Formed: 1983
From:
San Francisco,
CA,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Megadeth Interviews and Features
Below are our features and interviews with Megadeth.
Feature
Five "Can't Miss" Bands For Mystic Festival 2026
Mystic Festival is less than two weeks away, and it’s already time to start planning which shirts I’m bringing to wear to the festival. Maybe I’m exaggerating—maybe not. In all seriousness, I’m starting to map out the daily line-up schedules, and it’s almost overwhelming. There are so many great new (and old) bands to see this year!
Here’s my must see/can’t miss top 5 band list:
1. Neckbreakker – Formerly known as Nakkeknaekker, these youngsters (with an average age of 21) were already wowing major festival crowds with their raw and crushing death metal sound in 2022! I saw them under the Nakkeknaekker moniker in 2024 at Mystic Festival, and they were already playing like seasoned veterans of the summer festival circuit. It’s only been two years, but I’m super excited to see how they’ve grown musically and in terms of performance this year!
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Neckbreakker breaking necks at Mystic Festival in 2024
2. Disharmonic Orchestra – I was in my late teens when I first learned about this Austrian death metal band through fanzines. I still own one of their early 7” releases and used to listen to my friends’ copies of their early work. I don’t remember them ever touring stateside, other than a one-off festival appearance. Mystic Festival brings them into the lineup this year, and I’m looking forward to reliving some of my metal youth when they kick off the festival during this year’s warm-up day.
Interview
Megadeth Bassist On New Book, Solo Album & "Risk"
Every musician strives to make their band the best it can possibly be. Some are lucky enough to translate this into commercial success and fewer still are able to transform their band into bonafide legends, which make a lasting impact on music as we know it. One such man who has been able to achieve the dreams of thousands of headbangers full of aspiration is David Ellefson, the bassist for thrash metal titans Megadeth.
But it's not just Megadeth that occupies Ellefson's time. The man known affectionately by fans as "Junior" is also an accomplished author, having released his first book, "My Life With Deth" in 2013, with a sequel, "More Life With Deth" released four months ago. Not just that, but Ellefson owns his own label, EMP Music Group, has just released his first solo album, "Sleeping Giants," launched the MEGA Life Ministries worship service in Scottsdale, AZ, founded the coffee company Ellefson Coffee Co. and now has his own film company, Ellefson Films, who are preparing to release their first movie, "Dwellers." I recently caught up with Ellefson to discuss some of these new endeavours as well as the MegaCruise, the twentieth anniversary of Megadeth's controversial album, "Risk" and much more. You can watch the interview below, while an excerpt reads as follows:
Diamond Oz: You've got a lot on your plate at the moment, I didn't realise quite how much until I looked into it. Perhaps most important is your solo album, "Sleeping Giants." I heard a little bit of it earlier and it sounds really really good.
David Ellefson: Thank you. It's kind of a combination of some new tracks. In particular "Vultures," is a brand new track. "Hammer Comes Down" and "Sleeping Giants" was music I had but then my partner Thom (Hazaert) finished lyrics to the collaboration with DMC, "Sleeping Giants," did the collaboration with Eric A.K. from Flotsam And Jetsam on "Hammer," as well as bringing in our friends Mark Tremonti and Chris Poland who played guitar. Dave McClain of Sacred Reich and formerly Machine Head put drums down so it was fun to get the whole crew together and work on those songs. Then I put some of the old F5 demos from the 2000s and then some tracks that I'd written in 1993 when we had a break in the "Countdown To Extinction" album. My friend Pat Schunk, who I was introduced to by Nick Menza, we had a really fun collaborative season, wrote a bunch of tunes, had John Bush sing on "If You Were God," had David Glen Isley sing on a handful of tracks. So yeah, these were songs that were just sat in a box at home and I just ruffled through it and started putting together with Tom and thought, "If not now, when?" It's probably the best time to do it, especially with the new book, "More Life With Deth," it kind of brings the whole story together. More...
Interview
A Chat With The Creator Of Mayhem Festival
Kevin Lyman has had a hand in the creation of Warped Tour and Mayhem Festival, to name just a few of the noteworthy projects he has been involved with over the past two-plus decades. Starting out as a club promoter in Los Angeles, his idea to have a yearly outdoor summer festival conducted in parking lots with Warped Tour has turned into one of the most well-known tours out there today. Along with John Reese, Lyman started the Rockstar Mayhem Festival a few years back to give the spotlight to metal and hard rock acts.
This year’s line-up is a powerhouse, with headliners Godsmack, Disturbed, and Megadeth on tap, as well as Machine Head, In Flames, and Trivium supporting. I had the chance to talk to Lyman in early February about the semantics of running a major festival, the process behind choosing acts, and the possibility of taking the festival overseas in the near future. More...
Interview
Dave Ellefson Jr. Explains His Return To Megadeth
Who would ever thought that David Ellefson would return to Megadeth after the sour note in 2003? The music industry, and in particular the band member relationships, are very complex. The music industry can be forgiving, indifferent, and downright cruel at times. Fortunately, when it comes to Megadeth there is always the opportunity to rebuild the once burned bridges when it comes to band member relationships. More...
Interview
Interview with Ex-Megadeth Guitarist Jeff Young
Due to recent allegations made by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, Jeff Young finally spoke out after years of silence. In this exclusive interview, Jeff Young gives us his take on events and tells Metalunderground.com about events that he hasn't mentioned in the past 20 years. More...