{"id":318829,"date":"2026-02-03T23:27:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/318829\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T23:27:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:27:17","slug":"dave-ellefson-weighs-in-on-megadeths-chart-topping-final-album-it-just-doesnt-sound-like-megadeth-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/318829\/","title":{"rendered":"DAVE ELLEFSON Weighs In On MEGADETH’s Chart-Topping Final Album: “It Just Doesn’t Sound Like MEGADETH To Me”"},"content":{"rendered":"

As one of the long-serving members of Megadeth<\/strong>, former bassist and vocalist David Ellefson<\/strong> has earned a rare vantage point when it comes to the band’s recorded legacy and how things generally go in the studio.<\/p>\n

On a recent episode of The David Ellefson Show<\/a>, the longtime Megadeth<\/strong> alumnus shared his candid thoughts on the band’s newly released, self-titled final studio album \u2014 a record that has already made history.<\/p>\n

Released on January 23, Megadeth<\/strong> has become the first album in the band’s career to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, a milestone moment for the thrash metal pioneers. But while the commercial achievement is undeniable, Ellefson<\/strong>‘s artistic reaction is far more complicated.<\/p>\n

After finally getting his hands on a copy, Ellefson<\/strong> didn’t mince words. “I hear it and I go, ‘Okay this is a Dave<\/strong> solo record,'” he said. “This is Dave<\/strong> and his new band, Dave<\/strong> and his new guys. It says Megadeth<\/strong>, so obviously it gets all the attention, but realistically I hear it, and to me it just doesn’t sound like Megadeth<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Ellefson<\/strong> continued, framing the album as a closing chapter for Mustaine<\/strong> rather than a continuation of the band’s legacy. “It’s like Dave<\/strong>, doing what Dave<\/strong> does, but with a different set of guys in a new day. And this is Dave<\/strong>‘s retirement, you know? So that’s my view on it.”<\/p>\n

The comments arrive against the backdrop of a long-simmering rift. Ellefson<\/strong>‘s tenure with Megadeth<\/strong> ended abruptly in 2021 following a highly publicized sex scandal, after which his position was terminated and the once-close partnership with Mustaine<\/strong> devolved into a frosty public silence.<\/p>\n

One of the album’s most talked-about moments \u2014 a cover of Metallica<\/strong>‘s “Ride the Lightning” \u2014 also drew Ellefson<\/strong>‘s scrutiny, particularly given the irony surrounding Mustaine<\/strong>‘s history with the song. Mustaine<\/strong> famously co-wrote the track before being ejected from Metallica<\/strong> in 1983.<\/p>\n

“The funny thing is,” Ellefson<\/strong> noted, “[Mustaine<\/strong>] was mad at Kirk Hammett<\/strong> for playing his solos and now here’s Dave<\/strong> playing Kirk<\/strong>‘s solo \u2014 unless that’s Teemu<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Ellefson<\/strong> has previously spoken about Mustaine<\/strong>‘s long-running fixation on Metallica<\/strong>, a relationship Mustaine<\/strong> himself has confirmed remains fractured following a 2015\u20132016 royalty dispute with James Hetfield<\/strong> and Lars Ulrich<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Digging deeper, Ellefson<\/strong> reflected on his own memories of first hearing Ride the Lightning in the mid-’80s. “I remember being at some party down in Orange County\u2026 Ron McGovney<\/strong> was there from Metallica<\/strong>\u2026 somebody had the new Metallica<\/strong> album, Ride the Lightning, and we listened to it,” he recalled.<\/p>\n

The reaction, according to Ellefson<\/strong>, was immediate. “I remember Dave<\/strong> goes, ‘They fucking stole my riff.’ That ‘dah-dah-dah-du-dah-dah-dah,’ right? Because we had that. Dave<\/strong> used to play that in the apartment.”<\/p>\n

Ellefson<\/strong> suggested the riff may have originated in an early Megadeth<\/strong>-era idea. “Greg Handevidt<\/strong> seems to think that was actually in ‘Set the World on Fire.’ And he may be right\u2026 And then we had to take it out because they used it.”<\/p>\n

Still, Ellefson<\/strong> was careful to acknowledge the nuances. “So look, did Dave<\/strong> have a participation? Yeah, but it seems to me more like that song was sort of put together after he was out of the group. But again, I wasn’t there.”<\/p>\n

He closed with a pointed observation about songwriting evolution. “James<\/strong> is a very different lyric writer than Dave<\/strong> was. So by ‘Ride the Lightning,’ you hear very much James<\/strong> coming into his own as his own lyricist, as I hear it.”\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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