This Megadeth/Slayer update on AC/DC’s Riff Raff is a brilliant way to kickstart your week

By Paul Brannigan
( Metal Hammer )
last updated

Megadeth’s Dave Ellefson and Slayer’s Dave Lombardo team up for a scorching version of Powerage classic Riff Raff

David Ellefson
David Ellefson (Image credit: Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns)

Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson has a double album of hard rock covers coming out in November, featuring tracks by artists including Queen, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Motörhead and Cheap Trick , and guest appearances from friends in Anthrax, Slayer, Ministry, Steel Panther, Megadeth and more.

Released under the name of his side project, Ellefson, the album, No Cover, is scheduled for a November 20 release via Combat/earMUSIC/Ward. And to whet the appetite, the bassist has released the album’s rather fine take on AC/DC classic Riff Raff, with vocals from Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys), guitar from ex-Guns N’ Roses man Bumblefoot (now a member of Sons Of Apollo) and drums provided by fellow Big Four alumni Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, Mr. Bungle, etc,).

We think Malcolm Young would rather like it.

No Cover track listing:

Disc One

1. Freewheel Burning (Judas Priest) (feat. Jason McMaster, Gus G, Andy James, Dave McClain)
2. Tear It Loose (Twisted Sister) (feat. Eddie Ojeda, Dave McClain)
3. Love Me Like A Reptile (Motörhead) (feat. Doro Pesch, Greg Handevidt, Chuck Behler)
4. Holiday in Cambodia (Dead Kennedys) (feat. Charlie Benante, Bumblefoot)
5. Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) (feat. Paolo Caridi)
6. Wasted (Def Leppard) (feat. Frank Hannon, Jacob Bunton, Dave McClain)
7. Riff Raff (AC/DC) (feat. Jason McMaster, Dave Lombardo, Bumblefoot)
8. Nailed To The Gun (Fight) (feat. Andrew Freeman, Russ Parrish, Jimmy DeGrasso) 9. Not Fragile (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) (feat. John Aquilino, Paolo Caridi, Bumblefoot)
10. Auf Wiedersehen (Cheap Trick) (feat. Al Jourgensen, Brandon Yeagley, Charlie Benante)

Disc Two

1. Love Machine (W.A.S.P.) (feat. Dirk Verbeuren, Dave Alvin, Bumblefoot)
2. Love Hurts (Nazareth) (feat. Brandon Yeagley, Chuck Behler, Tyson Leslie)
3. Eat The Rich” (Krokus) (feat. Jason McMaster, Dave Sharpe, Opus)
4. Sheer Heart Attack (Queen) (feat. Bumblefoot, Doro Pesch, Charlie Benante)
5. Over The Mountain (Ozzy Osbourne) (feat. Andrew Freeman, Bumblefoot, Jimmy DeGrasso)
6. Sweet FA (Sweet) (feat. Todd Kerns, Bumblefoot, Shani Kimelman)
7. Beth (KISS) (feat. Tyson Leslie, Bumblefoot)
8. Say What You Will” (Fastway cover) (feat. Mark Slaughter, Troy Lucketta)

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.