Dave Mustaine has shut down the idea of bringing back former key members during Megadeth’s planned farewell touring, expected to span the next three to five years. He cited the “behavior” of one past member as the reason.

While Megadeth’s roster has turned over dozens of times, Mustaine’s comments clearly point toward longtime bassist/vocalist David Ellefson. Alongside Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, and the late Nick Menza, Ellefson was a core part of the band’s classic era.

Ellefson was fired in 2021 after explicit videos of him masturbating leaked online—footage tied to an extramarital online relationship with a 19-year-old woman. No laws were found to have been broken, but Mustaine dismissed him immediately, and both sides have traded barbs in the press ever since.

In a recent Eddie Trunk interview Mustaine was asked about bringing older members back during the farewell run:

I can’t really do that, because of the behavior of one of the band members in the past. I just can’t. Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other band members if I didn’t play with them as well.

Friedman re-joined the band in Japan in 2023, to which Mustaine added:

The thing about what we did with Marty in Japan, that was a no-brainer. That was brilliant. And I love Marty. We had our separation, and he went his way and we went our way.

Discussing the other former members:

My relationship with Chris (Poland) was really great, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty. My relationship with Jeff (Young) was good, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty. And I probably wouldn’t have a problem playing with any of the members of those two lineups. I’m just not gonna do anything that is gonna, in any way, seem unfair to the other band members.

Since his dismissal, David Ellefson has kept Megadeth’s legacy alive in his own way, forming Kings Of Thrash with Jeff Young and others, with Chris Poland joining at times. Ellefson even stated this past August that he’d like to participate in Megadeth’s farewell tour.

Mustaine’s farewell “endgame” begins next year as Megadeth launch a global run celebrating both their decades-long career and their final studio album, a self-titled release due out January 23rd.

[via Blabbermouth]