DAVID ELLEFSON's THE LUCID Shares 'Risk Machine' Music Video, Announces First Live Show

Eclectic hard rock band THE LUCID, which features former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, vocalist Vinnie Dombroski (SPONGE),actor/guitarist Drew Fortier and drummer/producer Mike Heller, has just released the official video for its track "Risk Machine" from THE LUCID 2023 "Saddle Up And Ride" EP. The clip, directed by multimedia artist Alexis Karl, and shot in New York City can be viewed below.

But that's not all — after years of anticipation, THE LUCID is hitting the stage for its live debut at the 10th annual Guitars Under The Stars music festival, set to take place July 31-August 2, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon.

Ellefson shared: "We've had so many requests for live shows, and as much as we wanted to, the timing never aligned. We're thrilled to finally make it happen at such an iconic event."

Two years ago, THE LUCID once again joined forces with legendary underground rap icon Violent J (INSANE CLOWN POSSE) for a re-imagining of FAITH NO MORE's "Epic", titled "Sweet Toof".

"Sweet Toof" was the fourth single from "Saddle Up And Ride", which was released digitally in January 2023 via SpoilerHead Records.

From the ferocious vitriolic sonic assault of the title track, "Saddle Up And Ride", to the epic off-the-wall and out-of-left-field "Sweet Toof", "Saddle Up And Ride" showcased THE LUCID feeding into their eccentric tastes spanning across thrash, country, rap, radio rock, metal, and funk.

Ellefson confirmed in 2022 that THE LUCID was working on new material as a follow-up to THE LUCID's self-titled debut album, which was released in October 2021 via SpoilerHead Records.

"The Lucid" was also produced by Heller and mixed/mastered by Lasse Lammert.

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 [2020]. 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 told VWMusic: "It's definitely a rock album. It may trend slightly into metal with songs like 'Damned' and 'Deaths Of Despair'. It's not a thrash metal record. It's not a doom or a power metal record or any of that kind of stuff. I just think it's just a straight-up hard rock record."

Fortier was diagnosed with testicular cancer in May 2022 and subsequently underwent surgery.

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.

Photo credit: Kevin Williams