Today, there's no bad blood between Megadeth vets Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson. In 2004 though, that wasn't the case as Ellefson attempted to sue his then ex-bandmate for the sum of $18.5 million. Ultimately, the two put it all behind them and in a new interview Mustaine explained how he forgave the bassist and welcomed him back into the band.

"I think forgiveness is a super-cool thing," Mustaine told Fox Sports 910's 'Freak Nation' (transcription via Blabbermouth) when discussing his new book, Rust in Peace: The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece, which is out now.

"When David Ellefson sued me for $18.5 [million], and the judge dismissed it [in January of 2005] and then made him pay a bunch of money on top of that, he got his ass handed to him in public," described Mustaine, who admitted, "And I was really, really, really hurt by the things that he said about me. And I thought, 'You know what? If I never see him again, I guess I'll be okay.' And I was sad, but I figured he was gone."

Fate had different plans, however, as Mustaine recalled, "One day, I was flying home from Dallas, and the flight stopped in [Ellefson's hometown of] Phoenix, and for some stupid reason, I called him up and I said, 'Hey, you wanna have dinner?' And he said, 'Yes.' So we went out."

From there, the intentions were pretty clear.

"The first thing he said was, 'I wanna tell you, it was the stupidest thing I ever did suing you, and I wanna apologize.' And I looked at him and I waited a beat, and I said, 'Dave, I forgive you. I completely forgive you. I love you.' And it was over like that," the Megadeth frontman confessed.

It's a life lesson Mustaine has carried with him and he urged others to consider it in their lives. "I think that that's really something great that people should take with them today, anybody listening to this. There may be somebody you need to forgive or somebody you need to apologize to, but I'll tell you what — it makes [you feel] a lot better at the end of the day," the Megadeth leader affirmed.

Ellefson, who was a part of Megadeth from 1983 through 2002, officially rejoined the legendary thrash group in 2010. He even may sing on a ballad about all that past bad blood between him and Mustaine on Megadeth's forthcoming record. Most recently, Mustaine compared the new material to the band's first two albums.

See Megadeth in the Most Performed Songs by 50 of Metal's Biggest Bands

 

More From Noisecreep