Former King Conquer Guitarist John Byrd Dead

There's sad news to report as former King Conquer guitarist John Byrd has passed away. The news was delivered to fans via the band's Facebook page, and they revealed that he died on April 5.

The group had a tumultuous history with Byrd, once splitting with the guitarist and leaving him on the side of the road in Texas in 2013. They eventually made amends and Byrd returned to the band for a brief period later that year before exiting again in 2014.

The band's statement on Byrd reads as follows:

As many of you may have read earlier today, our former Guitarist John Byrd passed away. We didn't part on the best terms, but we never could have wished this on him. He was our brother for the 4 years he was with the band up until substance started to take over. John was one of the smartest and most talented dudes in the world, and finding out about this today was just insane.

Same day as Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley.

If you battle with substance abuse of any kind, PLEASE seek help. It's not worth loosing the one life you have to live. Yes life can suck, it can suck really really bad sometimes, but take control and make this one life you have great!

Byrd joined the Florida-based deathcore band in 2007. He appeared on a pair of two self-released EPs as well as their 2010 full length album America's Most Haunted and 2013's 1776 disc.

Our condolences to the band, Byrd's immediate family as well as his extended musical family and friends.

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