The Seattle death metal band Black Breath has faced some devastating news; their bassist Elijah Nelson, passed away yesterday, December 29th, at the age of 40, although no cause of death has been discovered. The band was signed to Southern Lord Recordings, and were known for their raw buzzsaw-guitar death-metal sound.

“See you on the other side Elijah Nelson. Sad news. Ringworm sends nothing but light and love to you and yours brother. Enlightened travels in the beyond, young wizard,” Ringword, a band who toured with Black Breath said in a statement online.

The band had debuted a total of four projects, with their debut EP, titled Razor To Oblivion, serving as the group’s first release back in 2008. The band proceeded to release three more projects, 2010’s Heavy Breathing, 2012’s Sentenced to Life and 2015’s Slaves Beyond Death, which is their most recent album release. The band’s most recent performance took place in Vancouver, British Columbia on December 31st 2016, and the band has appeared to be inactive since then.

“We are obviously saddened by the news of Elijah Nelson’s passing. BLACK BREATH were very important to Nasum during the final leg of the farewell tour. Elijah was the Cliff Burton of death metal and he will be missed,” the now-defunct Swedish metal band Nasum stated online.