Drummer Ben Graves has sadly passed away after a battle with cancer. According to a statement from Ben's fiancé Lydia, Ben was battling cancer for the past 11 months and chose not to make his struggle public.
Ben Graves was 46 years old and played with Murderdolls from 2002 until their breakup in 2004. Graves also played with Dope from 2005 to 2006, and with American glam metal band Pretty Boy Floyd from 2011 to present day.
You can read Lydia's statement below.
A message from Ben’s fiancé, Lydia.
This is incredibly hard for me to write this, but I know it is necessary because Ben has so many friends and fans.
Most of you don’t know that Ben has been battling cancer for the last 11 months. It was his decision to keep his health very quiet.
Ben passed away today, May 9th 2018, from complications due to his cancer. His diagnosis was grim but he fought a long and hard battle to try and beat it and overcome the odds. Some battles can’t be won no matter how hard you try.
Please respect me, his family and close friends while we grieve. Even though we knew it was eventually coming, the complication was sudden and very unexpected.
It’s devastating to lose someone you love more than yourself. My heart is broken, my heart died with him.
We will be taking him home to Massachusetts. I will organize a memorial for Ben’s LA friends, details to follow.
Post some photos of Ben for us to see him as he was.
?Lydia
Murderdolls frontman Wednesday 13 also posted on Facebook and Twitter about his former bandmates' passing, as did his current band Pretty Boy Floyd.
It is with deep sadness to report to all the fans, that Murderdolls drummer Ben "The Ghoul" Graves has passed away. Please see our FB page for the statement: https://t.co/k1XNUIeWkF pic.twitter.com/R2CHM2BiNE
— wednesday 13 (@officialwed13) May 9, 2018
