Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has suggested the band’s final tour and album might be merely a ploy to “boost ticket sales”.
The 60-year-old musician had two stints as the bass player and backing vocalist for the thrash metal band from 1983 to their breakup in 2002, and again from 2010 to 2021.
After frontman Dave Mustaine, 64, announced their final self-titled album, slated for release in 2026, and a farewell tour, the former member has questioned whether they are actually going to dissolve afterwards or whether it’s just a tactic to shift more tickets.
He told Alternative Nation: “We’ve seen this movie before: boost ticket sales, go away, then the bigger offers come after everybody’s gone away for a couple years. I mean, we’ve seen how this works.”
Ellefson hopes Mustaine will do the right thing and bow out with “dignity and grace”.
He continued: “But, look, if Dave [Mustaine, vocals/guitars] needs to shut it down and call it quits because he has just had enough and he’s been through it all, then hey, you know what? … God bless you, brother. Put it away with grace and go enjoy the rest of your life.
“So if he really is shutting it down and he’s really gonna put it away, then please do so with dignity and grace and do what you say and mean what you say.”
He went on: “So, if you’ve really gotta shut it down, shut it down and put it away and go enjoy the rest of your life.”
Ellefson suggested the best way to bid farewell would be like Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning concert this summer, which saw all the original members reunite.
He said: “What we saw in Birmingham, in my opinion, was 100 per cent on point the right way to say goodbye.
“You bring back the OGs: Geezer [Butler], Tony [Iommi], Bill [Ward] and Ozzy [Osbourne], the four OGs.”
He added: “Look, they fired Bill, they fired Ozzy, and at some point, they’re back together. The four guys that started it all get to say goodbye together, to each other, to the fans, the fans say goodbye to them. So, to me, that is the model of how it’s done.”
Ellefson was fired again from the group in 2021, following grooming allegations made against him, which he profusely denied.
The group – who released the lead track from their final album, Tipping Point, last week – replaced Ellefson with James LoMenzo.