Bill Crook, former bassist of Victoria metal heroes Spiritbox and longtime member of Vancouver pop-punks Living with Lions, has died.
The news was confirmed by Kai Turmann, a friend of the musician as well as his bandmate in A Textbook Tragedy. According to the caption of Turmann's Instagram post, Crook's mother asked them to spread the word.
"I'm so profoundly sad to say that our dear friend Bill Crook has passed away. He was a friend to so many, and a dear friend to me since we were children," Turmann wrote. "Bill was, and is, loved by so many people and I'm so incredibly sorry to have to share this devastating information with you."
The bassist joined Living with Lions around the release of their 2011 album Holy Shit, replacing Shayne Lundberg, who had recorded his parts on the LP before leaving the band. Their most recent album remains 2018's Island.
It was that same year that Crook entered the fold of Spiritbox, which had been established by Courtney LaPlante and Mike Stringer in 2017. He would perform with the band up until May 2022, including the recording of their breakthrough debut, Eternal Blue, one of Exclaim!'s Best Albums of 2021. (Crook has since been replaced in the lineup by Josh Gilbert, formerly of As I Lay Dying.)
Pale Chord, Spiritbox's record label, has asked fans to give the band "time and space to process their loss."