. I introduced myself and said, ‘Hey, we all really like your guitar playing. Good job.’ Dirk and James have known for a bit. So of course I helped get Dirk in the band.”
He then described his feelings while watching Megadeth’s performance from the front of house, reflecting on his own history with the band.
“But then I went out and I watched the show and it was, you know, I didn’t know how I was going to respond to it,” Ellefson continued. “I mean, look, it’s been five years plus since I’ve been in the band. I’ve moved. I’ve done so much other stuff that, you know, my era of Megadeth is, you know, my era, right? That’s an era that I’ll always be attached to. I’m getting ready to go Bass Warrior. We’re going to play Countdown to Extinction again for three weeks across Europe. Some cool new spots actually. So, we got a bunch of new cities that have popped in. So, you know, that’s my era, you know, as Chris Adler always used to say, my Megadeth. Would my Megadeth do that or not?”
Ellefson went on to share his perspective on seeing the current lineup perform the songs he used to play.
“But I watched the band play,” Ellefson added. “Sat front house, watched it, and it was like, ‘Well, there’s Dave and three other guys playing our songs,’ you know, that’s all it really that it was. And some things that went, ‘Yeah, I remember we did that. Okay, they move like that. They come together and In My Darkest Hour,’ or whatever. You know, James LoMenzo does a perfectly fine job playing the parts. It doesn’t sound like me. He’s got a different tone. Dirk sounds great. He’s always played great. He’s a fantastic player.”
He concluded by describing the experience as a moment of reflection rather than criticism.
“It was kind of like a rearview mirror moment,” Ellefson concluded. “I was kind of like, ‘Yeah, I remember being in that band years ago,’ you know. And we had a different sound, you know, like as I always said, it doesn’t to me sound like my Megadeth. It sounds like Dave with three other guys playing the songs. And that’s not critical yay or nay. It’s just that’s what it seemed like to me.”
This reflection highlights Ellefson’s current perspective on his legacy with Megadeth as he continues with his own musical projects.
Ellefson’s comments carry extra weight given the long and complicated history between him and Megadeth, a relationship that has shaped how fans interpret his views on the band’s current incarnation.
His departure from Megadeth in May 2021 followed the release of sexually explicit private material, and the band removed his bass parts from its then-upcoming album The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!. Ellefson later suggested the decision was tied not only to the scandal but also to older resentment over his 2004 lawsuit against Dave Mustaine, in which he sought $18.5 million over financial and catalog disputes.
