|
(Spring 2004) by George Dionne
It was the end of an era in April of 2002. Twenty years of thrash metal
mayhem had come to an end. It was the year that the mighty Megadeth was silenced.
It was a career that spawned nine studio albums, with most going platinum
and one (Countdown to Extinction) going multi-platinum. Megadeth was the
proverbial 'yang' to Metallica's 'yin'. The group was given its last rites
(until recently) by frontman Dave Mustaine after he suffered compressed radial
nerves in his left hand, which prevented him from playing guitar.
Megadeth
was plagued with line-up changes throughout its two decade run. Besides Mustaine,
there was one other constant in the group, bassist Dave Ellefson. Oh, you
don't think that bass players are that important to the band as a whole?
I couldn't imagine what the Megadeth classic "Peace Sells....But Whose
Buying" would sound like with out Ellefson's driving bass line leading
the way. With his Megadeth days behind him, David has been keeping himself
quite busy. He recently announced the formation of his latest project F5.
RIL: How long has your new band F5 been in the works and who's in it?
DE: I started it in early 2003 and it has come along very quickly and powerfully.
All the members are relatively unknown but they kick ass. Go to www.f5theband.com
for more info on the group.
RIL: How would you describe the band's sound?
DE: It's modern but certainly not nu-metal at all. I'm trying to stretch
out and do new things.
RIL: There's obviously a new album on the horizon, how is it progressing?
DE: We are going to be working on it for the next couple
months, hopefully
completing it by summer.
RIL: Does former WWE Champion Brock Lesner know that you're using the name
of his finisher for the group (F5)?
DE: Probably not.
RIL: What is your involvement with Canadian metal newcomers Warmachine?
I've read conflicting reports. I heard you were producing their debut album,
then I heard that you were only part of the production, and then I heard
you performed on a few songs. Please clarify.
DE: I played on several tracks and co-produced them as well.
RIL: Hopefully this won't flood your inbox, but didn't you come across Warmachine
on the old Megadeth message boards?
DE: The message boards love Warmachine, but I got introduced to them when
they met up with me in Toronto.
RIL: You play bass on four songs from the new Soulfly album Prophecy. Is
that something that just happened, or did you and Max talk about doing something
together for a while?
DE: It just happened, a call out of the blue. It was great fun. Some people
think I chose it over the (upcoming) Megadeth album, which is not true. Coincidentally
they both happened around the same time.
RIL: Are you involved in any other projects that I didn't touch upon?
DE: I did some development producing of new bands last year but mostly you've
hit it all. F5 has taken most of my time and is a true labor of love.
RIL: You've been involved in various projects like the one's we've just
discussed ever since Megadeth disbanded in 2002. Are these things that you
always wanted to do, but were restricted due to your commitments with Megadeth?
DE: You have to understand I never set out to be a solo artist, which is
why Megadeth was a cool thing for me. Though once that group was over, I
moved on with other things. All that we've discussed earlier really fell
into my lap, which makes them even cooler.
RIL: Was there more to Megadeth's break-up than Dave's hand injury?
DE: I think he's commented about some of that on the Megadeth website.
RIL: Do you think Dave should have waited longer before pulling the plug?
DE: Dave did what he did for his own personal reasons. If it were up to me
we would have never quit!
RIL: Were you asked to work on the upcoming Megadeth album?
DE: I was asked and was looking forward to some sort
of reunion. Contrary to what some reports have said, I never said "no" to
Dave or turned him down.
RIL: Are you involved with the remastering of the Megadeth catalog? What
do you think about it?
DE: No I'm not, but I think it's a good thing.
RIL: Do you speak with any other former/current members of Megadeth?
DE: Off and on, yes.
RIL: The majority of Megadeth fans say that Rust in Peace is the definitive
Megadeth album. Is that your choice as well? Why? (if not, which one do you
think is?)
DE: I can see why they say that, however I like the Countdown [to Extinction]
and Cryptic [Writings] albums a lot, too.
RIL: Why do all musicians move out to Arizona?
DE: It's a great place to live, if you can stand the heat! The local scene
isn't much, and it isn't a music industry town, but it has a great vibe.
Previous Page |
DAVID
ELLEFSON
