Elijah Nelson, Black Breath Bassist, Dead at 40

UPDATE: Black Breath have paid tribute to late bass player Elijah Nelson in a Facebook post. "His kindness, generosity, and beauty cannot be overstated," drummer Jamie Byrum wrote. "Elijah treated all humans from every walk of life with sincerity and generosity; lacking any prejudice or judgement. I think that's something we can all take away from his legacy: be kind to each other." See the full post below.

ORIGINAL STORY, 12/30/19: Elijah Nelson, bassist for Seattle death-metal crew Black Breath, has died. He was 40 years old. The news was confirmed by friends and associates including such underground peers as Nasum, Ringworm and more. No cause of death has been announced as yet. 

Black Breath were at the forefront of the wave of American hardcore and metal bands that revived the classic Stockholm, Sweden, buzzsaw-guitar death-metal sound over the past decade. Their last album was 2015's Slaves Beyond Death, which was recorded at Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou's GodCity Studios in Massachusetts, and received much critical fanfare following its released via Southern Lord Recordings. The band have been relatively dormant the past few years, with their most recent show happening on December 31st, 2016 in Vancouver, BC, alongside Black Wizard. 

Now-defunct Swedish death-grind outfit Nasum paid their respects via Facebook, telling fans, "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." Music-related visual-art purveyors Branca Studio shared their condolences, as well, tweeting, "We are extremely shocked. All our love goes to his family and friends, in special to the #blackbreath family. We will bang UNHOLY VIRGIN loud as we can to make sure everybody listen those bass lines." 

Cleveland hardcore thrashers Ringworm commented, writing, "Ringworm sends nothing but light and love to you and yours brother. Enlightened travels in the beyond, young wizard."

See below for the full posts, and see many more tribute posts on Nelson's Facebook wall.