JAMES MACDONOUGH has quit ICED EARTH to become the touring bassist for MEGADETH. He has summarized the switch in the following posting (coutesy of iced-realm.de): "Hey guys, A while back I had heard that Megadeth might need a bassist so I contacted them via email and much later got a response to my surprise. Before I knew it I was on a conference call with Dave (Mustaine). I sent in some video of me playing a couple Megadeth songs and I got a call a couple days later. Everything with IE has been up in the air as far as touring so I told Jon (Schaffer) about this when I got the first email back and being my older bro, he told me to go for it. Unfortunately I won't be able to play with IE in the future because this will be a very lengthy tour, but we'll see what happens down the road. I am keeping in touch with Jon and maybe something in the future will happen. Megadeth has always been one of my favorite bands and I have a lot of respect for Dave and what he's done for music, I feel honored to have been picked for this endeavor. On another note, you guys should really hear this album, I know how picky you bastards are but hopefully you will really dig it as I do. It definitely will make a statement, and I say bastards affectionately. I hope to see many of you on tour again soon. James"

It would be a great shame if Iced Earth ended their days as their most recent album is by far their best. They do seem to be haemoraging members at the moment. It will be interesting to see what the new IE comes up with next time round. This bit of metal news came via Hard News.