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In a recent discussion on the X5 Podcast<\/em>, former Megadeth<\/a><\/strong> bassist David Ellefson<\/strong> shared his insights on the seismic shift in the music industry during the early 1990s, when grunge music emerged and dramatically changed the landscape for hard rock and metal bands. Reflecting on his experiences, Ellefson<\/strong> vividly recounted the impact of this era on Megadeth<\/a><\/strong> and their contemporaries.<\/p>\n Ellefson<\/strong> recalled the pivotal moment in 1991 when, amidst working on Megadeth<\/a><\/strong>‘s one material, he heard Nirvana<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> on the radio for the first time.<\/p>\n “I lived in L.A. So, coming off Rust In Peace<\/em> \u2014 this is in 1991; we’re starting to write\u00a0Countdown To Extinction<\/em>, and I remember driving down the freeway, and\u00a0KNAC<\/strong>\u00a0was the big rock station. And I remember hearing \u2014 is it a song called\u00a0‘Breed’? And I was, like, ‘That is fucking badass. What a great song.’ And then it turns out it was\u00a0Nirvana<\/a><\/strong>. And I liked\u00a0Nirvana<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>. I thought they were cool. I loved their sound. I totally got it. And it was basically illegal for a metal guy to say you liked\u00a0Nirvana<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>. I mean, you could be basically crucified and shot execution-style if you said that. So it was not allowed for any of us to say that,” he remembered (as transcribed by Blabbermouth<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n The rise of grunge, spearheaded by bands from Seattle, led to a rapid decline in the popularity of hair bands and traditional metal on media platforms like MTV. Ellefson<\/strong> noted: “I guess we got caught a little bit in it. When we put out the\u00a0Youthanasia<\/em>\u00a0record, our first single\u00a0‘Train Of Consequences’\u00a0was well received.\u00a0‘<\/strong>\u00c0 Tout Le Monde’\u00a0was not. And then they just basically turned the channel. Of course,\u00a0Metallica<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0cut their hair. They started altering their sound a little bit \u2014 mostly their image. They remained a metal band for the most part.\u00a0Metallica<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Megadeth<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>, for sure, survived it. We adapted and survived it. Some of our contemporaries just stayed the course and, as a result, their business got smaller for another 10 years, until the 2000s came around.”<\/p>\n Ellefson<\/strong> also recounted the cultural shift during Ozzfest ’98, where Megadeth<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> was sandwiched between acts like Limp Bizkit<\/a><\/strong> and Tool<\/a><\/strong>. He observed the stark contrast between the emerging n\u00fc metal style and their own, traditional metal image.<\/p>\n “Dude, I remember doing fuckin’\u00a0Ozzfest\u00a0’98. And this was the moment for me. So you talk about Seattle moment. But for me, the moment was\u00a0Ozzfest\u00a0’98. So our showtime was usually 6 p.m. every night. And headliners, obviously, was\u00a0Ozzy<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0, then it was\u00a0Tool<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>, then\u00a0Megadeth<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>, and then right before us was\u00a0Limp Bizkit<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>, and I forgot who else before us, but definitely the tides were turning. And so,\u00a0Limp Bizkit<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0was up there flushing cardboard cutouts of\u00a0Spice Girls<\/strong>\u00a0down their big toilet that they had as a stage prop, everybody’s got baggy clothes and they’re kind of doing, kind of the\u00a0Korn<\/a><\/strong>\u2026 The body language moved, it changed big time \u2014 kind of more gangster, hip-hop kind of thing. And then we come out in our skinny jeans and we’re headbanging, and it’s, like, ‘This just feels very weird.’ We’re sandwiched between\u00a0Limp Bizkit<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Tool<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>. And I remember, me and\u00a0Marty Friedman<\/strong>, we’d go out and watch\u00a0Tool<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>. I loved them. I thought they were great. It was mesmerizing. To me, they were like the modern-day\u00a0Rush<\/a> <\/strong>2112<\/em>\u00a0kind of vibe. It was very non-mainstream, kind of almost\u00a0Pink Floyd<\/a><\/strong>-ish. I was mesmerized by it, just how fricking cool it was. So, I got it. I’ve always adapted to new stuff that was coming out. So I thought it was really cool. Then, of course,\u00a0Ozzy<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0would come out. But it was just this weird cultural shift that was happening during that time.”<\/p>\n Ellefson<\/strong> expressed a particular fondness for bands that bridged the gap between metal and grunge, notably Alice In Chains<\/a><\/strong>. He also appreciated other acts from the era, including Soundgarden<\/a><\/strong>, Temple Of The Dog<\/a><\/strong>, and Pearl Jam<\/a><\/strong>, specially their debut album.<\/p>\n “I think going back to the grunge thing, the band that we can all agree on, I think anybody, but especially metalheads and guitar-player kind of bands, was\u00a0Alice In Chains<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>. They were just cool no matter what. They sort of won everyone over, whereas\u00a0Soundgarden<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>, I liked them. I didn’t love them. I love\u00a0Temple Of The Dog<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>. Cornell<\/strong>, him, and\u00a0Eddie Vedder<\/strong>\u00a0dueting on that track. And also, before\u00a0Pearl Jam<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>,\u00a0Mother Love Bone<\/strong>. What a cool band that was. And, of course, they only had that moment, and then it was over once the singer died. But I thought\u00a0Pearl Jam<\/a><\/strong> <\/strong>Ten<\/em>\u00a0was great. I mean, that was one of those great, great albums. Top to bottom, it’s just a great record. I think probably for our genre, you have to sort of take your metal hat off and just listen to it as music.”<\/p>\n \n