Megadeth bassist David Ellefson recently guested on the Music Mania Podcast, which can be heard via the YouTube clip below. Topics discussed include the band's upcoming leg of the Dystopia World Tour, and what it felt like winning a Grammy. Ellefson also talked about his latest coffee venture, Ellefson Coffee Co.

When it came to Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, Ellefson commented: "There's no one I'd rather be onstage with than Dave, because that guy totally has control of the venue and he's got control of the audience, he's got control… He can shut down a 50,000-capacity audience in one… All he's gotta do is stop playing and people know he's pissed. All of a sudden, it's, like, 'Oh, shit. We pissed Dave off. Oh-ho.' You know what I mean? And it's been like that from the very first shows we did up in San Francisco back in 1984. I very much felt like, man, Dave is fearless on stage and he's at home on stage; that's really where you see the essence of him and you just feel his presence, and he's a commanding leader. And, quite honestly, the audience loves that — the audience wants to be led. They want to know someone's in command, and he's in command in the live show. So that's a beautiful thing."

"And then creatively and in the studio, (Megadeth's 2016 album) Dystopia really, quite honestly, wasn't much different than making Peace Sells or maybe some of the earlier records. Dave very much has a very… he's got his hand on the creative process, and he knows… When he hears something in his head, he knows what it's gonna sound like later on, and that's a gift that I don't see a lot of people have. I know sometimes musicians sit around, they play a lot, they practice a lot, they'll continually hone and work on things. And Dave's a guy, he plays what he hears, he doesn't hear what he plays. And that's a different… He's a begin-with-the-end-in-mind kind of guy, and as a result, Megadeth has had a… I guess part of the reason the band's been able to stay together, quite honestly, is because there was this vision cast from the very beginning, and every day we're together as Megadeth, we are executing what that vision was back in 1983."

In live news, Megadeth have announced the details for the 2017 leg of their North American Tour, which kicks off on June 23rd in Big Flats, NY. This headlining tour will take them across the US as well as Canada.

Megadeth will be on tour in support of their new album, Dystopia, featuring the 2017 Grammy Award winning tittle track, “Dystopia”. The track reached #3 on The Billboard Top 200 and #1 on the Hard Music/Top Rock charts.

Along with band visionary Dave Mustaine at the helm, Megadeth’s current lineup includes Kiko Loureiro on guitar, David Ellefson on bass and Dirk Verbeuren on drums.

Joining Megadeth on their North American Tour will be special guests Meshuggah, TesseracT and Lillake. Currently scheduled dates are listed below, with more to be announced shortly.

June
23 - Big Flats, NY - Budweiser Summerstage
24 - Montebello, QC - Amnesia Rockfest *
25 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
27 - Philadelphia, PA - Fillmore
28 - Portsmouth, VA - Portsmouth Pavilion
29 - Silver Springs, MD - The Fillmore
30 - Columbus, OH - Express Live

July
5 - Windsor, ON - Caesars **
7 - St. Charles, MO - Family Arena
8 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre
9 - Houston, TX - Revention Music Center
11 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
13 - Oshkosh, WI - Rock USA *
14 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Open Air *
15 - Cadott, WI - Rock Fest*

* Festival Dates
** Megadeth and Meshuggah only

Megadeth will then join Scorpions, one of the most iconic and influential hard rock bands of all time, as special guests on their Crazy World tour. The tour kicks off on September 14th with a month-long run of dates including stops in New York, Dallas, Toronto, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, amongst others, with more dates coming.

September
14 - Reading, PA - Santander Arena
16 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
22 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
25 - Denver, CO - 1st Bank Center
26 - Salt Lake City, UT - Venue TBA
29 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
30 - Seattle, WA - Tacoma Dome

October
3 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort
4 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
8 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Arena
11 - San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum
12 - Dallas, TX - Pavilion at the Music Factory
14 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - BB&T Center
15 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena