Ex Megadeth bassist says Dave Mustaine's long-held Metallica grudge is "f***ing pathetic"

A picture of Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson together — (Image credit: Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has described frontman Dave Mustaine's decades-old beef with Metallica as "fucking pathetic".

Ellefson – who was fired by Megadeth in 2021 – tells Mustaine "fix your shit and move on" in an interview with Heavy Talk.

The bass player was referencing Mustaine's 1983 firing as lead guitarist of Metallica and his apparent unwillingness to put it behind him, even 40 years on.

Ellefson says he has managed to put his Megadeth exit behind him, and advises Mustaine to do the same.

He says: "Look, I have no choice but to have to forgive it so I can move on. So I don't know what more to say about it other than that. The damage was done. So you move on. We're all human, and it is what it is.

"You can't lament it. I've watched how he's treated his dismissal from Metallica, still bitching about it 40 years later, and I think it looks fucking pathetic. And it's, like, 'You know what? Fix your shit and move on.' And that's how I've chosen to deal with it."

As recently as March of this year, Mustaine was talking about his history with Metallica, saying they have "always tried to hold me back."

Mustaine is currently on the road with Megadeth, promoting their 16th album, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, which was released last year.

Metal Hammer said the album "showcases a depth and a compositional brilliance that’s rooted in this line-up’s uncanny ability to reimagine Megadeth’s iconic sound in a fresh and compelling way. All the elements that people love about the band – the scorching riffs, the striking technicality and the brawling, speed metal tempos – are here in spades."

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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.