Megadeth have announced their touring replacement for bassist David Ellefson, who was dismissed from the group on May 24. Former Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo will man the bass for the thrash legends' upcoming tour with Lamb of God.
LoMenzo, also known for his time in White Lion and Black Label Society, was a member of Megadeth from 2006 to 2010, playing on 2007's United Abominations and 2009's Endgame.
“I’m happy to announce that former bassist and Megadeth alumni James LoMenzo has graciously stepped in on the Metal Tour of The Year," says Dave Mustaine. "Tour rehearsals just began, and we cannot wait to start crushing North America.” “I’m super stoked to be rejoining Megadeth for the upcoming Metal Tour of the Year," LoMenzo adds. "There are no better fans than Megadeth fans, I can’t wait to get out there and shred some Megadeth music with you all.”
It's still unclear if Lomenzo is the bassist who will appear on Megadeth's upcoming album, which will be titled The Sick, the Dying and the Dead.
Ellefson, who co-founded Megadeth, was a member of the group from 1983 through 2002, rejoined in 2010 and remained with the thrash legends through 2021, having played on a total of 12 full length albums, the last being 2016's Dystopia.
In early May, unauthorized clips from a private video chat Ellefson had with a woman emerged, which showed the bassist masturbating. Screenshots from conversations were also posted and it was alleged that the longtime Megadeth bassist had groomed her, initiating contact when she was legally a minor. The woman in question denied these allegations herself, as did Ellefson, confirming she was of legal consenting age and that she initiated contact with Ellefson, which she deemed consensual between the two parties.
In the immediate wake of this news, Megadeth later issued a statement noting they were aware of the situation and were monitoring things carefully. Two weeks later, the thrash icons shared a message from Mustaine on social media, which communicated that Ellefson and the band had parted ways.
"While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward," read part of the statement, which also confirmed the band's co-headlining summer tour with Lamb of God would still go forth as planned.
After joining the celebrity video message platform Cameo, Mustaine started to drop discreet bits of information about the band's new bassist, first stating that Ellefson's tracks on the new record had been replaced and then showed the mystery member hidden behind an office chair in a later video.
Fans then began to narrow down their list of suspected potentials, naming Testament's Steve Di Giorgio and Angra's Felipe Andreoli as two possibilities.
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