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Last month, bassist\u00a0David Ellefson<\/a>\u2019s current band (Metal Church<\/a>) shared the stage with his former one (Megadeth<\/a>) at the\u00a0Louder Than Life festival<\/a>. During the latest episode of his podcast \u2013 The David Ellefson Show<\/em> \u2013 Ellefson spoke about why watching Megadeth perform was a \u201crearview mirror moment\u201d that felt like seeing his \u201cvery first Megadeth concert.\u201d<\/p>\n For context, both Metal Church and Megadeth played the main stage at Louder Than Life on Sept. 17, with the former group playing about five hours before the latter (according to Blabbermouth<\/a>).<\/p>\n At the start of the podcast, Ellefson and co-host Joshua Toomey<\/a> (whose own band, Primer 55<\/a>, played the event on Sept. 18) reflected on how 2026 has been going so far. Ellefson quickly went through Metal Church\u2019s live \u201claunch\u201d earlier this year, including their stint at the festival.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople were wondering . . . \u00a0\u2018Oh my god. Metal Church is on the same day as Megadeth,\u2019 you know?\u201d Ellefson began, explaining:<\/p>\n I did see the guys. I went in to catering [and] Dave<\/a> [Mustaine] was not there, so I didn’t see him. I’d heard he was there, and he walked out maybe when I walked in. I don’t know if that was related or not [laughs]. But anyway, we did not run into each other. I did say, \u201cHey\u201d to Teemu<\/a> [M\u00e4ntysaari, guitarist]. I introduced myself and said, \u201cHey, we all really like your guitar playing. Good job,\u201d you know? Dirk<\/a> [Verbeuren, drums] and James<\/a> [LoMenzo, bass] I’ve known for a bit. Of course, I helped get Dirk in the band.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Then, Ellefson admitted that he \u201cdidn\u2019t know how [he] was gonna respond\u201d to watching Megadeth\u2019s set:<\/p>\n I mean, it\u2019s been five years . . . since I’ve been in the band<\/a>. I’ve moved on; I’ve done so much other stuff. My era of Megadeth is my era, right? That’s an era that I’ll always be attached to. I’m getting ready to go [play with] Bass Warrior<\/a>. We’re gonna play ‘Countdown To Extinction<\/a>‘ again for three weeks across Europe. Some cool new spots, actually. . . . So, that’s my era [of Megadeth]. As [former Megadeth drummer] Chris Adler<\/a> always used to say, \u201cMy Megadeth.\u201d \u201cWould my Megadeth do that or not?\u201d<\/p>\n I watched the band play. Me and [Metal Church drummer] Ken Mary<\/a> went out front and sat front of house and watched it. It was like, \u201cWell, there’s Dave and three other guys playing our songs\u201d [laughs]. That’s all that it really \u2013 that it was, and [for] some things I went, \u201cYeah, I remember we did that. Okay, they move like that. They come together in \u2018In My Darkest Hour.<\/a>\u2019 Whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ellefson even said that he told former Megadeth guitarist Greg Handevidt<\/a> that it felt like he was \u201cwatching [his] very first Megadeth show right now.\u201d<\/p>\n He also told Alice Cooper<\/a> the same thing:<\/p>\n In fact, I saw Alice Cooper right before that. . . . I said, \u201cHey, listen, I gotta bail. I’m gonna go out and watch my very first Megadeth concert.\u201d And he goes, \u201cYeah, you should. They’re pretty good,\u201d you know? So, Alice is always kind of a safe harbor. He’s a solid guy, and he’s got a great, great spirit and energy around him. So, it was kind of nice to connect with him before I went out there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Then, Toomey asked Ellefson if he compared how he used to play \u201ccertain parts\u201d to how LoMenzo played them.<\/p>\n Ellefson clarified:<\/p>\n No. James does a perfectly fine job playing the parts, [but] it doesn’t sound like me. He’s got a different tone. It’s a different thing, and I didn’t look at them \u2013 I didn\u2019t look at him expecting him to be me. He’s not. He’s very clearly said that; he’s his own guy. Again, I guess it’s maybe like me with Kings of Thrash<\/a>. It’s me and [ex-Megadeth guitarist] Jeff Young<\/a> playing some songs we played together [and] some that we didn’t. I’d like to think we do a very good job of it. Representing. A lot of that is ’cause our drummer, Fred<\/a> [Aching], is amazing and our singer, Chaz<\/a> [Leon], is, like, a very, very amazingly great singer who’s a diehard fan [and] who gets into the character.<\/p>\n With that said, look, those guys are not Megadeth members. Me and Jeff were, you know what I\u00a0 mean? So, people probably look [and say], \u201cOkay, there’s the two guys.\u201d I looked at Dave’s version of Megadeth and went, \u201cWell, there’s one Megadeth guy: Dave.\u201d And look, Dirk sounds great. He’s always played great [and] he\u2019s a fantastic player. As soon as we auditioned him, right away we said \u2013 we got to the first chorus of \u201cSymphony Of Destruction<\/a>\u201d and went, \u201cYep, that’s the guy.\u201d And so that was fine.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ellefson concluded:<\/p>\n So, yeah, just a different era [of Megadeth]. It was a rearview mirror moment, you know? It was kind of like, \u201cYeah, I remember being in that band years ago.\u201d We had a different sound. As I always said, it doesn’t, to me, sound like my Megadeth; it sounds like Dave with three other guys playing the songs. And that’s not critical \u201cyay\u201d or \u201cnay.\u201d It’s just [that] that’s what it seemed like to me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You can watch the entire episode of The David Ellefson Show<\/em> below:<\/p>\n READ MORE: The Most + Least Played Song Off All 17 Megadeth Albums<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Earlier this month, Loudwire<\/a> reported on Sharon Osbourne<\/a> revealing that she wanted Megadeth to appear at last year\u2019s Back to the Beginning<\/a> event (which served as the farewell concert for both Black Sabbath<\/a> and Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>).<\/p>\n She told Rolling Stone<\/a> <\/em>[transcribed by Loudwire]: \u201cWe really, really wanted Megadeth. There was no time, we couldn\u2019t fit everybody in on one day. There were so many bands that were due to play that we just couldn\u2019t because there was not enough time.”<\/p>\n Speaking of Metal Church, they’re currently on tour in support for 2026\u2019s Dead to Rights<\/em>, with multiple more dates scheduled in the U.S. throughout November. Following a few months off, they\u2019re set to continue the U.S. and Brazil throughout March and April of 2027.<\/p>\n You can view all of their upcoming dates \u2013 and grab tickets \u2013 here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Are you surprised by Ellefson\u2019s remarks regarding Megadeth at Louder Than Life 2026? Let us know!<\/p>\n Also, check out the 14 biggest rock + metal tours announced for 2027 so far<\/a> below!<\/p>\n Here are the biggest rock and metal tours that have been announced for 2027 so far including Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slipknot and more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat Did Ellefson Say About Seeing Megadeth at Louder Than Life 2026?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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David Ellefson Discusses Seeing Megadeth at Louder Than Life + More (Oct. 23, 2026)<\/h3>\n
Other Megadeth News<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The 14 Biggest Rock + Metal Tours Announced for 2027 So Far<\/h2>\n