Megadeth recently announced that their forthcoming self-titled album (arriving Jan. 23) and the subsequent tour would both be their last. The band has released two singles from the album so far, “I Don’t Care” and “Tipping Point.”
Frontman/guitarist Dave Mustaine recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation where host Eddie Trunk asked him if the surviving former members of the band might appear at some point on the band’s final tour. “Well, I can’t really do that, because of the behavior of one of the bandmembers in the past,” Mustaine said referencing former bassist David Ellefson who was dismissed from the group following an online scandal involving sexually explicit text messages that were leaked to social media.
“I just can’t — I can’t. Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other bandmembers if I didn’t play with them as well. But the thing about what we did with Marty (Friedman) in Japan, that was a no-brainer. That was brilliant. And I love Marty. We had our separation, and he went his way and we went our way. But it was a very, very intense relationship I had with Marty, because that was the first relationship I had with a guitar player. My relationship with Chris (Poland) was really great, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty. My relationship with Jeff (Young) was good, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty. And I probably wouldn’t have a problem playing with any of the members of those two lineups, except the fact that (former drummer) Gar’s (Samuelson) deceased, and I’m just not gonna do anything that is gonna, in any way, seem unfair to the other bandmembers.”
Since his departure, Ellefson has said a lot about his former band. He told Trunk back in 2022: “I look back at it now and I feel like I got kicked out of hell. So, whatever. It was abusive, for sure. It was just abusive. It was unnecessary. … Dave even said he had a resentment toward me that he couldn’t let go, and I didn’t know what it was.”
More recently he’s also questioned Mustaine’s motives for retiring.
