DAVID ELLEFSON Doesn’t Have A Copy Of New MEGADETH Album With His Bass Tracks: ‘They Weren’t Mine To Have’

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

In a new interview with Joshua Toomey of the "Talk Toomey" podcast, David Ellefson was asked if he has a copy of MEGADETH's upcoming album with his bass tracks on it before they were replaced following his exit from the band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't, no, because it was all in sort of Dropbox and all that kind of stuff. You don't take anything out of there; you always leave it in there. That's the professional acumen. So, no, I do not. I don't have a copy…. They weren't mine to have. They belong to Universal Records. It's their property. They paid for it; it's their property." MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine has yet to reveal who played bass on the band's new album after Ellefson's tracks were removed from the LP following his dismissal from the group in late May. Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee. In July, Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks would not be used on the new MEGADETH LP. In early May, on the same day that sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving Ellefson and a woman that was not his wife were posted on Twitter, he released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. On May 24, Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — announced the bassist's departure from the band. Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit. For the recently completed "The Metal Tour Of The Year", MEGADETH was rejoined by bassist James LoMenzo for the first time in nearly 12 years. LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group's studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame". He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with a returning Ellefson. In addition to MEGADETH, LoMenzo has played with Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and WHITE LION. For the past eight years, LoMenzo has been performing with iconic rocker John Fogerty.