Megadeth Names New Member After Firing David Ellefson

Megadeth has finally named a new bass player after firing David Ellefson over a year ago. On Tuesday, the legendary thrash band announced that James LoMenzo is now “a permanent member of the band.” The statement continued LoMenzo was Megadeth’s bass player in the mid-2000s and recently stepped back in as a touring member for The Metal Tour of the Year. LoMenzo now officially rejoins the Megadeth family.

In his own statement, Megadeth vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine said, “I am thrilled to welcome back James to the Megadeth family. James rejoined the fold as the touring bassist and it’s been a blast having him back, we thought let’s make it permanent.” LoMenzo commented on the news as well, saying, “I’m so excited to rejoin Megadeth and move forward full steam into the next phase of this iconic band’s history! With Dave, Kiko and Dirk there’s no stopping us! It just feels great to be home again.”

LoMenzo played with glam metal band White Lion back in the mid-late ’80s, later going to play on albums by Zakk Wylde and David Lee Roth, among others. He also previously played with Wylde’s band, Black Label Society. LoMenzo joined Megadeth for the first time back in 2006, playing on two albums: United Abominations (2007) and Endgame (2009). He left the band in 2010, but came back in 2021 as a touring member.

Ellefson co-founded Megadeth with Mustaine in the early ’80s, with Ellefson leaving in 2002 and then returning in 2010. In May 2021, sexual grooming allegations emerged against Ellefson, which he denied. He claimed that clips of his communications with a fan, which went viral, were “private, adult interactions that were taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation, my career and family.” He also shared a purported statement from the fan themselves, in which they claimed the interactions were “consensual.”

Following the controversy, Megadeth decided to sever ties with Ellefson, and announced in late May that he’d be ousted. “We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth and that we are officially parting ways with him,” the statement issued from Mustaine began. “We do not take this decision lightly.” 

Mustaine continued, “While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward. We look forward to seeing our fans on the road this summer, and we cannot wait to share our brand new music with the world. It is almost complete.” 

Megadeth is preparing to release their newest album, The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!, in July. The album had originally featured Ellefson on bass. However, after his firing, the bass tracks were deleted and re-recorded by Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Following the release of the new album, Megadeth will be hitting the road with Five Finger Death Punch, The Hu, and Fire From The Gods. Fans can find tour dates and ticket info by clicking here.