According to blabbermouth.net, X Japan‘s bassist Hiroshi Heath Morie has died at the age of 55 years old. The musician died late last month after a battle with cancer. Heath joined X Japan back in 1992 and stayed with them until the band broke up in 1997. Heath rejoined X Japan when they reunited back in 2007 where the guitarist remained as an active member until his death.

According to JRock News, Heath was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of this year but the artist kept his condition  a secret from his bandmates and the general public. Recently, X Japan‘s leader Yoshiki canceled a November 1 appearance at an awards gala in San Francisco where he shared his thoughts about Heath’s death by stating: “Someone close to me passed away.”

It is now has been reported that Yoshiki did pay his respects to Heath by flying to Tokyo. The late muscican replaced X Japan’s previous bassist Taiji and sadly, the former bassist died in 2011, following the deaths of classic members Hide in 1998 and Terry in 2002.

X Japan have not released an full album since 1996’s Dahlia but the band have released singles since reuniting in 2007. This past summer, X Japan released “Angel,” which is their first new song in eight years with reports of a new album on the way.

As early pioneers of the visual kei movement, X Japan found success in Japan with their striking look and power-metal anthems. The band are reported to have sold more than 30 million albums during the course of their career. X Japan’s last performance was in 2018, which included two sets at Coachella that year.