Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine speaks on David Ellefson exit: “It was hard on me letting him go”

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine briefly speaks on founding bassist David Ellefson‘s departure from the band in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

Ellefson, who formed Megadeth with Mustaine in 1983, was fired from the group in May 2021 after sexually explicit videos of him leaked online. Since the tweet announcing Ellefson’s departure, Mustaine has not publicly commented much on the situation, aside from revealing that Ellefson’s bass parts on the new Megadeth album would be re-recorded by someone else.

Speaking now with Rolling Stone, Mustaine shares, “With everything that had taken place over the past, 10, 20 years with my relationship with our past bass player, it just became time to…it’s so uncomfortable for me to talk about.”

Ellefson was previously absent from Megadeth when Mustaine reformed the band in 2004, which led to a legal battle between the two. He eventually rejoined the group in 2010.

When Ellefson was fired last year, he alluded to an “already strained relationship” between him and his now-former bandmate.

“It was hard on me letting him go,” Mustaine now says, adding “I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.”

Megadeth’s new album The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! will be released September 2. The parts that Ellefson had already recorded for the album were replaced by Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Megadeth has since recruited returning member James LoMenzo to be the band’s official new bassist.