Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson says he views the legendary metal act without him as “Dave Mustaine’s “solo band.”
The comment came in an interview with SiriusXM host Eddie Trunk while discussing the potential of rejoining Megadeth.
Ellefson said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “I never closed that door to that thing… When Dave put the group back together, when he said he wanted to work again in 2004, I said the same thing. ‘Cause there was this talk of, ‘Should we do the Rust in Peace reunion?’ And that didn’t happen, of course.”
He continued, “But I said to Dave in 2004, which was the first time trying to put it back together as a band, which really kind of turned out to be more of a solo… When I’m not in Megadeth, I always look at it like it’s Dave’s solo band. That’s just how I look at it. And not that it’s good, bad or otherwise; it’s just different. To me, it just is a different feel than the Megadeth of Ellefson and Mustaine together.”
“When it’s me and Dave, that is a version of Megadeth — it’s the O.G. version from the ’80s through the ’90s, and then revisited again in — what? — 2010 through 2021. There’s just a different sound to it. So it is what it is. It carries on. And it’s fine with me.”
This is not the first time Ellefson has shared such a belief. In February of 2026, he shared a review of the final Megadeth album on his podcast, stating he felt it sounded more like a Mustaine solo record than proper Megadeth.
The comments come in the wake of continued acrimony between Ellefson and Mustaine following the former’s ouster from Megadeth in 2021 after the exposure of the bassist’s “embarrassing” online sexual encounter with a young woman. Earlier this year, Mustaine said he didn’t plan on welcoming classic members to the stage during Megadeth’s ongoing farewell tour.
Ellefson has since become a member of veteran band Metal Church, whose newest album Dead to Rights released on April 10th. They are currently preparing for a North American tour with Armored Saint to kick off July 17th (get tickets here).
Megadeth, meanwhile, are also preparing to hit the road in the North America as part of Iron Maiden’s “Run For Your Lives” tour alongside fellow Big Four thrashers Anthrax. Get tickets here.
Listen to David Ellefson’s full interview with Eddie Trunk below.
