Former MEGADETH Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON Reflects On Learning METALLICA Songs For An Audition That Never Happened

During a Kings Of Thrash fan Q&A session in Richmond, Victoria, Australia, on July 22, 2024, former Megadeth's bassist David Ellefson, spoke about a pivotal moment in his career. Ellefson confirmed that he received Dave Mustaine’s "blessing" to audition for Metallica after Jason Newsted left the band nearly 24 years ago.

Newsted’s exit from Metallica in 2001 was spurred by disagreements with James Hetfield, particularly regarding Newsted’s side project, Echobrain. In the aftermath, producer Bob Rock stepped in to record the bass parts for St. Anger before Robert Trujillo was chosen as the permanent bassist.

Ellefson shared his thoughts on the situation, explaining how Mustaine informed him about the potential opportunity (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): "In 2001, Megadeth had just recorded The World Needs A Hero album. And Dave called me, and he said, he goes, 'Hey, Lars called me, and you're on a shortlist, and asked if it would be okay if they reach out to you.' And Dave said, he goes, 'There's no way I could stop you from that opportunity. You have my blessing. I gave Lars my blessing.' Now, they never called me. And I think they have the right man for the job with Robert. Robert's fucking great; he's amazing."

Ellefson reflected on how preparing for a potential Metallica audition opened his eyes to the differences between the two bands. He noted that learning Metallica’s later material, particularly from albums like The Black Album, was a challenge.

"Not 'Kill 'Em All' and 'Ride The Lightning', which was more similar to what we were doing in Megadeth, but the later stuff, even the Black Album, and just really played the bass lines and listened to how James put his phrasing of the vocals over top of the riff. It was like a whole other genre. It was shocking how different it was. And I actually had to ask myself, I go, 'I wonder if I'm… I might not be the right guy for this.' And not that I would say no, 'cause what do we do? We say yes, right? That's the lesson of the day — say yes."

Despite never getting the call, Ellefson holds no regrets and praises Trujillo’s role in the band. His insights into how Metallica’s songwriting and production evolved over the years, compared to Megadeth’s, reveal a deep respect for both bands’ unique approaches to their music

"It was an eye-opener to me of how their music had transitioned from the early days. And they'd had great producers, with Bob Rock. They were able to make very expensive albums and take the time to write and really dig deep and make records like they did with the Black Album and stuff. But it really taught me how different they were from what I was used to doing in Megadeth and working with Dave and how he would write and how he would put the phrasing of his vocals over top," Ellefson explained.

As Ellefson puts it, while riffs and instrumentation are crucial, the vocals hold a different level of importance: "Let's face it — when the singer starts singing, that's who we listen to, whether it's Dave or Paul Stanley or Bruce Dickinson or Ronnie Dio. The riffs could be awesome, but when the singer starts singing, whether you're a girl or a guy or whatever, you fucking listen to the singer. And, look, it was my idea for Dave to be the singer in Megadeth. I was the one who said, 'Dude, you've gotta sing.' 'Cause he was writing the stuff at that time, and I said, 'There's no one who's gonna come in here and sing that shit the way you're hearing it, the way you're feeling it. You're never gonna be able to teach anyone how to do that.'"