Megadeth now includes Shawn Driver (from left), founding members Dave Ellefson and Dave Mustaine, and Chris Boderick.
California police recently interrupted production on a music video by thrash metal heroes Megadeth when the band brought in a real live tank for the shoot.
“That’s very typical Megadeth, to have the cops show up,” says the band’s bassist, Dave Ellefson, of filming for “The Right To Go Insane” from the band’s latest album, Endgame. “Kind of reminds you of your first band when you play too loud in the garage and the cops show up because of the noise ordinance. Glad to see nothing has changed.”
Some things have actually changed a lot for Ellefson, who just last month rejoined the band he helped form 27 years ago with Megadeth mainstay Dave Mustaine.
“It’s great to be back,” says Ellefson, who spent eight years away from the band following a feud with Mustaine. “I feel like, in a way, this is really where I belong musically.”
Megadeth and fellow ’80s thrashers Testament and Exodus will perform Tuesday at Minglewood Hall. The show is part of Megadeth’s tour marking the 20th anniversary of the band’s landmark record Rust In Peace.
“That album has been so huge for the metal community,” Ellefson says of Rust, which, coming on the heels of chief songwriter Mustaine’s new sobriety, showcased a more musically complex and mature sound. “It’s a very musically progressive record, and I think it hit a lot of people at just the right time, when they were just getting into metal. So it’s great to get to play the record in its entirety for fans and discover how well it holds up two decades later.”
Ellefson and Mustaine formed Megadeth in 1983, following the famously combative guitarist’s ouster from Metallica. The new band quickly rose to challenge Metallica as one of most popular purveyors of the aggressive, sped-up form of metal known as thrash; together with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, Megadeth became part of what is know as “the Big Four” of thrash metal in the ’80s.
As a co-writer and bassist, Ellefson was a key component of the band’s sound. His distinctive bass part on the song “Peace Sells” gave the band increased exposure when it was used on “MTV News” segments. Over the years more than 20 players have passed through the ranks of Megadeth, but Ellefson and Mustaine were always at the core up until the band’s dissolution in 2002 following a severe injury to Mustaine’s arm.
When a recovered Mustaine reformed Megadeth in 2004, Ellefson declined to sign on. What followed next was an ugly lawsuit exchange that left the pair’s personal relationship in tatters.
“Dave and I are like brothers,” says Ellefson. “To me that was kind of like us going out in the parking lot and finally just duking it out with each other. It was what it was, and after a few punches we kind of just went, ‘All right, we got that out of our system.’ ”
Ellefson didn’t let the feud consume his time away from the band, however. He earned a business degree, wrote, recorded, and produced on lots of music projects, including those of his own bands Iron Steel and F5, and even wrote a book, “Making Music Your Business.”
Eventually, Mustaine and Ellefson, both of whom have embraced their Christian faith in recent years, managed to slowly mend their friendship. Then earlier this year, when bassist James Lomenzo left the band, drummer Shawn Dover encouraged Ellefson to reach out to Mustaine.
The timing was fortuitous. The band had just canceled a planned outing with Slayer and was quickly throwing together the Rust tour, which features the band, including guitarist Chris Broderick, playing the classic album in its entirety, including such never-before-played-live tracks as “Poison Was the Cure” and “Five Magic’s.”
In addition, the band is planning an ambitions summer touring schedule that includes a string of European festival dates where “the Big Four” will share the stage for the first time ever.
“I think the fans had always hoped this day would come and I know Dave and I hoped it would come,” says Ellefson. “Everything’s lined up. It’s a perfect time to come back because it’s like a big family reunion here with all of us from the early days of thrash metal back on the road.”
Megadeth with Testament and Exodus
Tuesday at Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets: $37.50; available at the box office, by phone at (866) 609-1744, and online at minglewoodhall.com. For more information, call (901) 312-6058.
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