It has been revealed that guitarist David Parland, who previously played in Swedish death and black metal groups including Dark Funeral, Necrophobic and Infernal, passed away on March 19. An official cause of death has yet to be revealed. Parland was 42 years old.

Dark Funeral guitarist Mikael Svanberg [aka Lord Ahriman] issued the following statement about the passing of his formerbandmate:

“A couple of days ago I was reached by the terrible news that my old brother David ‘Blackmoon’ Parland had passed away and entered the eternal fire once and for all. It’s taken me a few days to grasp it all. And it still hurts, a lot, to even think talk about it.

During the last couple of weeks I was in close contact with David. He was going through an extremely difficult time of life, whereof he contacted me to ask for my help. Even though the two of us had a bit of a complicated relationship over the years, (much excessive in the media though) he knew that he could always call or visit me when needed, which he also did once in a while.

Last time I talked to him was when he called me on March 15. From what I could understand things were going in the right direction. I also had some very good news for him, which he was very happy to hear about. What happened after that I simply can’t understand. And I can’t understand WHY he didn’t call me (again). So close, so fucking close to get back on track brother. Why?

You will be missed deeply! May you reign forever and ever in the eternal hellfire. Hail the hordes!”

Parland was a member of both Dark Funeral and Necrophobic’s initial lineups. After leaving Dark Funeral, the Swedish guitarist went on to co-found the groups Infernal and War. Our condolences go out to Parland’s family and friends.