Megadeth have announced they are splitting with founding member David Ellefson in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations lodged against the bassist.
After initially issuing a statement earlier this month, the band have now issued another statement to fans, explaining that their relationship with Ellefson was already "strained" prior to the accusations.
The band posted the following statement to their Facebook yesterday (May 24) via Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine:
We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth and that we are officially parting ways with him. We do not take this decision lightly.
While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed is now enough to make working together impossible moving forward.
We look forward to seeing our fans on the road this summer, and we cannot wait to share our brand new music with the world. It is almost complete.
As previously reported, 56-year-old Ellefson was accused of grooming an underage girl after a number of graphic exchanges appeared online involving Ellefson and the woman. He has since claimed that their interactions were consensual and that the allegations were "released with ill intention by a third party."
He said the leaked content was "certainly embarrassing," adding that the whole thing has been "taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation my career and family."
Earlier this month, Ellefson posted a response to the allegations on Instagram, including a statement apparently from the woman involved.
She wrote: "Yes, those video calls did happen but I was the one to initiate them and never was I underage, I was always a consenting adult. Nothing inappropriate ever happened before that. It was all consensual, I'm not a victim and I have not been groomed in the slightest as I was the one to initiate it."
Meanwhile, Megadeth are scheduled to perform alongside Lamb of God, Trivium and In Flames on their extensive North American tour this summer. Those dates include a number of shows in Canada.
See the band's full statement below.
After initially issuing a statement earlier this month, the band have now issued another statement to fans, explaining that their relationship with Ellefson was already "strained" prior to the accusations.
The band posted the following statement to their Facebook yesterday (May 24) via Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine:
We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth and that we are officially parting ways with him. We do not take this decision lightly.
While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed is now enough to make working together impossible moving forward.
We look forward to seeing our fans on the road this summer, and we cannot wait to share our brand new music with the world. It is almost complete.
As previously reported, 56-year-old Ellefson was accused of grooming an underage girl after a number of graphic exchanges appeared online involving Ellefson and the woman. He has since claimed that their interactions were consensual and that the allegations were "released with ill intention by a third party."
He said the leaked content was "certainly embarrassing," adding that the whole thing has been "taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation my career and family."
Earlier this month, Ellefson posted a response to the allegations on Instagram, including a statement apparently from the woman involved.
She wrote: "Yes, those video calls did happen but I was the one to initiate them and never was I underage, I was always a consenting adult. Nothing inappropriate ever happened before that. It was all consensual, I'm not a victim and I have not been groomed in the slightest as I was the one to initiate it."
Meanwhile, Megadeth are scheduled to perform alongside Lamb of God, Trivium and In Flames on their extensive North American tour this summer. Those dates include a number of shows in Canada.
See the band's full statement below.