kings of thrash
20:07 Monday, 14 August 2023
Kings Of Thrash, the band featuring former Megadeth members David Ellefson and Jeff Young, has been out on the road covering the first two Megadeth albums ever since their inception. Though the band recently turned their attention toward original material, which according to Young will be "better than anything Megadeth has done recently."
In an interview with Metal Edge, Young said he feels Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine hates what Kings Of Thrash is doing and that Kings Of Thrash is playing Megadeth songs better than Megadeth has recently. Which is all extremely high praise of oneself, and sets an extremely high bar for whatever Kings Of Thrash ends up releasing.
"Let me put it this way: What's happening now is a win for all of us — Dave included," said Young. "He gets to make money off the publishing from the Megadeth songs we play. Dave knows that, so he's very aware of us."
He continued: "He hates what Kings Of Thrash is doing. But it doesn't matter because, eventually, we'll delete a lot of the Megadeth from our set, and we'll keep writing new stuff. But Dave is feeling the heat because we're getting attention, and the Kings Of Thrash album will be better than anything Megadeth has done recently. And we're playing all the Megadeth songs better than he has in years. It's not just me saying that — read the reviews."
Young also touched on Mustaine's long-running complaints of being let go from Metallica, and his inability to let go of things. It's probably worth noting at this point that Young was out of Megadeth in 1989.
"I always thought of Dave as being similar to Dennis the Menace. He's the kid in the sandbox who can't share his toys. And when you have that personality type, you never get over things. It's why he keeps on talking about Metallica. Even back then, I was like, 'Dude… why can't you get over that?' Dave always has to find someone to disparage. But it's not just me. And if it was just me, why has he run through so many different people over the years? Sure, it may be peaceful now, but don't let him fool you; he's the same guy that he always was. It just depends on the day."
So yeah, keep an eye out for Kings Of Thrash's debut material. Apparently it's gonna be a real rager.