Dave Mustaine Asserts He Is the Sole Founder of Megadeth

It’s no secret that Megadeth formed after Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica. However, there seems to be some confusion about who was involved when they formed, because the frontman has asserted that he’s the sole founder — there weren’t any co-founders.

Mustaine was Metallica’s original lead guitarist, but due to personal issues that ended up impacting the band, he was let go in April of 1983. Later that year, Mustaine formed Megadeth in Los Angeles, but some sources say that it was founded by both him and former bassist David Ellefson.

“There’s a misnomer that there were two people that founded Megadeth. I was the founder, I was the only one in the beginning. There was a bass player before the person who just was… who just left,” Mustaine declared to Life Minute TV. “So it’s been my vision. When I got kicked out of Metallica — I got kicked out of Metallica, no one else was with me on the bus coming home.”

Check out the full interview below.

Megadeth’s latest album The Sick, The Dying… and the Dead! just came out on Sept. 2, and in the midst of working on it, grooming allegations against Ellefson surfaced online after personal exchanges between the musician and a younger woman leaked online. Though he clarified that the relationship was consensual, he was dismissed from Megadeth shortly after.

As a result, in the summer of 2021, Mustaine confirmed that Ellefson’s bass parts that he recorded for the new album would be replaced. In May of this year, James LoMenzo was announced as Ellefson’s permanent replacement in the thrash group.

Megadeth are currently on the road with Five Finger Death Punch, The Hu and Fire From the Gods. The next show is scheduled for tonight (Oct. 10) in Alpharetta, Ga. See the rest of the dates and get tickets here.

Dave Mustaine Asserts He Is the Sole Founder of Megadeth, No Co-Founding Members