David Ellefson Says Dave Mustaine Is Good at Selling His Ideas

Though David Ellefson didn’t exactly have a positive ending with Megadeth, he does still have some positive things to say about his former bandmate Dave Mustaine, and has shared what he learned from the frontman in a new interview.

Ellefson was interviewed by Suicide Silence guitarist Chris Garza on the Garza Podcast with guitarist Jeff Young, who also had a stint in Megadeth in the late ’80s. The duo formed the band Kings of Thrash together in 2022, and announced a few months ago that they’ll be starting a new band together to release original material [via Guitar.com].

During the interview, Garza asked the pair what it was like being in a band with Mustaine, noting that Suicide Silence were kicked off a Megadeth tour in late 2009.

“That’s what it’s like being in a band with him,” Ellefson said laughing.

“There’s obviously a wonderful side to his musicianship, his musicality, his ability to sell an idea. You know what I learned from him? Maybe there’s four other guys in the room, their ideas were as good or better than Dave’s, but Dave had a way to convince you that his was the best. And I think that was what was required,” the bassist continued.

Ellefson recalled that when he met Mustaine, thrash was a new type of metal that he hadn’t heard before, and he was impressed by the sound that Mustaine had come up with for Megadeth. Mustaine’s conviction was what got Ellefson on board to join the band in the first place and made him believe in what they were doing.

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“He was such a good salesman with it that you believed it. And that was a big part of it. You read it in his interviews. When he’s onstage, there’s a conviction,” he reiterated, further adding that he was happy to be behind the frontman, especially when people started problems with the band.

Watch the full episode below.

David Ellefson Says He Learned How to ‘Sell an Idea’ From Dave Mustaine