During a new interview with LifeMinute, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine once again clarified the misconception that the band was launched by himself and former bassist David Ellefson. Mustaine makes it clear that he is the sole founder of the band.
Mustaine: "There's a misnomer that there were two people that founded Megadeth. I was the founder. I was the only one in the beginning. There was a bass player before who just was… who just left, so it's been my vision (alone). When I got kicked out of Metallica, no one else was with me on the bus coming home."
Ellefson joined Mustaine following the band's name change from Fallen Angels to Megadeth in 1983. He was with the band from 1983 – 2002 and again from 2010 – 2021.
Speaking with Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live!, former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson discussed the rivalry between frontman Dave Mustaine and his former Metallica bandmates. Mustaine, of course, was a member of Metallica but was let go mere weeks before the recordings for the band's 1983 debut album, Kill 'Em All. Mustaine is credited with writing four songs on the album: "The Four Horsemen", "Jump In The Fire", "Phanotom Lord" and "Metal Militia".
Ellefson: "I was always encouraging Dave, going 'Dude, don't look over there. What we're doing is cool, man.' I mean, Lars (Ulrich / drums) was coming to our shows, paying attention to what we were doing. He was definitely a fan of Dave's work and he was a friend. I think it probably bummed him out that he had to let him go. He had to make a choice but he continued to come to the gigs; he hung out. He was always friends with Dave. It's like, 'Look, these guys haven't forgotten you. They used your songs, they put your name on it, and they paid you. They don't hate you.'
There's a lot of other bands where it's like, 'Fuck that guy. We're gonna steal his songs. we're not gonna credit him, and we're not gonna pay him. Fuck you, sue us.' That's how it usually goes in the music business, so the fact that those guys (Metallica) did the right thing every step of the way, I think, is awesome."
