'I Couldn't Kiss the Ring For That One' - The Moment David Ellefson Defied Megadeth's Dave Mustaine (It's Related to Metallica)

David Ellefson's second tenure in Megadeth ended in 2021, but during an appearance on his self-titled David Ellefson Show podcast the bassist revealed a Metallica-related moment early on before they started to approach recording The Sick, The Dying ... and the Dead that started the downward trajectory of his relationship with Dave Mustaine.

Ellefson was let go from the band in 2021 amidst some controversy concerning sexually explicit leaked videos from an online correspondence with a fan. But there had apparently been some friction within the group prior to the bassist's dismissal and Ellefson addressed that in a larger discussion on his podcast.

Why Did David Ellefson Balk at a Metallica-Related Idea Proposed by Dave Mustaine?

Within the course of discussion of the qualms the plagued the making of The Sick, The Dying ... and the Dead! record, Ellefson recalled an incident where Mustaine had once considered going a different direction and having Megadeth re-record Metallica's No Life Til Leather demo.

The bassist shares (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), "For me, it started in 2018 when Dave came in to — we started a tour in Oslo, and he came in and he said he wanted to re-record [Metallica's] No Life 'Til Leather demo. I'm, like, 'Are you kidding me? This is where we're at? After all this time? We're supposed to be writing a new album and new songs.'"

"And I was just, like, 'I am not down with that.,'" Ellefson continues. "As fun as it would be to play those songs, 'cause that's one of my favorite Metallica recordings, I was just, like, 'Yeah, I ain't down with that.' I'm sorry. I couldn't kiss the ring for that one. I was, like, 'I'm out.' And so I think our problem started then."

The bassist says that that moment set a precedent that he wasn't willing to just say yes and go along with Mustaine's decisions. "So eventually I'm out of the band. So it goes. Bands are what bands are, and it is what it is," he concludes.

What Is Dave Mustaine's Relationship to Metallica's No Life Til Leather Demo?

Metallica's No Life Til Leather was their most widely circulated demo in the early stages of their career. At this point, Mustaine was still a member of Metallica and he played lead guitar on the tracks.

But while Metallica have reissued many of their recordings over the years, the No Life Til Leather demo was held up due to a discrepancy between Mustaine and his former band over the publishing credits.

As Mustaine shared with Guitar.com in 2022, "I told James [Hetfield], ‘I’ll do it but we’ve got to get this stuff sorted out first.' And he said, ‘Oh yeah, sure.'”

“So I said, ‘Now these two songs you and me split, 50/50. Lars didn’t write on this song – you know that. I don’t know why you gave him percentages but I’m not. I’m not going to sign another deal that’s gonna confirm that because I never agreed to that.'”

“And James said, ‘Well, Lars has a different recollection of that,’ and I said that’s fine; there’s his side of the story, my side and the truth is somewhere. And that blew his mind, and we haven’t talked since."

How Does David Ellefson Feel About Megadeth's The Sick, The Dead ... and The Dying?

Given that his ousting came during the making of the record and his parts were later re-recorded by Steve DiGiorgio for the album, Ellefson has some negative feelings about The Sick, The Dying ... and The Dead!.

"That was a brutal record. I'm glad to be away from it, to be honest with you. It was a terrible process. It was five years in the making. Every song I wrote for it got taken off — every riff I added, every lyric I added. It was spiteful, it was vengeful and it was hateful. And it was not my record," he shared.

Ellefson says he approached Mustaine about the idea of pulling inspiration from their "no money days" of Peace Sells or reflecting on the Youthanasia album which was celebrating an anniversary around that time and really pushing the idea of all the band members playing in a room together.

As for what happened after the album came out, Ellefson shares, "Sadly, I have not listened to [The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! since it came out]. I heard the one video… The record brings up bad feelings for me. And not being thrown out of the band, but just everything about that record."

How Did The Sick, The Dying ... And the Dead! Do for Megadeth?

Megadeth issued The Sick, The Dying ... and the Dead! in September 2022 and the album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Six songs were issued off the record, but only "Soldier On" managed to gain traction at Mainstream Rock radio peaking at No. 31. However, the lead song from the album, "We'll Be Back," did receive a Best Metal Performance Grammy nomination.

The album recording process was delayed while Dave Mustaine underwent treatment for throat cancer. As stated, Ellefson's dismissal also provided another challenge with Testament's Steve DiGiorgio coming in to handle the bass parts during recording and James LoMenzo returning to the group once they toured in support of the album.