Ellefson: Time was right for Megadeth changes

Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson says the time was right for Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick to leave the band.

Drummer Drover and guitarist Broderick walked away late last year, leaving Ellefson and frontman Dave Mustaine as the band’s only two remaining members.

And Ellefson says that while their departures were sudden, it was the right time for all parties concerned.

He tells The Metal Review: “I think it was time. Shawn had been there 10 years. Next to me and obviously Dave, Shawn had been there the longest of anybody. He was a good soldier for Megadeth. In a lot of ways he helped bring me back into the fold. Shawn should always be remembered by the Megadeth fans as one of the true supporters who really got it.

“As a fan, a musician within the band, he got it. One of the songs he co-wrote ended up as a Grammy nomination, his record speaks for itself. Chris is just a phenomenal musician and a super great guy.”

And rather than hold any grudges, Ellefson insists he wishes the pair all the best in their new, as-yet-unnamed project formed after they left the band. He believes they’ll flourish without the “confines” of Megadeth.

He adds: “The fact that the two of them are going off together and doing something together, I think is cool. Whatever we hear from them next will be something that will truly be them and it won’t have to be done in the confines of a Megadeth setting.

“Megadeth is very much a focussed type narrow window of what works and what the fans expect to hear and rightfully so. There are some things that band members write that are great for Megadeth and some things that are best used for solo material or to be shopped for someone else to cover them.

“You can get to a certain point in your career and you realise you have things outside of what your band is and it may be a good piece of music but it shouldn’t be used inside of Megadeth.”

Drover and Broderick’s replacements are being sought, with Mustaine recently promising big news was on the horizon for fans.

Meanwhile, Megadeth have been given the Lullaby treatment by Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, a firm that creates children’s versions of metal and rock songs.

The firm says: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star was born for the parent that wants to pass along their biggest passion to their child – music. These aren’t novelty recordings. They are cute, they are soft but these are serious recordings.”

A stream of the Lullaby version of Symphony Of Destruction has been made available. Hear it below.

Lullaby Versions Of Megadeth tracklisting

A Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free) 2. Symphony Of Destruction 3. Sudden Death 4. Angry Again 5. Holy Wars….The Punishment Due 6. Hangar 18 7. Trust 8. Peace Sells 9. Gears Of War 10. Sleepwalker 11. Sweating Bullets 12. Dialectic Chaos

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.