Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has accused Dave Mustaine of stealing his songwriting contributions and withholding credit and payment after his dismissal from the band. He made these claims in a recent interview on The Delz Show.
Ellefson’s comments specifically addressed the song “Soldier On!” from Megadeth’s 2022 album “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” He also drew comparisons to Mustaine’s own experiences with Metallica.
“Look, when members got kicked out of Megadeth, their songs weren’t used and [they weren’t] credited and paid,” Ellefson said.
He then detailed his specific grievance regarding the disputed song.
“I mean, the song ‘Soldier On!’ on the last Megadeth record [2022’s ‘The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!’], I brought the lyric and the melody in for that, and then me and Dave were working on that together,” he continued. “He changed the title of it to ‘Soldier On!’ and then when he kicked me out, he just took my words off and kept the whole song to himself and took all the credit. He didn’t pay me or put my fucking name on it.”
Ellefson contrasted this treatment with how Metallica handled Mustaine’s departure from that band.
“So, as far as I’m concerned, Lars and James were pretty generous to him,” he said. “I look at that and I’m just, like, yeah, that didn’t happen to any of us in Megadeth. But whatever.”
The bassist concluded by placing the dispute within the broader context of metal music history.
“It’s all part of the folklore and the legend of Megadeth and Metallica, I guess… Look at it like that: it was a severance package,” Ellefson said. “Metallica didn’t have any money [at the time]. They were broke. They signed a [record] deal and they made their record. Who knew they’d make any money at all? The fact that it blew up like it did is just incredible. But it’s the feud of our genre.”
These accusations come after Mustaine recently claimed in a Shawn Ryan Show interview that he wrote much of Metallica’s early material. He stated that James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich used his music after his departure from the band.
This latest dispute adds another chapter to the complex history of songwriting credits and band departures in heavy metal music. The controversy surrounding “Soldier On!” reflects broader patterns of creative ownership disputes that have plagued metal bands for decades.
Blabbermouth reported that the song “Soldier On!” appears on official releases with songwriting credit attributed solely to Dave Mustaine, despite Ellefson’s claims of co-writing contributions. The track became one of the standout songs from “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” album. This album marked Megadeth’s return after a brief hiatus.
The song’s meaning has been a subject of interpretation among fans and critics. Loudwire noted that Dave Mustaine has explained that despite the military imagery and video featuring actual soldiers, “Soldier On!” is actually about the personal struggle of leaving a toxic relationship and finding the courage to move forward. This personal context adds another layer to the dispute. Ellefson claims his lyrical contributions were central to the song’s development.
The Metallica comparison that Ellefson referenced has deep historical roots in metal music. Wikipedia documented that the songwriting credit disputes between former bandmates have been a recurring theme throughout Megadeth’s history. Various members have claimed contributions to songs that were later attributed to other writers. This pattern mirrors the broader industry practice where departing members often lose credit for their creative contributions.
Ellefson’s reference to Mustaine’s own experience with Metallica highlights the irony of the situation. Mustaine himself has long claimed that songs like “The Four Horsemen” were based on his original composition “Mechanix.” He had written this song before joining Metallica. The cyclical nature of these disputes underscores the ongoing challenges in the music industry regarding fair attribution and compensation for creative work.
