Speculation has been rampant about who will replace Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick in the Megadeth lineup. Recent rumors have suggested that Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro will be part of the band's new album.

In a new interview with Australia's Blood, Sweat and Metal podcast that you can check out above, bassist David Ellefson talked about the possibility of a reunion with the Rust in Peace era lineup of Marty Friedman and Nick Menza and why it probably wouldn't work (transcription via Blabbermouth).

"That Rust In Peace record is a story of a journey; it's really what you're hearing," Ellefson says. "That's why every record that we did with that lineup in particular told a different story, because we were in a different phase of our lives, [both] as individuals and together. And then came this point where that lineup just stopped making music together."

Ellefson continues, "There was no more harmony, there was no more melody, there was no more music together. And that's why that lineup split up. So to think that somehow that's just gonna all come back together… If it stopped working once, why would it ever work again? You know what I mean?!"

Elsewhere in the interview, Ellefson says, "Megadeth in 2015, we can either go back and just recreate past glory days, which would probably sell a lot of tickets and we would probably make a lot of money. But Megadeth has never been about just going out and making a bunch of money; it has never been about that — ever."

"So, to us, it's about creatively the next chapter of our story, and that's what you get when you go in the studio together — you get to write and create your next chapter," Ellefson states. "That is where Megadeth is right now. That really is the page turner right now."

Ellefson will be going to Australia for a spoken word tour to support his autobiography My Life With Deth beginning March 24 in Perth.

Dave Mustaine revealed in a tweet that rehearsals for the new record begin this week.

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