Danish thrash icons Artillery posted the following sad news today:

"Dear loyal friends and fans

It is with a heavy heart, a great deal of shock and a lot of disbelief that we have inform you that founding member, friend - and brother, Morten Stützer, no longer is with us. He passed away at the way-too-early age of 57 on the evening of October 2nd. He was surrounded by his family.
We are absolutely devastated. Morten’s contributions to the band has been invaluable. Besides his incredible musicianship, Morten’s knowledge on so many aspects of life as well as his witty way of being will be so sorely missed. 

One thing that is not to forgotten however, is the legacy that Morten has left behind in this world.

Morten’s contributions and work in music has brought so much joy and entertainment to so many people throughout the world - and will continue to do so for generations to come. In this fact, we find a great deal of comfort. Needless to say, this will NOT be the end of Artillery. In Morten’s spirit, and as an ode to Morten, Artillery will soldier on.

Morten will be missed, but never forgotten. 

Good bye, Morten."

In the interview below, Jimmy Kay from The Metal Voice and Artillery singer Michael Bastholm Dahl pay tribute to Stützer.
 

On Morten Stützer's passing:

"Morton's health had been declining for quite a few years, that's why he hadn't been touring with us. He did the odd gig once in a while but physically he did not feel like playing. Morton had a heart defibrillator installed, was in danger of having blood clots, and was taking blood thinner medicine. Last Tuesday, all of a sudden he could not see on one of his eyes and that was something he was struggling with before, which was one of the reasons he was uncomfortable playing live. He was rushed to the hospital but it seemed like too much time had passed and it went pretty quick from there on."

On the band carrying on without Morton:

"We have a festival date this Friday and we will play that show to honour Morton, we will preserve his legacy. No matter how hard it will be we will continue to play to honour Morton and feel and reflect how we feel to the fans about him. Artillery will soldier on."

On Morton as a person:

"When I first joined the band I was always sharing a room with Morton because he was a bookworm. Morton was a very quiet guy, very well read and had a lot of knowledge stuff; that's what I really liked about him. Morton was the quiet one, but he also used to say his opinion on things as well and stick to it. He was very sure of what he felt. He was very kind. I might be complaining about something like losing my sunglasses and the next day he would have bought something for me to make me feel better, very thoughtful."

Morton played bass on the band's debut album, Fear Of Tomorrow, and over the years switched to guitar. Their latest album, The Face Of Fear, was released 2018.