DAVID ELLEFSON's THE LUCID Bandmate DREW FORTIER Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer: 'Check Your Balls', He Says

THE LUCID guitarist Drew Fortier has been diagnosed with testicular cancer and is currently recovering from surgery.

On Wednesday (May 25), Fortier took to his Facebook page to share a couple of post-surgery photos, and he included the following message: "I'm alive! The facts: I had cancer in my right testicle and had said testicle removed today. Waiting to hear back from pathology on if it spread but so far so good! The tumor got the size of a tennis ball. It was crazy. Funnily, I woke up from the anesthesia talking about BANG TANGO. Also we have a new E.P. from THE LUCID coming out very very soon called 'Saddle Up And Ride'. Also moral of the story: check your balls fellas!! Also thank you to everyone who reached out and sent me well wishes!! All of you are incredibly wonderful!!!"

In addition to Fortier, THE LUCID features bassist David Ellefson (ex-MEGADETH), vocalist Vinnie Dombroski (SPONGE) and drummer Mike Heller (RAVEN, FEAR FACTORY).

THE LUCID's self-titled debut album, was released in October via SpoilerHead Records. The LP was produced by Heller and mixed/mastered by Lasse Lammert.

Ellefson previously stated about the LP: "It's been a real blast making a record with these guys and I must say that it's refreshing to explore some new musical avenues… to step out a bit from what each of us have done stylistically in our own careers. There was an effortless synergy that came with creating these songs together which is always amazing when working with new people. I'm looking forward to everyone checking it out!"

During a November 2020 appearance on "The Chuck Schute Podcast", Ellefson stated about how he got involved with THE LUCID: "Drew sent me a track and said, 'Hey, can you throw a bass on here?' And I was writing a new ELLEFSON solo record at the time, so my studio ears were on. I was plugged in and ready to go. He sent it over and I was, like, 'Yeah, this is freaking cool, man.' I'd seen Drew play, I know his BANG TANGO history and the other stuff he's done. But this was really cool stuff that spoke to me. And then he called me up and he said, 'Hey, Vinnie is gonna come in and write some vocals and lyrics and lay down some tracks.' And it turned into a thing."

"I love [Vinnie]. I love SPONGE," David continued. "He's such a rock star. He's just a cool guy. And he writes such great lyrics — very trippy lyrics. He's the type of lyricist I'd never worked with before, so it's fun with that. And Drew is a great guitar player. Mike Heller — he's good friends with [MEGADETH drummer] Dirk Verbeuren. And Dirk's, like, 'Mike's awesome.' They're good friends. We all met in L.A. We got the songs together and we all met in L.A. in mid-July. I plugged in and banged out 10 songs in two days. And it was fun. Mike was very good in the studio; he really knows his way around."

As for THE LUCID's musical direction, Ellefson said: "It's cool stuff, and it's very different. It's, obviously, not thrash metal, hence the name LUCID. [The name] kind of feels like what the music sounds like."

THE LUCID's previously announced U.S. tour, which was supposed to take place in May, has been postponed in the wake of Fortier's diagnosis.

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH in May 2021 after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

David was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.