Former Death bassist Scott Clendenin has died at the age of 47. Clendenin was part of Death’s lineup from 1996 until the group disbanded in 2001 after frontman Chuck Schuldiner died of brain cancer.

Yesterday (March 24), the band's former manager and president of Perseverance Holdings Ltd., Eric Greif, who manages Chuck Schuldiner's sonic legacy, posted the news on the Death's Facebook page. He wrote that he was in “shock” over Clendenin’s passing, even though the bassist had struggled with some “health challenges” in the past:

With a sense of shock I'm letting all of you know of the passing today [3/24/15] of former DEATH bassist Scott Clendenin. Scott had some health challenges in the last few years but was optimistic about his prospects. Of course he was the skilled player on The Sound of Perseverance DEATH album, and recently participated in two DTA live runs, in 2012 and 2013, including the highlight of his acoustic guitar in a poignant rendition of Voice of the Soul. Our thoughts go out to Scott's family at this difficult time.

No information on Clendenin's cause of death has been released as of this posting.

Former Death drummer Richard Christy paid tribute to his fallen bandmate via Twitter early this morning:

In 2012 and 2013, Clendenin participated in the 'Death to All' tour, which honored the late Chuck Schuldiner. All proceeds from the trek went to Sweet Relief, an organization that financially helps musicians who are struggling to keep afloat while dealing with illness, disabilities or other problems.

Rest in peace to a truly phenomenal musician.

You Think You Know Death?

Rockers We Lost in 2014

More From 97.9 WGRD