In a recent appearance on the Scars And Guitars podcast with host Andrew McKaysmith, acclaimed metal bassist Steve DiGiorgio opened up about his role in recording bass tracks for MEGADETH’s 2022 album The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! — and revealed that he did, in fact, speak with David Ellefson about replacing him on the record.
DiGiorgio, best known for his work with TESTAMENT and DEATH, was brought in to track bass in the summer of 2021, shortly after Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH following a highly publicized scandal. Although his contributions were initially kept low-key, DiGiorgio was later confirmed as the uncredited bassist on the album, stepping into the role temporarily while MEGADETH regrouped.
“I wasn’t so naive that I thought I could go in there and reinvent MEGADETH,” DiGiorgio said. “I knew strict guidelines. I’m redoing stuff that they’ve already lived with. There was a lot of things that I was already preparing myself to just go in, be professional and get it done. So it was a little bit of a surprise when Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] would come to me and say, ‘You know, this section right here needs a little animation. What do you got? Stretch out. Show me something. Play something.’ And there was a few times he did that. And I had kind of committed myself to just paint by numbers and get it done nicely. And he was cool. There was some flexibility. Yeah, it was cool. Like I said, the margins were very tight. It was already done. It’s MEGADETH. They have a formula.”
“I got my chops up with a pick to make sure that I got the sound they’re used to,” he continued. “I used both [my fingers and a pick], but the majority of the time was a pick. And Dave was cool, because there was some sections that were… When it’s just really flying fast, I had a good feel and I could go. But when the string skipping, that’s where I told him flat out, ‘I’m not proficient here.’ … And as long as it sounded good, he’d be okay. There wasn’t a rule. So if it took me to do some technical stuff with my fingers, and it sounded fine, it was a keeper, but once in a while he would be, like, ‘Hey, can you try that with a pick?’ And I would just say, ‘Man, I’m not flat-out proficient with this thing, and you’re gonna have to give me a few tries to work up to it.’ And he just looks at me and he goes, ‘That’s what’s very admirable about you. You come in here being an almost-zero pick player and here you are grabbing it and f**king crushing through it.’ And he goes, ‘Take all the time you need. This is awesome. I’m watching you grow as a player.’
When asked whether he had ever spoken with Ellefson about his involvement on The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, Steve responded: “Yeah, I did. I finally got him one-on-one. His band DIETH… We were touring Europe — TESTAMENT and VOIVOD were touring Europe, and we picked up Ellefson‘s DIETH, we picked them up for a couple shows as an opener. And some of the soundchecks were done and people were going out for lunch or whatever, and the venue was real quiet. And I go, ‘Dave, come in here, man.’ I closed the door. And I said, ‘All right. Tell me, what do you think? I’m here. What’s up?’ And I could see how he made it through that whole — what would you call it? — scandal and how he made it through that as a champ and how he took his exit from the band the way he did, because the way he just told me how he viewed it all happening, he just had a smile on his face and he gave me no heavy trip at all.
“And he’s a very supportive, super f**king positive guy,” DiGiorgio added. “I was ready for anything, and we just had a f**king awesome conversation. We had talked about me replacing his basslines very quickly, got that outta the way, and then the rest turned into just, like, ‘Hey, what about Dave‘s tech Brian? He’s a cool guy.’ ‘Yeah. Oh yeah.’ ‘Hey, did you go to that restaurant down the street?’ ‘Yeah.’ And it just turned into this kind of camaraderie thing. And so, yeah, I was glad I did it… Even in this awkward situation, he embraces the future, man. And I was kind of inspired after. I’m, like, man, this guy had a lot hit him, and I’m the guy who came in [and replaced his tracks]. But there was a big gap of time from when he was out of the band until I came in. It wasn’t this quick thing either. So in his mind, he was completely done and over and gone. And then the news about replacing the bass came out, and he’s heard of me through all the TESTAMENT guys and stuff. So, yeah, we had no hatchet to bury or anything. He’s a f**king pleasant guy. And it was cool to finally meet him, ’cause I know that my [TESTAMENT] guys — Chuck [Billy] and Alex [Skolnick] — played with him in METAL ALLEGIANCE, and they’re really tight, and it’s, like, we should get to know each other, ’cause our bands are always crossing paths and stuff. So it was really cool.”
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