Sacramento, California based progressive metal band Lunar have announced the passing of the band's guitarist / co-founder Ryan Erwin.

Lunar drummer / co-founder Alex Bosson (Dire Peril) has provided the following comment:

“I'm deeply saddened to inform the world that Ryan Erwin, my right-hand man in Lunar and one of my best friends in the world, has passed away.

“I have known Ryan for about 2/3 of my life and was closer with him than almost anyone on this planet. On top of a wonderful friendship, Ryan was what I liked to call my musical soulmate. When it came to writing music, he could complete my sentences, so to speak. He knew what I was trying to write without me even having to explain it to him.

“Throughout our lives we have seen each other go through many ups and downs. Everyone has their tragedies and demons. Some people are able to overcome them and others succumb to them. Unfortunately Ryan succumbed to his. I would like to keep the specific details of his death private out of respect for his friends and family.

“Throughout our lives the biggest thing that bonded us was our love of music. Often times (especially when we were younger) we didn't have much common ground of the specific music we enjoyed, but we were both always passionate about the music we loved.

“On top of our shared musical interests, this band was born because Ryan and I also shared in so many of these life experiences, tragedies and demons. Having all this common ground on so many levels is what made us able to create "Theogony" and I know Ryan was extremely proud of what we had accomplished.

“So if you listen to Theogony please think of Ryan. Honor his life with me by thanking him for aiding in creating that album because he and I were extremely proud of it and it could not have happened without him.

“Ryan was one of the few people that was not related to me, but whom I absolutely considered to be my family. He was my brother and a piece of me will be missing without him in this world. So do one other thing for me and for Ryan; reach out to your friends, your parents, your children, your spouses and anyone else that you love. Hold them tight and tell them how much they mean to you. You never know when they will leave this life, so hold them while they're here.

“I love you Ryan. Rest in peace my friend.

Lunar released their debut album Theogony via DiveBomb Records on November 11th, 2017.