Stuart Antis, popularly known for being Cradle of Filth's former guitarist, has passed away at the age of 48.
According to Billboard, his death was announced by Richard Shaw, another musician who served as the band's guitarist from 2014 until this year.
He shared an emotional tribute on Instagram, saying it was an honor to perform his music and his thoughts are with the late guitarist's friends and family.
Shaw was not the only person who paid tribute to the musician as Cradle of Filth's frontman Dani Filth also shared a touching post, saying he's deeply saddened upon finding out the passing of Antis.
"Stuart -despite our eventual differences- was an amazingly talented guitarist who brought a real sense of magick to everything he wrote in Cradle Of Filth," he wrote on Facebook.
He added that they used to live in a small village in Suffolk where they grew up as the "bestest of friends."
Even though their relationship wasn't perfect and changed in recent years, he noted that it didn't become a cause for fans to stop appreciating his "creative flair and talent right up to the present day."
His wife Antoinette also took to the late guitarist's official Facebook account to confirm the tragic news.
As of this writing, his cause of death remains a mystery and his family has not publicized how he died.
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Stuart Anstis Music Career
Stuart Anstis only played for the band for four years (1995 to 1999) but he made a significant impact as he's the guitarist behind songs released during the band's early years like "V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein"
Even though he only contributed to two records, Variety reported that those albums were considered Cradle Filth's best and most influential project to date.
In total, he contributed to the group's two albums "Dusk and Her Embrace" in 1666 and "Cruelty and the Beast" in 1998.
The musician left the metal band in 1999 because of "artistic differences." He and two other members created another band with David Wayne called Bastardsun.
Unfortunately, Wayne passed away in 2005. Stuart Antis' latest band was Ninepence, consisting of three members.
According to Metal Forces Magazine, Wayne died due to complications from injuries after he was involved in a car accident two years prior.
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