The guitarist and drummer both announced they'd quit on the same day, leaving Ellefson and frontman Dave Mustaine the only current members of the thrash giants. The bassist last week confirmed it wasn't the end of the band.

Now Ellefson tells the Classic Metal Show: "We're scheduled start a new record after the first of the year, to release later in 2015, and touring to take on from there. In an ironic way, if there's going to be changes, it's definitely better that it happens when you're off the road than in the middle of a tour.