David Ellefson Recalls How Dave Mustaine Survived Being Fired From Metallica

Megadeth bassist David Ellefson opened up about the band’s longevity during an interview with the ‘Real Music With Gary Stuckey’ podcast, and apparently, one of the reason’s behind their success is the vocalist and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine’s survival even after being fired from Metallica.

As many of you might recall, Dave Mustaine joined Metallica as the band’s original lead guitarist back in 1981 and the band began recording their debut studio album titled ‘Kill ‘Em All in 1983 with Mustaine, however, his tenure with Metallica was short-lived mainly because of his alcohol addiction.

The story of how the legendary guitarist was fired is quite tragic since Metallica packed up Mustaine’s gear, dropped him at a bus terminal on April 11, 1983, with no warnings beforehand. The main reason why he was fired from the band, according to other members, was his alcohol and drug abuse, aggressive behavior among the band, as well as opinion clashes within the other band members.

Instead of beating himself up after being fired from Metallica, Dave Mustaine actually went on founding a band named Fallen Angels which was a short-lived band, however, his real breakthrough and come back happened when he successfully created a survivor out of himself with being the co-founder, vocalist, rhythm and lead guitarist, and primary songwriter of Megadeth.

During a recent interview, his bandmate David Ellefson opened up about the secret to Megadeth’s longevity and revealed that one of the biggest stones to the band’s this success is Dave Mustaine’s ability to fight and thrive, especially even after being fired from a band such as Metallica.

In addition to this, Megadeth bassist stated that the two band members are constantly creating a balance with their roles in the band since Mustaine is the fighter in the band while Ellefson is the friendly one that creates a safe environment.

Here is what Ellefson said:

“I think there’s a couple of things. One, I think looks to Dave as their hero, their leader. And Dave’s a fighter, and he’s a survivor. I mean, look — he’s gone through being fired, kicked out, kicked down. He just went through cancer. The guy, he’s a tireless warrior, and I think that’s a big part of the Megadeth story. And that’s worldwide; that’s global. And then, behind that, of course, there’s this brotherhood between me and him that, as much as Dave’s the fighter — Dave’s the fighting one, and I’m the friendly one. So there’s a chemistry there that people like. They’re, like, ‘Okay, as long as Ellefson’s in the room, we feel safe.’ So there’s a dynamic that works. And I think, look, musically, the material’s always been exceptionally well done, well played. These songs have stood the test of time, so they fall in the ‘timeless’ category. And there’s been a consistency; the Megadeth style has been very consistent over the years. And I think those are kind of the four components — four or five components — that make it work.”

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