David Ellefson of Megadeth and Jeff Scott Soto Form New Project

2021-03-26

Jeff Scott Soto, David Ellefson and Rick Hughes promo photo for their Ellefson-Soto project.

Jeff Scott Soto, David Ellefson and Rick Hughes – Story by Charles Ken, David Ellefson image by Anthony Frisketti

Listen to David Ellefson of Megadeth and Jeff Scott Soto of Sons of Apollo get heavy on a new cover of the classic Riot song, “Swords & Tequlia”

While touring as been on hold for more than a year now, Megadeth bass player David Ellefson has kept busy with a bevy of side projects, most recently, joining forces with Sons of Apollo singer Jeff Scott Soto under the name Ellefson-Soto. Now, the duo has released their first bit of new music, a cover of the classic metal Riot song “Swords & Tequila.” Listen to the tune, which also features of Sword, below.

Ellefson-Soto’s cover of “Swords & Tequila” has a definite classic ’80s metal vibe. Complete with relentless guitars and Solo’s mighty vocals, the song sounds like it could have been recorded back in the early 1980s, when Riot first release their seminal “Fire Down Under” record.

Along with Ellefson, Soto and Hughes, the group also brings together guitarist Andy Martongelli and drummer Paolo Caridi. Ellefson and Martongelli produced “Swords & Tequila,” and Alessio Garavello mixed the song in Wembley, England. Finally, Maor Appelbaum mastered the track in Los Angeles, California, and Elia Turra directed the clip for Fisheye Studio in Verona, Italy. “Swords & Tequila” is curretnly available via digital platforms and Bandcamp.

In a statement regarding the project, Ellefson said, “Jeff and I have been friends for so many years that it’s great to finally collaborate on some material together. He has such a distinctive voice and perfect style for some new ideas my guitarist Andy Martongelli and I have been composing. We are excited about the progress of it all and thought this would be a perfect time to give a little sneak preview.”

Soto added, “As COVID-19 became a big negative around the globe, it actually offered many artists a chance to finally collaborate with one another that might have never happened otherwise … as I have known David for many years, I knew from our other efforts outside of our day jobs that we could come up with some badass jams…and here we are, letting you in on our cool little secret.”

Author
Recent Posts

Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.