David Ellefson reveals what it was like watching Megadeth without him

David Ellefson has described seeing Megadeth perform live for the first time since his departure from the group. The former bassist watched the band’s set at Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 17, after appearing at the same festival with his current band, Metal Church.

Speaking on The David Ellefson Show, Ellefson said he was uncertain how he would feel watching songs he had performed for decades being played by another lineup.

I did see [most of] the guys [in the current lineup of Megadeth]. I went in to 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. [Laughs] But anyway, we did not run into each other. I did say ‘hey’ to Teemu. I introduced myself and said, ‘Hey, we all really like your guitar playing. Good job.’ And Dirk and James I’ve known for a bit. Of course, I helped get Dirk in the band.

I went out and I watched the [Megadeth] show [at Louder Than Life]. And I didn’t know how I was gonna respond to it. I mean, it’s been five years-plus since I’ve been in the band. I’ve moved on. I’ve done so much other stuff. My era of Megadeth is my era. That’s an era that I’ll always be attached to. I’m getting ready to go [on my solo] ‘Bass Warrior’ [tour]. We’re gonna play ‘Countdown To Extinction’ again for three weeks across Europe. Some cool new spots, actually… So, that’s my era. As Chris Adler always used to say, ‘My Megadeth.’ ‘Would my Megadeth do that or not?’ But I watched the band play. Me and Ken Mary went out front, sat front of house, watched it, and it was, like, ‘Well, there’s Dave and three other guys playing our songs.’ That’s all, really, that it was. And some things I went, ‘Yeah, I remember we did that. Da, da, da, okay, they move like that. They come together in ‘In My Darkest Hour’,’ whatever.

I was actually texting with my friend Greg Handevidt. I said, ‘It’s funny, I’m actually watching my very first Megadeth show right now.’ In fact, I saw Alice Cooper right before that. I went to say ‘hey’ to him, and I said, ‘Hey, listen, I gotta bail. I’m gonna go out and watch my very first Megadeth concert.’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, you should. They’re pretty good.’ So, Alice is always kind of a safe harbor. He’s a solid guy, and he’s got a great, great spirit and energy around him. So it was kind of nice to connect with him before I went out there.

Ellefson played in Megadeth during two major periods, from 1983 to 2002 and from 2010 until 2021. He now continues with other projects, including Metal Church, and plans European shows built around Megadeth‘s 1992 album “Countdown To Extinction”.