Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine is to erase all David Ellefson’s bass parts from the forthcoming Megadeth album.
Following his decision to dismiss Ellefson from his band, Mustaine is now seeking to draft in a new bassist to re-record all his long-time colleague and friend’s musical contributions to what will be the LA metal band’s 16th studio set.
Mustaine’s decision will doubtless come as another body blow to his Ellefson, who first joined Megadeth in 1983, but was expelled from the band last month after sexually explicit videos filmed and shared without his consent, surfaced online. Ellefson has strenuously denied anonymous accusations that his play parter in the video was underage, and he is reportedly seeking to press ‘revenge porn’ charges against the individual who alleged illegally uploaded the videos in question.
Ellefson was dismissed from the band just days after the footage was leaked.
Mustaine stated at the time, "We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth. We do not take this decision lightly.
“While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward.
“We look forward to seeing our fans on the road this summer, and we cannot wait to share our brand-new music with the world. It is almost complete."
Mustaine says he is in talks with “a stellar bass player” to replace 56-year-old Ellefson ahead of the quartet‘s 2021 live commitments.
