Photo by Stephanie Cabral

 

Robert Cavuoto recently caught up with Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and former guitarist Chris Broderick a few days before Broderick announced his departure from the band. They discussed the upcoming Metal Allegiance will show on Januray 21st, 2015 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA.

A collection of heavy music’s finest musicians will be reuniting for an all-star jam session as only these masters can. The lineup featuring Frank Bello (Anthrax), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Chuck Billy (Testament), Chris Broderick (Megadeth), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura), Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Alex Skolnick (Testament) and John Tempesta (The Cult) will be performing songs throughout the history of hard rock and heavy metal along with plenty of surprises making this a night not to be missed.

Robert Cavuoto: I’m going to ask my last question first, this is such a great idea, are you planning to take this All-Star line-up out on a larger U.S. tour?

David Ellefson: "That could happen. We just launched it on Motörhead’s Motörboat Cruise a month ago, we have the show in Anaheim in January and then the ShipRocked Cruise in February. It’s something that has a lot of interest, not just here in America, but Europe and South America. It seems like there is a very good future for it."

Robert Cavuoto: How do you select musicians to perform with you?

Chris Broderick: "We have a core group people like Frank Bello, Dave and I then we invite guests to join us based on their availability. It can be different at any given time. When we did the Motörboat Cruise it really worked out well because there were a lot of people we worked with in the past, like Charlie Benante and Mike Portnoy. For the Anaheim show we’ll have Troy from Mastodon, Mark from Death Angel and Alex and Chuck from Testament."

Robert Cavuoto: You are both such accomplished musicians, do you ever get stumped by a request?

David Ellefson: "The fun thing about is that we try to prepare and do our homework. Some of the requests are pretty obvious, like I know the entire Iron Maiden Killers record top to bottom because I played it since I was 15 years old. Same with Frank Bello, he knows every Geddy Lee riff ever. There are some things that just come naturally too." 

"There are things that pop-up that makes you go 'What the heck is that?' When we were teens these songs seemed so difficult. Now we have our own careers as writers and worked studio with good producers, they don’t seem as hard (laughing). When we were younger we didn’t have the right experience, now that we have, it’s interesting to revisit those songs. It’s easier to figure them out now on the fly."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Following the shocking news earlier this week that Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover has left the band, Broderick dropped a bombshell of his own here:

"Due to artistic and musical differences, it is with great reluctance that I announce my departure from Megadeth to pursue my own musical direction. I want all of you to know how much I appreciate the amount that you the fans have accepted and respected me as a member of Megadeth for the last seven years, but it is time for me to move on. I wish Dave and everyone in Megadeth all the best. I am working on a few things of my own and hope that when they come out, you will all dig it."

The Megadeth camp has yet to release an official statement regarding Broderick's and Drover's departures. Stay tuned for updates.