Only a few days before starting their upcoming tour, Megadeth have finally revealed their mysterious new bassist. Turns out, he’s not actually that new to the band, it’s (not so) former- Megadeth bassist, James LoMenzo. The change of bassist comes after the band fired David Ellefson earlier this year.

Ever since the band parted ways with Ellefson due to allegations of grooming and “an already strained relationship” with the band’s frontman, Dave Mustaine, the band has often talked about the involvement of their then-mysterious new bassist. They talked about how he already recorded parts for their new album and the band shared a short sneak-peek of the bassist. The sneak-peek came via a Mustaine Cameo video. In the video, LoMenzo was seen only for a split second, but not his face. The Cameo got Megadeth fans speculating.

Now the cat’s out of the bag and fans can be excited. LoMenzo says about his re-joining, “I’m super stoked to be rejoining Megadeth for the upcoming Metal Tour of the Year. There are no better fans than Megadeth fans, I can’t wait to get out there and shred some Megadeth music with you all.”

In July, Mustaine announced that Ellefson would never return to the band, the statement came once again via the singer’s Cameo. “Any chance on Ellefson coming back later on? The answer to that is no,” the frontman said.

Megadeth will hit the road with LoMenzo starting August 20th at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater, in Austin, TX. They will be supported by the fellow metal bands, Lamb of God, Trivium and Hatebreed. The tour will conclude on October 2nd in Quebec City, QC at Centre Videotron.

The band recently announced their new live album Unplugged In Boston. The record itself is not new, it is a live performance of the band from almost 20 years ago, now being released for the first time.

Photo credit: Mauricio Alvarado