Former Megadeth<\/a> bassist David Ellefson<\/a> reflected on the invitation he received to join Alice Cooper<\/a>‘s touring band \u2014 and why he turned it down.<\/p>\n Ellefson and ex-Rob Zombie<\/a>\/current Marilyn Manson<\/a>\u00a0bassist Piggy D<\/a>\u00a0discussed career second chances in a recent episode of\u00a0The David Ellefson Show<\/a><\/em> podcast, which you can hear below.<\/p>\n For Ellefson, one of those\u00a0second chances came after the dissolution of Megadeth in 2002.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0The ‘Big 4’ Bands of 27 Rock + Metal Subgenres<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n “When Megadeth disbanded in 2002, it was interesting,” Ellefson recalls. “Not long before that, we did a tour across South America with Alice Cooper. And Alice took Megadeth out in our very beginning, so we’ve had a good friendship with him. But I didn’t get to know Alice, kind of like we’re talking right now, so I would sit next to him up in business\u00a0class as we’re flying across South America.”<\/p>\n “We talked openly about sobriety, about Christian faith and all this stuff,” Ellefson continued. “My kids were real young at that time and so I had that same thing. So when Megadeth disbanded, they called me about touring.”<\/p>\n Ellefson said he got the call from Cooper’s camp “about two weeks” after Megadeth folded. Consequently, he couldn’t commit to such a\u00a0high-profile\u00a0gig.<\/p>\n “I just wasn’t mentally in a place to do it,” he explained. “I was in such shell shock over being an owner of Megadeth, a corporate shareholder and everything else, just going, ‘Oh my God, what just fucking happened?'”<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0The ‘Big 4’ of Nu-Metal, According to David Ellefson<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In lieu of Ellefson, Cooper recruited bassist Chuck Wright for his band. Chuck Garric assumed the position shortly thereafter and remains in\u00a0Cooper’s band to this day.<\/p>\n Ellefson, meanwhile, formed the band F5 with singer Dale Steele, guitarists Steve Conley and John Davis, and former Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. He also\u00a0played bass on Soulfly<\/a>‘s\u00a02004 album\u00a0Prophecy<\/em> and toured intermittently with the group.<\/p>\n Megadeth reformed in 2004 and Ellefson\u00a0rejoined the band in 2010, where he\u00a0remained until his dismissal in 2021.\u00a0He’s kept busy with a variety of projects since then, including\u00a0Kings of Thrash with former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young.<\/p>\n Every album by Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax get ranked worst to best.<\/p>\n Contributions by Philip Trapp, Ed Rivadavia, Jordan Blum, Ayron Rutan and Joe DiVita.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDavid Ellefson Details Alice Cooper Invitation \u2014 and Why He Said No<\/h3>\n
Ellefson’s Post-Megadeth Ventures<\/h3>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHear David Ellefson and Piggy D on ‘The David Ellefson Show’<\/h3>\n
Every Thrash Metal ‘Big 4’ Album Ranked <\/h2>\n