MEGADETH has canceled immediate tour plans as bassist David Ellefson and his family mourn the loss of his brother, who passed away on May 19 in Minneapolis, Minnesota after battling cancer. A private family funeral service will be held.

Says MEGADETH in a statement: "The band sends their deepest condolences and prayers to David during this time and ask that the fans please do the same."

In his memoir, "My Life With Deth", David Ellefson wrote about his early family life, "I loved the farm [where I was raised, about six miles north of Jackson, Minnesota], but I didn’t love farming quite so much, so my brother, Eliot, was always the one who was going to take it over from my father when the time came. He showed an aptitude for farming from a very young age. When I started getting into music at eleven or twelve, Eliot was focusing on being disciplined and working around the farm."