In a new interview with Chris Akin Presents, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson opened up about moving beyond his historic past and embracing a new chapter in life—one defined by creativity, happiness, and personal growth.
“I always joked my third memoir will be My Life After Deth. But you’ve gotta go live that life before you can write that book, before you can tell that story. And that’s what this is,’” Ellefson said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Reflecting on his long tenure with MEGADETH, Ellefson emphasized that his identity has never been tied solely to the legendary band. “My life was always more than MEGADETH. I was more than that before we started the band. And I dedicated my life to that group. When we formed that band, man, especially those first 20 years there, 18 years before [MEGADETH leader] Dave [Mustaine] quit the group, I gave everything to that band.”
Ellefson explained how he eventually realized that he needed to reclaim control of his life. “Once he quit the group, then at that point I decided, ‘Okay, I’m not gonna put my life in the hands of one person who can just stop the train anymore ever again.’ And that’s fine. That was okay. That was just an X-Y axis moment in life. And that’s just that moment where you just kind of go, ‘Okay, what else is there?’ And again, rather than get bitter, I tried to get better.”
“I ran artist relations for Peavey, I went to college, I raised my family, I had a whole other life that I did, that I mostly talked about when I went back to MEGADETH in 2010, in my book My Life With Deth,” he continued. “Because that was kind of this balancing act of growing up, having a life, transitioning from just a young boy to a young man, to an adult, to growing up while also being inside of this very explosive rock group that certainly made a lot of headlines but didn’t have a lot of stability in it. It had a lot of just all that fireworks and all that it is. And that’s what made it such great rock and roll. Great rock and roll always needs to feel like it’s about ready to go off the tracks. I mean, no truer words have been said than ‘crazy train’. That’s why I think we all like that song. But that’s what it is. And then there comes a point in life where you’re kind of, like, ‘Okay, there’s a proverb that says, ‘When the boy grows into a man, the man has to let go of the boyish ways.’ So you go through this transition in life where you kind of figure out — they call it adulting. So you’d say, ‘All right, this is what this is.’ So you go through that phase. And I think then for me, you kind of enter the next phase where you kind of go, well, adulting and growing up ain’t all it’s cracked up to be either.”
Looking ahead, Ellefson is set to bring that story to life on stage with his upcoming “Bass Warrior” European tour in March 2026. The tour will feature Ellefson and his solo band performing select hits from his MEGADETH catalog, including the Countdown to Extinction album in its entirety, along with solo material and other hard rock and metal favorites that shaped his 40-year career. Supporting all dates will be MADO.
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