Megadeth recently announced the band was calling it quits after one final album and tour forthcoming in 2026. There’s a least one former member who would love to partake before the clock strikes midnight on the long-standing metal band’s active legacy.

David Ellefson, who was Megadeth’s only other consistent member of the band, other than guitarist/vocalist ​​Dave Mustaine, spoke on his The David Ellefson Show podcast this past Friday and expressed that he would like to be a part of the farewell (contingent on an invite from Mustaine).

“For Dave to call it quits or to retire, I should say… Farewell… I don’t even know if he’s retiring,” said Ellefson as transcribed by Lambgoat. “He’s just basically saying Megadeth’s over,” Ellefson said. “Would I like to be a part of it? Yeah, of course. Who wouldn’t? I’m a founding member of it. I’m a 30-plus-year member of it. Is that gonna happen? Who knows? It’s too early to tell. I don’t know what they have planned. I have no idea what it is.”

As Ellefson spoke about his motivations, he drew inspiration from Black Sabbath’s final show and benefit concert in July, “Back To The Beginning,” where the four original members of the band played together for the final time before lead singer Ozzy Osbourne’s passing.

“Well, I strongly stand against the notion that Megadeth was only Dave Mustaine, ‘cause it wasn’t,” Ellefson said when speaking about the band’s legacy. “And everybody knows that. So, if Dave needs to retire, wants to retire, I get it. I understand. He’s given a lot. It’s taken a lot out of him. It’s certainly taken a toll on him, as anyone can imagine. Someone made a point: we’re all fans of Megadeth music, even if we’re not fans of a particular lineup or certain members. We still all love Megadeth music. And I thought, okay, I’m down with that. I can get behind that.”

The bassist maintains that he is “technically” a founding member of the band, while Mustaine has disputed these claims. Ellefson played with Megadeth from 1983 to 2002 until Mustaine announced the band was dissolving due to his problems with radial neuropathy, rendering him unable to play guitar.

After extensive physical therapy, Mustaine reformed the band in 2004. At that time, the founder and Ellefson were unable to come to an agreement for the bassist to come back. Ellefson did eventually rejoin Megadeth in 2010.

For his second stint, he remained a member until 2021, when he was ultimately dismissed in 2021 after sexually explicit videos and messages of Ellefson and a then 19-year-old fan leaked to social media. Ellefson went on record to deny grooming allegations, to which the other party confirmed in a statement.

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Murjani Rawls may be reached at mrawls@njadvancemedia.com.