During his recent conversation with Metal Edge, Jeff Young, the ex-guitarist for MEGADETH, shared some insights about his latest music venture, KINGS OF THRASH. In this new project, he is collaborating with David Ellefson, another former Megadeth player.
“Let me put it this way: What’s happening now is a win for all of us — Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH mainman] included,” Young told Metal Edge. “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,” Jeff continued. “But Dave is feeling the heat because we’re getting attention, and the KINGS OF THRASH album will be better than anything MEGADETH has done recently. And we’re playing all the MEGADETH songs better than he has in years. It’s not just me saying that — read the reviews.”
In an February interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com, Jeff Young was asked if he and Ellefson have heard from MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine about their new band and their concerts, to which he responded: “We haven’t, nor would we care or concern ourselves with any of that. It’s a win-win for all of us, including [Mustaine], ’cause on this KINGS OF THRASH Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go, who’s getting the publishing on every one of those tunes? Not me or David Ellefson or any of the [other members of] KINGS OF THRASH. So [Mustaine is] making the money.”
Gaudiosi observed that MEGADETH rarely plays songs from their first three albums in their live performances, to which Jeff added: “They don’t play those songs because they can’t play those songs; [Mustaine] can’t play ’em or sing ’em. I’m not being a d*ck. It’s just a fact. He can barely play and sing the stuff that they’re doing, the same ten songs every night.”
