“It was such a step up on every level”: David Ellefson says this was “hands down” the most challenging Megadeth album to record
He also names it as “one of my favourite albums we ever did”.
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Most guitarists would rank the majority of Megadeth’s albums on the more challenging side to play. But in a new interview, former bassist David Ellefson has named the one single record he found more difficult to record than the rest.
Speaking on the Sobre La Dosis YouTube channel, Ellefson – who was removed from Megadeth back in 2021 – had no hesitation in naming one particular Megadeth album as the most difficult in the band’s catalogue.
“Hands down Countdown to Extinction, for sure,” he says [per Ultimate Guitar]. “Because it was such a step up on every level. And especially the digital recording that we did was very demanding. Also, one of my favourite albums we ever did. [Laughs] So that’s cool.”
The fifth album in Megadeth’s discography, Countdown to Extinction landed in 1992, featuring now-classics like Symphony of Destruction and Sweating Bullets.
The record – which has since become one of metal’s most landmark albums – featured Dave Mustaine on guitar and lead vocals, David Ellefson on bass, Marty Friedman on lead guitar and Nick Menza on drums.
In other news from the Megadeth sphere, Jeff Young – David Ellefson’s Kings of Thrash bandmate – recently said the new Kings of Thrash album “will be better than anything Megadeth has done recently”.
He added: “Let me put it this way: What’s happening now is a win for all of us – Dave [Mustaine] included. 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 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.”
And elsewhere, Dave Mustaine recently called out a drunk and obnoxious fan during a Megadeth show. In fan-shot footage, it’s implied that the fan says he can play guitar as well as Mustaine, to which the Megadeth leader replies: “You say you could play as good as me? Fucking I’d like to see… Shut up. Just shut up, you’ve had your 15 seconds.”