Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has talked about his experience seeing Megadeth perform at Louder Than Life and what it was like watching his former band from the crowd, speaking on David Ellefson. Ellefson attended the festival where both his current project Metal Church and his former band Megadeth played on consecutive days.
Ellefson described what happened backstage when the two bands were at the same event. He explained that he went to the catering area, but Dave Mustaine was not there when he arrived.
“I did see the guys. I went into 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, but anyway. But we did not run into each other,” Ellefson said. “I did say to Teemu. I introduced myself and said, ‘Hey, we all really like your guitar playing. Good job.’ Dirk and James have known for a bit. So of course I helped get Dirk in the band.”
Ellefson then watched Megadeth perform from the front of the house. He reflected on how he felt seeing the band play songs he had once helped create.
“But then I went out and I watched the show and it was, you know, I didn’t know how I was going to respond to it. I mean, look, it’s been five years plus since I’ve have been in the band. I’ve moved. I’ve done so much other stuff that, you know, my era of Megadeth is, you know, my era, right? That’s an era that I’ll always be attached to,” he said.
Ellefson noted that he has other musical commitments keeping him busy. “I’m getting ready to go Bass Warrior. We’re going to play Countdown to Extinction again for three weeks across Europe. Some cool new spots actually. So, you know, that’s my era, you know, as Chris Adler always used to say, my Megadeth. Would my Megadeth do that or not?”
Watching the performance from the audience gave Ellefson a particular perspective on the current version of the band. “But I watched the band play. Sat front house, watched it, and it was like, ‘Well, there’s Dave and three other guys playing our songs,’ you know, that’s all it really that it was. And some things that went, ‘Yeah, I remember we did that. Okay, they move like that. They come together and In My Darkest Hour,’ or whatever.”
He assessed the playing of the current members, particularly the new bassist. “You know, James LoMenzo does a a perfectly fine job playing the parts. It doesn’t sound like me. He’s got a different tone. Dirk sounds great. He’s always played great. He’s a fantastic player.”
Ellefson summed up his overall impression of seeing Megadeth perform without him. “It was kind of like a rearview mirror moment, I was kind of like, ‘Yeah, I’m I remember being in that band years ago,’ you know. And we had a different sound, you know, like as I always said, it doesn’t to me sound like my Megadeth. It sounds like Dave with three other guys playing the songs. And that’s not critical yay or nay. It’s just that’s what it seemed like to me.”
Ellefson attended the Louder Than Life festival where he performed with Metal Church the day before Megadeth took the stage. This was his first time seeing his former band play since leaving the group.
Ellefson left Megadeth in May 2021 following allegations of sexual misconduct. James LoMenzo took over as the band’s bassist initially as a touring replacement and was announced as the permanent bassist in 2022. Teemu Mäntysaari joined Megadeth as guitarist in 2023.
Megadeth released a self-titled album on January 23, 2026, and is currently on a farewell tour. Mustaine has announced that the band will disband after the tour concludes. Metal Church, which now features Ellefson in its lineup, released an album called Dead to Rights and made its live debut with the new lineup in May 2026.
Ellefson is preparing for a Bass Warrior tour in December 2026, where he will perform Megadeth’s Countdown to Extinction album in full across Europe. The tour represents another musical focus for Ellefson as he continues his career outside of Megadeth.
