Megadeth’s David Ellefson – ‘I’m Already in the Greatest Thrash Band in the World’

Megadeth's David Ellefson is stepping out for a new band with Jeff Scott Soto, but according to the bassist, it doesn't necessarily mean he's playing more thrash as "I'm already in the greatest thrash band in the world."

Ellefson was a guest on The Classic Metal Show (as seen below), where he was hyping the new collaborative project with Soto that just released a cover of Riot's "Swords & Tequila." When asked about the musical direction of the pairing beyond the cover, Ellefson responded, "I look at it like this. When people come to me, they go, 'Oh, dude. It's thrash,' and, 'It's heavy,' it's, like, I'm already in the greatest thrash band in the history of the world, so I don't need to do thrash anywhere else. I do that in Megadeth. I play with the guy who invented the genre."

So, as Ellefson reveals, he likes the variety that other projects brings. "To me, when I do other things, it's fun to expand," said the bassist. "And I'm always writing. I bring certain things into Megadeth that I know are fitting, I think, of that style. There's a lot of stuff I write that's not, and I don't bring it there."

Ellefson has participated in a number of acts outside Megadeth, most recently pairing with Anthrax's Frank Bello in Altitudes and Attitude and participating in the all-star collective known as Metal Allegiance. The Ellefson-Soto band is rounded out by guitarist Andy Martongelli and drummer Paolo Caridi. More new music is expected to surface soon.

Meanwhile, Ellefson remains busy with Megadeth as they work toward the follow-up to the Grammy-winning Dystopia album.