Megadeth have revealed that theyare currently working on new material with David Ellefson’s replacement, James LoMenzo.

In 2021, allegations against the former Megadeth bassist surfaced following the release of several explicit screenshots and videos on social media. At the time, Ellefson said they were “private and personal conversations” – but it was claimed he had groomed an underage girl.

Megadeth announced they were parting ways with the bassist that year, during which he denied any wrongdoing and filed revenge-porn charges against the person whom he alleged illegally leaked a video and screenshots that prompted the allegations against him. Ellefson maintained that the woman involved was not underage at the time.

Now, following his exit, the metal band have shared their hopes of releasing new material – with replacement bassist LoMenzo telling Metal Global (via Blabbermouth): “We’re actively working on music right now.

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“We’re talking with Dave [Mustaine] every day. Dave really wants to do another record and just get something fresh out there.”

He shared that he had wanted to play on the band’s previous release, ‘The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!’, but Ellefson’s bass part had already been re-recorded by Testament’s Steve Di Giogio.

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“The last [record] I thought was great,” said LoMenzo. “When I had just joined the band, they just finished recording it. I begged, I pleaded, I said: ”I know, I know, I know, but could I please play bass on this?’ Cause there’s a few things I had heard were so great.

“And they were, like: ‘We’ve been doing this for two years. We just have to get on the road. It’s done.’”

Megadeth are set to play Hellfest 2024 tomorrow (June 27). The rock and metal festival takes place in Clisson, France, where The Offspring, Simple Plan, Hot Milk, Wargasm, Dropkick Murphys, Babymetal, Nova Twins, The Interrupters and more will play across six stages.

Last year, Ellefson hit out at Mustaine following his dismissal from the band, saying it was “fucking pathetic” that he was “still bitching” about getting kicked out of Metallica. Following the allegations against Ellefson, Mustaine came out to say he’ll “forgive” him, but “just won’t play music with him anymore”.

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