Dave Mustaine shouldn’t be seen as the “bad guy” over the failed attempt to reunite Megadeth’s Rust In Peace era lineup, says bassist David Ellefson.
But he says the duo decided it would be the wrong move to bring back guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza following a series series of discussions earlier this year.
The opportunity to regroup arose following the departures of Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover in 2014.
Ellefson told fans at the Comicpalooza comic convention (via Blabbermouth): “Dave was completely receptive to any and all options — probably more than I’ve ever seen. So he definitely should not ever be painted as a bad guy that the lineup reunion did not happen.
“I said, ‘Before we do anything let’s get in a room with Nick,’ which we did. We had a lot of laughs and it was fun. But Dave and I weren’t convinced that it was the next chapter of Megadeth.”
Their impression was confirmed at a meeting in January with Menza, Friedman and the band’s manager. “We gave it every possible opportunity for it to work,” said Ellefson. “Dave and I walked out of that meeting, ‘Yeah, I don’t think it’s going to happen.’
“We just really had to be honest with ourselves and preserve the name Megadeth.”
Megadeth eventually recruited guitarist Kiko Loureiro while Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler guests on their upcoming 15th album – and Ellefson said the sticksman was aiming to appear live in the coming months.
The bassist said: “We’ve talked about shows and Chris was like, ‘Dude, I’ll move anything I can to try to make it happen.’ He may play one show with us and go, ‘I don’t ever want to do that again.’ We’ll find out, as it’s coming up. The goal is Chris would like to play with us as much as possible.”
Menza recently said he’d refused the chance to rejoin after being offered a “very unfair” contract. Friedman later praised Loureiro as a “fantastic” appointment. Megadeth are featured in the current edition of Metal Hammer, on sale now.
