Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and Sons of Apollo vocalist Jeff Scott Soto have recently been working on new music and have today released the first song ‘Swords & Tequila’, a reworking of the track originally featured on the ’81 Riot album ‘Fire Down Under’.
David Ellefson told MetalTalk: “Jeff and I have been friends for so many years that it is 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 [Ellefson] 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.”
Jeff Scott Soto told us: “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!”
Castle Donington Monsters of Rock
As for the choice of song to put out first, Ellefson told us: “The first time I ever heard of Riot was on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock album from 1980.
“For me, they were the USA representatives during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And, ‘Swords & Tequila’, along with the entire Fire Down Under album for that matter, show the band delivering it’s rowdy and high energy Rock ‘N’ Roll like no other band in the USA was doing at that time.
“So, it is an honour to offer them much deserved reverence, as well as a reminiscent tribute to the mighty Guy Speranza, who fronted the band like a god during that period.”
Soto agrees, telling us: “What can I say? This was a classic Metal track from Riot that we all knew growing up.
“When David brought up that we should cover it, I was thrilled. But when we added Rick Hughes from the band Sword onto it, it truly came to life!
“40 years after its release, we hope you dig this new version we built for you!”
Rick Hughes – Sword
Hughes is the founding member of the iconic Quebec Power Metal band Sword.
He told us: “To me, music has always been the best medicine and that is why in this time of not being able to perform with live musicians in front of a live audience, I was more than happy to participate in this camaraderie of seasoned musicians.”
Ellefson-Soto:
David Ellefson- Bass
Jeff Scott Soto- Lead Vocals
Andy Martongelli- Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Paolo Caridi- Drums
*Featuring Rick Hughes- Lead Vocals (Swords & Tequila)
The track was produced by David Ellefson & Andy Martongelli, mixed by Alessio Garavello in Wembley, England and mastered by Maor Appelbaum in Los Angeles, CA.
The video is directed by Elia Turra for Fisheye Studio in Verona, Italy.
The track has been released via Ellefson’s Combat Records, via ellefsonmusic.bandcamp.com and is available on all streaming platforms.
