The rock world has lost yet another legendary guitarist as Allan Holdsworth passed away April 15 at the age of 70. The prog rock / jazz fusion guitarist died unexpectedly of unknown causes and several of his peers have reflected on this tragic news.

Holdsworth's daughter, Louise, shared the news on Facebook (seen below), stating, "It is with heavy hearts that we notify everyone of the passing of our beloved father. We would appreciate privacy and time while we grieve the loss of our dad, grandad, friend and musical genius. We will update close friends and family when service arrangements have been made and will notify the public of an open memorial service, which all would be welcome. We are undeniably still in shock with his unexpected death and cannot begin to put into words the overwhelming sadness we are experiencing. He is missed tremendously."

Holdsworth was born in Bradford, England in 1946 and rose to prominence as one of the world's most unique guitar players, best known for his imaginative chord progressions and complex solos. He was also lauded for his early use of synthesized guitars, opening up a new world of sounds that could be produced from a guitar.

Members of the rock and metal community flocked to Twitter to express their condolences and offer tributes to the late guitarist. Testament's Alex Skolnick, Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen of the Winery Dogs, Joe Satriani, Dream Theater's John Petrucci, Whitesnake's David Coverdale and more all weighed in and their posts can be seen below.

Holdsworth released 11 solo albums in total, with the first being 1976's Velvet Darkness, but he did not consider this to be an authorized record as it was released without consent from the other musicians who performed on it. Prior to his passing, the guitarist was working on a new solo record, which would have been his first since 2001's Flat Tire: Music For a Non-Existent Movie. Throughout his career, Holdsworth was also a member of Soft Machine and collaborated with various members of the prog community.

All of us at Loudwire extend our condolences to Holdsworth's family, along with the friends and peers of the master musician.

Allan Holdsworth, Metal Fatigue Album

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