DAVID ELLEFSON On Watching MEGADETH Play Without Him At This Year’s LOUDER THAN LIFE: It Was ‘DAVE MUSTAINE And Three Other Guys Playing Our Songs’

Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson watched the band perform at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville on 17 September, while his current band Metal Church was also on the bill. He described the experience as seeing “Dave Mustaine and three other guys playing our songs”, reflecting that he considers his time in Megadeth a distinct era of his own.

Ellefson said he had not seen Mustaine backstage, but greeted guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari and already knew drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo. He said LoMenzo played the parts well, though with a different tone, and that he did not expect him to imitate Ellefson. The bands performed about five hours apart; Ellefson is preparing to tour Europe with his solo project, playing Megadeth’s 1992 album *Countdown to Extinction*.