Jeff Young Responds To ‘Exploiting Megadeth’ Accusations: ‘Stop B*tchin’ And Cryin’

Jeff Young said he and David Ellefson don’t want to hear any complaints about their Kings of Thrash shows.

The guitarist recently sat down with The Good The Band & The Ugly and revealed that Dave Mustaine is getting paid for their project:

“[We play] the stuff that the fans want to hear. That’s why we’re doing it. I saw some bullsh*t online, people saying that David and I are exploiting Megadeth… First of all, Mustaine said in an interview that it’s great. He’s the one making money off our record [‘Best of the West – Live at the Whisky a Go Go’ live album], so we don’t want to hear any b*tchin’ and cryin’.”

In 2022, Ellefson and Young formed Kings of Thrash. They are playing songs from Megadeth’s first three albums and some Metallica tunes. They had ex-Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland as a guest on their 2022 tour and played with original Megadeth lead guitarist Greg Handevidt in February 2023.

Young’s Previous Words On Mustaine

Young made similar comments about Mustaine’s reaction before, too. In January 2023, the musician told Ultimate Guitar that he and Ellefson hadn’t heard anything from Mustaine about their new band or live shows:

“We couldn’t care less… and it’s a win-win for him. Because all the publishing, for example, on the ‘Best of the West’, he’s getting all that money. We’re making him money and he doesn’t have to do anything. So, we’re performing the songs because they’re part of our history and the fans want to hear them and we will benefit from that, and so will he, so it’s a win-win. How much cooler can anything be than that? So, if he has something to say about it… I wouldn’t imagine it would be very objective… not that anything he’s ever said has been objective.”

Kings of Thrash is scheduled to deliver six shows within this month, starting on July 22 in Melbourne, Australia. After five more gigs in the country, they will start their UK tour in October. Their last concert will be on November 1 in Manchester.

You can watch the rest of Young’s interview below.