Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and ex-bandmate Jeff Young have reemerged with a fresh dose of adrenaline in the form of “Lockdown”, the latest single from their collaborative project, Kings Of Thrash. The group, which also includes Chaz Leon (vocals, guitar) and Fred Aching (Dead Groove, Bulletboys) on drums, is once again joined on occasion by fellow Megadeth alum Chris Poland.
“We wanted to get some material out, some original material here in 2025, ’cause we’ve got some tour dates coming up here in September and October,” Ellefson told The Rock N’ Roll & Coffee Show (via Blabbermouth). “So, actually, Chaz brought the song over. And I gave him some instructions. I said, ‘Dude, 1984, full-blown thrash metal.’ I said, ‘Just head for Nuclear Assault Game Over, Metallica Ride The Lightning. Just go right to the heart of the matter.”
It’s an approach that speaks both to nostalgia and to vitality. Leon, who also fronts the band live, brought a track that Ellefson saw as a solid foundation. “He’s got a real thrash heart. And plus, he’s our singer,” Ellefson said. “We’ve written quite a bit of material together, and we wanted something that really just kind of came out of the gate swinging.”
Though “Lockdown” took root earlier in the year, its lyrics have taken on sharper relevance in the face of contemporary unrest. “I think the time when he was writing it — this started back even in January, February, when we were initially working on it — I don’t think we saw probably how poignant the lyric is, in light of all of the unrest going on now. So, yeah, as a good thrash song should be, maybe a bit political, a bit anarchist, and always good fun.”
For Kings Of Thrash, the transition from a tribute project into a band producing original music was a natural progression. “It started out as sort of a ‘Let’s go honor thrash metal,’” Ellefson said. “We pulled in a little bit of Thin Lizzy and some Riot and some stuff that we grew up on as well. And then I think the next logical step to kind of legitimize yourself is to write your own tunes.”
While they’ve been leaning on material from their Megadeth days — songs they helped write and originally performed — Ellefson emphasized the importance of pushing ahead. “To move forward, it’s always good to sort of freshen it up a little bit and show everybody what you got.”
That forward motion started on the road with a track called “Bridges Burned”, which was conceived during the band’s 2023 tour. “Jeff and I had pretty much demoed it up in the studio the year before,” Ellefson explained. “But we collaborated on it as a group at soundcheck, tightened it up. Me and Chaz and Jeff sat down and wrote the lyrics in a hotel room while we were on the tour.”
When it came time to debut the song live, they faced internal resistance. “Our crew were, like, ‘Dude, you guys can’t play that on stage.’ I said, ‘Oh, really? Watch this.’ Like, why not? And who knows if we’ll ever even officially record that, but it sits out on the Internet now. It’s on YouTube… It’s, like, why not, man? It’s thrash metal, dude. This is the kick-ass, have-fun, get-in-the-pit-and-fricking punch-your-neighbor music.”
As for the possibility of a full album of new material, Ellefson didn’t rule it out, though he was clear about the hurdles involved. “It’s possible. I’m certainly not gonna say no to it. I tell you what, it was great to just do one song. Making a record is a lot of work, especially when you live in different cities and you’re trying to collaborate.”
That creative friction, however, is part of what gives Kings Of Thrash its character. “One of the things about Kings is we are not four of the same guy. We are four very different individuals, and so to sort of be agreeable on something, I’m not gonna lie, it’s a bit of a challenge. And quite honestly, it’s the diversity that makes Kings so cool.”
The model, for Ellefson, isn’t new. “Chris Poland, Jeff Young, they were sort of the diverse guitar players to Dave Mustaine. So I grew up in an environment that kind of expected that.”
Each member brings something unique to the table: “Every group needs a leader. To some degree, I lead a lot of it. I put Jeff over there to sort of put setlists together and do that. With this song, ‘Lockdown’, I tasked Chaz with that and said, ‘Hey, go do that.’ Fred, he’s our liaison with the record label. He does all of our artwork and everything. He shot the video, he produced it, and directed it and everything.”
That spirit of contribution and mutual respect was evident on their recent tours, where the band performed Megadeth’s classic albums Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! and So Far… So Good… So What! in full. These performances were captured on the live CD/DVD package Best Of The West… Live At The Whisky A Go Go, recorded at the legendary venue in October 2022 and released by Cleopatra Records in 2023.
