Thrash metal history has been well documented and as many of the luminaries in that genre have fairly recently been releasing books aplenty that cover their careers, it is interesting how approaches in divulging stories vary. No stranger to solid writing skills, MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson’s most recent book titled ‘My Life with Deth: Discovering Meaning in a Life of Rock & Roll’ is very different to his previous and since revised, invaluable book ‘Making Music Your Business’. But, in both cases, his affable manner shines through and he offers a world of wisdom to those willing to listen.
In Australia soon for a spoken word tour, audiences will no doubt hear of how he and others survived drugs and endured an acrimonious yet fortunately only temporary estrangement from the band he co-founded. MEGADETH remains a still relevant, musically unpredictable, huge selling force in metal and hard rock, thirty years on. Their debut album ‘Killing is My Business…and Business is Good!’ set them on a path to become one of the biggest bands in thrash metal. Given the album’s recent re-release, it is apt to explore the band’s formation and bonding chemistry, accelerated by Ellefson’s and front man Dave Mustaine’s mutual interest in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal [NWOBHM], which clearly impacted upon the initial stages of the band’s development.
“Yeah, I think so,” concurs Ellefson. “When I was growing up in Minnesota, I had a band that a guitar player joined and he brought in his Motörhead, VENOM and IRON MAIDEN records. Meanwhile, the drummer was getting me into SCORPIONS and BLACK SABBATH’s ‘Heaven and Hell’. That exposed me to the NWOBHM, changed my musical direction and started to focus it because I liked the unity of the bands and the people who liked it. I also liked the musicianship of bassists such as Steve Harris from IRON MAIDEN and Bob Daisley on the first two OZZY OSBOURNE records with Randy Rhoads. It was a new thrust of music that inspired me. By the time I met Dave [Mustaine] in Los Angeles in 1983, he had experience with METALLICA, had been around these groups and been influenced by Lars [Ulrich – METALLICA drummer] so it was a logical progression in my life. It helped me to become a creative artist with Dave.”
Oddly enough, when the band started, both drummer Gar Samuelson and lead guitarist Chris Poland were not into metal as such but more into the jazz, rock and fusion genres. “You’re right, it was a very unlikely matching of two radically different approaches,” says Ellefson. “NWOBHM was where things were meticulous with calculated song structures to perform night after night versus Gar and Chris coming from a very open, avant-garde, jazz and rock fusion approach which was the antithesis of that. So, there was an explosive force with us coming together on those first two MEGADETH records.”
Given MEGADETH had a unique sound from the start, it is fair to ask if their stylistic difference compared to other metal bands at the time helped the young act get signed with Combat Records. “The things around at the time were early ACCEPT, ANTHRAX, OVERKILL, EXODUS, EXCITER and even early label mates SAVATAGE,” explains Ellefson. “MEGADETH, by having Gar and Chris in the band, had a different sound. I was unsure of it because I liked the rivethead approach, especially in the drumming with very heavy, machine gun, big sounding drums. Gar played with smaller sized drums and had a tighter, jazz drummer playing [style] like Louie Bellson. So, we had a lighter, fast on your feet sound about us. The riffs were heavy but it allowed us to play super fast and so there was a more nimble approach to it than some of the more thunderous metal that was out there. That definitely helped set us apart from our contemporaries.”
As mentioned earlier, Ellefson also wrote a book about the machinations and means to implement business protections for an upcoming artist within the music industry. That publication has since been updated as the nature of business has changed remarkably. When MEGADETH started out, tape trading was rampant but today it is a culture of downloading and file sharing, which can be far more malicious. The essence of what Ellefson has to say about the music industry today is therefore quite illuminating.
“It is interesting,” states Ellefson. “I recently did an audio book version of ‘Making Music Your Business’. I had to rewrite a couple of chapters, one in particular about royalties because I was talking about cassettes which don’t exist anymore. I was also talking about the explosive impact of music videos which in today’s world have a lesser impact whereas in the 80’s and 90’s, it made you a global sensation. Once video channels started to go away, everything shrunk and when downloading started, record companies weren’t selling anything so there were no videos and no one knew about the artists. I think people understand that music is a commodity and a product that costs people both time and money to make. Unless someone gives it away to you intentionally, do your part and pay for it. When Steve Jobs created iTunes to control content that he could put in a device that he was selling called the iPod, he single handedly saved the music business.”
Of course, MEGADETH’s battles have not just been with industry changes. Anyone that has followed the band knows of their dubious dalliances with substance abuse. Australian fans of a certain vintage will recall MEGADETH’s planned 1988 and 1993 tours to Australia were cancelled, reportedly as result of drugs to some capacity. Although, to be fair, they did tour here around 1990 for the first time ever. Drug free and clean as a whistle since then, Ellefson has some sobering realities to relay to the partying masses.
“Drugs have certainly hampered MEGADETH’s success over the years,” admits Ellefson. “The last time that it caused an issue for me was in 1988 when we were playing Castle Donington in England. I was strung out on heroin and could hardly play the show. We had to cancel two other shows in Germany with IRON MAIDEN for big festivals. I got cleaned up and sober after that and have remained that way ever since. Drugs created hardships for the group and huge disappointment for the fans. The reality of it is that we are intrinsically intertwined with other people. When we do good things, people are inspired but when we are caught in addictions, we take people down with us and disappoint them. You’re right, a couple of trips to Australia were hampered by that.”
On one of the bands more recent and successful tours to Australia, Ellefson was able to visit the memorial grave of Bon Scott, the legendary front man of AC/DC. In context of his own experiences with booze, it is worth asking if there was a moment of reflection and empathy on visiting the national monument at Fremantle Cemetery. “I did actually and I saw them opening for Cheap Trick here in the United States when I was just a teenager. AC/DC was my LED ZEPPELIN because of my age when I started to get into rock and roll,” confirms Ellefson. “I didn’t get to see AC/DC with Bon. That group made a huge impact on my life by coming out of the Kiss generation but being stripped down and just kicking your face in. When both Sid Vicious and Bon Scott died, they were sad days in my life and part of my dream died. Then being in the music business and in the room with people having drug and alcohol issues, you instantly think about Bon, Bonham [John – drummer of LED ZEP] and Sid Vicious; famous people who died from that stuff. It becomes personal, it gets real and suddenly ‘all in the name of rock’n’roll’ is not very cool. It reminds me of the serious life and death nature of what addiction can become.”
In order for a huge global band to remain intact over thirty years, despite the odd hiccup, a huge amount of discipline and dedication is required. As a result, it is interesting to note that the album that Ellefson feels represents the most cohesive project where the band’s unified vision came to fruition is from 1992. “I would say ‘Countdown to Extinction’ was the one record that had a concerted and focused effort where everybody was a part of it,” reveals Ellefson. “The four of us and our manager talked about where everybody needed to take their game to the next level. The challenge was to get four guys marching in the same direction. A group of four different guys all bring something unique to the table, but that was probably the first moment where we all had the same goals. It was fantastic.”