KINGS OF THRASH Feat. DAVID ELLEFSON And JEFF YOUNG: Trailer For 'Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go'

KINGS OF THRASH, the new band featuring former MEGADETH members David Ellefson (bass) and Jeff Young (guitar),  recently signed a worldwide deal with Cleopatra Records. The group will release a live CD/DVD package called "Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go" on March 24. The 17-song set was recorded and filmed live at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, CA on October 15, 2022 and also features performances with another former MEGADETH member, Chris Poland (guitar). The DVD was directed by Michael Sarna for Inmotion Entertainment.

A trailer for "Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go" is available here.

KINGS OF THRASH has announced the first leg of a planned 2023 world tour, commencing February 16 in Joliet, Illinois. The "Thrashin' USA" trek will cross the Midwest, East Coast, and southeastern part of the USA through March 15. As with the band's 2022 warm-up shows, the group, which also includes drummer Fred Aching as well as guitarist/vocalist Chaz Leon, will be performing MEGADETH's classic albums "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!" and "So Far, So Good… So What!" in their entirety. Support on all shows will come from HATRIOT. VIP packages will be available on all shows.

Speaking to Ralph Rasmussen of Radio Bypass about KINGS OF THRASH's recent shows and future plans, Ellefson said: "That was a thing where… Of course everybody knew our names — me, Jeff Young and Chris Poland. We advertised we were gonna play the 'Killing Is My Business' and 'So Far, So Good… So What!' records. And as it turns out, we ended up playing, like, half of 'Peace Sells' too. That's probably the most frickin' muscular setlist I've played since probably [MEGADETH's] 'Rude Awakening' [live album and DVD], when we filmed that in 2001 and I was 20 years younger. So we turned up the gas; there was no screwing around on that one. And it was great. It was super cool. It was super fun. It made me just realize how cool those songs are, how the detail and intricacies… It was a very different era, too. The songs were written under much different pretenses. There was a real innovation in those records, the stuff of the '80s, back then, that we were doing."

He continued: "We picked four cities. We said, 'Let's just go out and fire this off, kind of a proof of concept, show everybody what we've got.' I think the first night, when we played in San Diego, the fans right away got it. They were, like, 'Oh my God. Holy shit. We've been asking for this and wanting this for years. And oh my God. There they really are. Those are really the guys that played on those records. This is it.' And our drummer Fred and our singer Chaz, they got it in their hear as younger guys, so they get it and were excited to be there with us doing it. So, yeah, it really was just a moment in time for that to fire off like that so well. And now as a result, look, we've got live recordings, we've got more stuff coming up here in the New Year for that. So, yeah, that was just the beginning; that was just the first firework we blew off. There's definitely gonna be more after this."

In October, Young told Ghost Cult magazine that KINGS OF THRASH's first original song was being recorded at a North Hollywood studio previously used by legendary producer Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix). As for the musical direction of KINGS OF THRASH's original material, Jeff said: "It's got the vibe of MEGADETH — it's on that playing field, but it's got all of its own stuff and all of our influences and some SOUNDGARDEN/TOOL vibes in maybe the music and melodies."

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH more than a year and a half ago after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

David was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Dave Mustaine, alleging the MEGADETH leader shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.

Young's entire career with MEGADETH was spent recording and touring in support of the band's 1988 platinum-selling album "So Far, So Good...So What!"

Jeff made headlines in December 2009 for accusing Mustaine of, among other things, "dissing, exaggerating and just plain lying on some level about nearly every talented musician that has passed through his dysfunctional little ensemble." He also disputed Mustaine's claim in an interview that Young's drug problem led to MEGADETH's 1988 Australian tour being called off and the group being "banned" from performing in the country.

Poland was a member of MEGADETH from 1984 to 1987, during which time he performed on the band's classic albums "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" and "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" He is also a featured soloist on the group's 2004 album, "The System Has Failed".

Back in 2004, Poland and/or his management and attorney filed a lawsuit against Mustaine regarding the use of the three "Rust In Peace" demos on the album's reissue without Chris's permission. Chris eventually settled for $9,500 and thereby ended a professional relationship with Dave and MEGADETH.

For the past couple of decades, Poland's main musical focus has been the fusion band OHM:, which has released several full-length studio albums to date.

(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)

Roman P-V - 2023-01-18 12:30:40