David Ellefson says he had no “fears” leaving Megadeth the second time: “I’ve been here before”

Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has said unlike the first time round, he had no “fears” leaving the band in 2021.

• READ MORE: Some of our best-reviewed pedals of 2023 are still on sale this Cyber Weekend – don’t miss out!

In a recent interview with Tulsa Music Stream, Ellefson speaks about the “newfound liberty” he’s experiencing in the current phase of his career, saying “I’ve been here before – not playing in Megadeth.”

“I think one of the fears is ‘What am I going to do? Where am I going to go?’ And honestly, I didn’t have that this time. 20 years ago I did,” the bassist explains. “In 2002 when the group broke up, I was like ‘Oh shit. Now what am I going to do?'”

“Now at this point having done the Big 4, having won the Grammy [Megadeth won “Best Metal Performance” for Dystopia at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards] — you did all these big things. The legacy is secure. It’s cemented. My participation in that is forever emboldened into the ‘flames of heavy metal’, if you will.”

“Now it’s kind of just sort of enjoying life,” Ellefson continues. “I don’t even play music every day. It’s hard for me to go to the beach and goof off for too long but I’m starting to just kind of relax into that.”

The musician also teases that “There’s other things I could do that don’t always have to be musically related either”, though he soon clarifies: “I say that as I was just practising some songs, playing bass before the interview.”

Check out the full episode below.

In other news, Ellefson and fellow ex-Megadeth member Jeff Young are forming another new band and have recruited a singer whom they will be releasing original music with.

The two also play in Kings Of Thrash alongside vocalist Chaz Leon and drummer Fred Aching where they perform classic Megadeth tracks, but their new band will see the trio partner up with a new singer to make all-new music.