David Ellefson says final Megadeth album “just doesn’t sound like them” and is more like a Dave Mustaine “solo record”

On the latest episode of his podcast, the bassist said: “I hear it, and I go, ‘Okay, this is a Dave solo record.’ This is Dave and his new band, Dave and his new guys,” Ellefson said (via Consequence).

“It says Megadeth, so obviously it gets all the attention, but realistically, I hear it, and to me it just doesn’t sound like Megadeth. And that’s just me, period. You know? It’s like Dave, doing what Dave does, but with a different set of guys in a new day. And this is Dave‘s retirement, you know? So that’s my view on it.”

Their self-titled album was previewed by three singles: ‘Tipping Point’, ‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘Let There Be Shred’, and was given three stars by NME, who said the record “feels like a gratifying, full-circle moment for Megadeth – one last look back before bringing an integral chapter of metal history to a close”.

Late last month, we sat down with metal veteran Mustaine ahead of its release, and touched on calling it quits with the band after being “on defence almost all my career”, as well as his hopes for the future of metal.

The thrash metal icons announced last year that they were going to be calling it a day, releasing their final album in 2026 and heading out on their last ever tour – which Mustaine recently said would not include any previous members.

Elaborating on that, he told NME: “If we were to look at doing that, then you’ve got some members that are deceased. You’ve got some members that I’m friends with, but they can’t play anymore like Chuck [Behler, drummer from 1987-1989]. And then you’ve got a couple guys that are saying very bad things about me in the press. So why would I want to play with those guys?

“We did this before with Marty [Friedman], and I’m sure that if the opportunity presented itself and the timing was right, I would reconsider having one of the guys from the band’s alumni play with us.

“But if it was something that didn’t end very well, why would I? There’s not a valid reason to do something like that, especially when we have limited time on stage anyway.”

Megadeth, 2026. CREDIT: Cameron Nunez

Looking back to the explosion of thrash metal in the ’80s, Mustaine also looked to the future of the genre. “I said to the band that I think there’s going to be a renaissance when this record comes out because it’s going to smack a lot of people upside of their earholes,” he said. “I think people are going to say ‘I forgot what I loved about this kind of music’, and then we’re gonna see a lot of people coming back with [a fresh take].

“So far that’s what I’ve been hearing a lot [with this album]. Not everybody, but a lot of people have been saying to me that they hadn’t listened to us for a little while but they really like the new album. Man, I’m so happy to hear this stuff from journos and radio personalities because I’ve been on defence almost all my career.”

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