Tom Netherland | Tri Cities
One concert by one band with a one-word name changed the life of Megadeth’s Dave Ellefson.
“For me, it was KISS,” said Ellefson. “My mom took me to see them in Minnesota on their ‘Rock and Roll Over’ tour.”
Six years later, Ellefson and Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth.
Twenty-nine years hence, Megadeth continues its route to heavy metal immortal status on May 8 at the Tennessee Theatre in worth-the-drive-away Knoxville, Tenn. On tour in support of the band’s Grammy-nominated album “TH1RT3EN,” Ellefson retains a firm grip on why he took up the bass to play music.
“When I saw KISS I said, ‘I want to do that,’” Ellefson said last week by phone from his home in Phoenix, Ariz. “I watched them and thought, ‘how does that work?’”
Nearly three decades later…
“And now I know how,” he said.
Does he ever. Megadeth’s logged 13 nuclear-driven studio albums, four live albums, four hits albums and a boxed set. Combined sales, about 30 million radiating copies.
“I never pictured us doing anything else,” Ellefson said. “This is what I always thought we’d do.”
Mustaine, an original member of Metallica, was fired from the band in April 1983. Megadeth formed on Dec. 31, 1983. They were young live wires with a speed propelled and pummeling sound that’s endured the passage of time.
“We didn’t have a three, five, 10-year game plan,” Ellefson said. “You live in the moment and enjoy it.”
Right away, Megadeth issued one-two-three thrash metal albums that remain classics. First came “Killing is My Business … And Business is Good.” That won them a major label deal with Capitol Records. Capitol issued “Peace Sells … But Who’s Buying?” in 1986.
Then in 1990, the third in their timeless trilogy, “Rust In Peace,” hit stores. It earned Megadeth their first Grammy nomination. Yet as the band soared commercially, they sank personally. Drugs, alcohol, band in-fighting.
“Addiction kills you from the inside out,” Ellefson said.
Mustaine documented his bouts in his memoir, “Mustaine: A Life in Metal.” He’s been alcohol and drug free for about a decade. Ellefson cleaned up long beforehand.
“I think for the band (sobriety) has been huge,” Ellefson said. “Long before I knew about sex and drugs I knew about rock ‘n’ roll. That’s what I did, took it back to the beginning and that innocence came back.”
Fire rekindled in Megadeth. For instance, Ellefson marvels at Mustaine, one of rock’s most gifted guitarists and distinct vocalists.
“I’ve seen him pick up his guitar and ‘Symphony of Destruction’ (a Megadeth standard) will fall off his fretboard, and I’m like, ‘where’d that come from?’” Ellefson said.
That’s Megadeth’s method of making music. They’re vessels. When inspiration strikes, they catch it as from thin air.
“That’s really what it is,” Ellefson said. “Sometimes sitting around and practicing and practicing, I’ve seen that get in the way.”
When Megadeth records or walks on stage they plug directly into their hearts and render soul into their searing metal. Passion radiates. Each show counts. All fans matter.
Just look to KISS. Ellefson did and still does.
“There’s still that 13 year old in me that says they’re still rock gods,” Ellefson said.
Now that comes from the co-founder of Megadeth, rock deities in their own right in the realm of rock’s hardest circles. So goes the power of rock ‘n’ roll.
“Rock ‘n’ roll is all about being able to take people to a different place,” Ellefson said. “It still means the world to us. We’re fans. If we ever lose being a fan, then we should get out of the business.”