The former bassist for the revered metal band Megadeth, David Ellefson, has given fans some information about the upcoming Kings of Thrash tour. Previously, it had been announced that Ellefson would be teaming up with fellow ex-Megadeth members Chris Poland and Jeff Young to perform Megadeth’s first two albums: Killing is My Business… and Business is Good! and So Far, So Good… So What! See the list of Kings of Thrash Tour Dates below.
Now, Blabbermouth has reported that Ellefson has created “The Killing Chronicles,” an online series dedicated to recollecting stories and information about the band’s early years. On episode 3 of the online series, Ellefson begins to give details about the musical significance of the band’s early work, as well as about how the Kings of Thrash tour, which will feature Fred Aching on drums and Chaz Leon on guitar/vocals, will honor the band’s early albums. Blabbermouth quotes the artist explaining:
“It’s widely known that the KIMB album is one of the fastest Thrash albums ever to descend upon mankind. However, rapid fire tempos in the band was not always the case. When we formed the group and first batch of songs were being composed in mid to late 1983, the tempos were much, much slower. In fact, almost at a BLACK SABBATH tempo. I recall ‘The Skull Beneath the Skin’ being almost half the tempo as it was finally recorded, which gave it this monstrous groove and weight. The same was true with ‘Chosen Ones’ which allowed me to play the bass lines with my fingers in a more Geezer-esque manner.”
“However, one day a fan letter showed up to our mailbox addressed to Dave [Mustaine] which pleaded, ‘I hope your new band is faster than METALLICA’ and BOOM that was it…game over! That night at rehearsal, all the tempos were increased dramatically (20-40 beats per minute minimum!) and thus the KIMB LP represents a true turning point in the trajectory of speed being the primary calling card of cool factor with the founding fathers of the Thrash genre. EXODUS was already fast as hell and once Kerry King had seen them live, SLAYER would follow suit.”
“On the Kings of Thrash tour we’re excited to highlight these finer details of the songs without losing any of the ‘teeth’ which made the album a staple in Thrash metal all these years later.”
Kings of Thrash Tour Dates
Oct. 12 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
Oct. 13 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Oct. 14 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Space
Oct. 15 – West Hollywood, CA @ Whisky A Go Go
Last month, Megadeth shared a new track featuring Ice-T entitled “Night Stalkers.”
Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado
Leave a Comment