Former Megadeth David Ellefson has spoken again about his troubled relationship with Dave Mustaine . During the “Remembering Ace Frehley” episode of his show, The David Ellefson Show , the musician was asked by his co-host, Joshua Toomey, if the recent (and hypothetical) deaths of Ozzy Osbourne and Ace Frehley made him want to call Mustaine, with whom he hasn't spoken in almost four and a half years. (As transcribed by blabbermouth.net ).
Ellefson explained that their relationship had always been professional: “The problem is that Dave and I have always been together as a band. We’ve never just hung out as friends outside of the band.”
He continued: “Look, he has his own (incarnation of Megadeth), he has his own album, he has his new music. I’m not a part of that. I think he made it pretty clear in his press release, he doesn’t want to play music with me again. And whether that was just an angry statement or if it was true, I don’t know. But, look, I would accept his call.”
David Ellefson and Megadeth's farewell tour
Returning to the original question about making peace, Ellefson was receptive to the idea, especially considering Megadeth's announced farewell tour.
“It would certainly be nice if things between me and Dave, and me and Megadeth as an entity, didn’t end on a bitter note,” he added. “I think that’s what the farewell statement (from Megadeth) raised… I would be open to being a part of it, even if it was just to close the circle, close the gap. And everything ends with us, if not being best friends, because we don’t need to go that far. But at least closing the gap and closing the circle.”
He compared the situation to family reunions and to the classic KISS not getting back together before the band broke up:
“I mean, let’s face it, when you go to a family reunion, you don’t go because you like everyone. […] You go because, at some point, those will be the last memories you have. And it’s a bloodline.”
“Look what happened. KISS played their final shows, and, look, would it have been appropriate for Ace (Frehley) to come out and play with them? I mean, why not? […] But they certainly could have done it if they wanted to.”
Ellefson also mentioned the public strain on the relationship, including the 2004 lawsuit: “We don’t want to see our heroes arguing. […] I hate those headlines with Dave. Those aren’t the headlines I’m proud of in my life.”
The possibility of a return
When asked last month by Today's Boondoggle if he would return to Megadeth if Mustaine called him for the final tour, Ellefson was blunt:
“Yeah, sure. […] I mean, there’s some shit we’d have to sort out, but look, it was like last time (in 2010). […] We hadn’t spoken for — I don’t know — four or five years… and then Shawn Drover put us on the phone. It was like, a two-minute conversation. I threw a bass in my car, drove through the desert to San Diego, we plugged in, played “Symphony Of Destruction.” It was like we played it yesterday. […] It was kind of like we looked at each other and thought, ‘Why haven’t we spoken in the last five years?’”
Ellefson stated that “it’s always some external forces that separate us. It’s never really just me and him.”
“But if he made the call, given that it was a friendly environment, which I’m sure it would be, why wouldn’t I go? Megadeth was my band too. It’s my life’s work as well.”
Jeff Scott Soto , Ellefson's bandmate in Ellefson-Soto , who was also participating in the interview, interjected: “Excuse me, I have to intervene here. […] Megadeth, you (Ellefson and Mustaine) are the Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of this band. And to end this whole legacy without one or the other, to me, is wrong. […] Dave Mustaine, you need to call David Ellefson and you need to include him as part of the end.”
The controversy surrounding the band's formation is a long-standing point of contention. Mustaine has claimed to be the "sole founder" of Megadeth after leaving Metallica . Ellefson, in turn, explained in past interviews that, although Mustaine started forming ideas, he (Ellefson) and Greg Handevidt were "in the room" on the day the name Megadeth was chosen, replacing the working title Fallen Angel . "Technically, whoever was in the room that day was a founding member of Megadeth," Ellefson said in 2016.
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