Architects Guitarist Tom Searle Passes Away Aged 28

Fans of UK metalcore heroes Architects are in mourning today following the news last night that songwriter and guitarist Tom Searle has passed away at the age of 28 following a more-than-three-year battle with cancer.

Searle's brother and bandmate, Dan, broke the news on the band's Facebook page about 9pm last night (AEST) in an expressive and reflective message that conveyed his "unbelievable pain and sadness" at the loss of his sibling.

"He was an incredible songwriter and guitarist," Dan Searle wrote. "He was my closest and oldest friend. He was a funny, intelligent and sweet man and he leaves an enormous void in all of our lives."

Dan's message provided an explanation for Tom's absence "from various shows over the past 15 months", informing fans of the extreme lengths to which the late guitarist was willing to go to ensure the band's fans were entertained for as long as he could.

"When we left for our European Festival tour on June 2nd Tom was very unwell," Dan's message continued. "He had been advised to stay in hospital to receive care but ultimately there was nothing that they could do for him and he signed himself out of the ward two days before we departed for Germany.

"Some of you might view this as reckless but this is the way Tom wanted to do things throughout his last year because he never wanted the cancer to get in the way of what he loved. He got on stage and performed his last two shows at Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park, which took him an incredible amount of strength but those are two shows that we will never forget."

Despite Tom's passing, Dan has advised that Architects will still tour Australia with Bring Me The Horizon on their upcoming sojourn, due in a matter of weeks, although he said, beyond this touring cycle for new album All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, "I don't know what will become of Architects".

"Me and Tom started playing in a band together when we were 13 and, really, Architects is just an evolution of the band that we started all the way back then, over half my life ago," Dan wrote. "To pretend that Tom wasn’t at the heart of everything that the band created would be to show a complete lack of respect to the amazing talent that he was. The band will never be the same and there is simply no denying it.

"We will 100% tour All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, there is no doubt about that. We will be going to Australia in a few weeks and we will be doing our UK and European headline tour in October and November. We hope that these shows will be an opportunity for everyone out there to show their respects to my wonderful brother. It won’t be easy for us to get on stage and play every night without him, but its something that we must do.

"We want to carry on, that is important to say, and we will strive to do so, but we will not release any music unless we truly believe that it is something that Tom would have been proud of. Whether or not we can achieve that is something that we will have to discover in time." 

Tributes have begun to pour in from around the globe in response to the news of Tom Searle's passing, with contemporaries and friends expressing their condolences including Neck Deep frontman Ben Barlow, The Ghost Inside drummer Andrew Tkaczyk and You Me At Six guitarist Chris Miller, as well as collective messages from Texan metalcore upstarts Invent, Animate, fellow Brit metalcore crew Bury Tomorrow, plus Every Time I Die, Biffy Clyro, Gallows, Deaf Havana, While She Sleeps and even the members of Northlane, among countless others.

RIP Tom Searle. Love and condolences going to the Searle family, @Architectsuk and friends. A huge loss and sadness for our world of music.

— Ben Barlow (@ben_barlyo) August 21, 2016

RIP Tom Searle, thank you for the music, a true inspiration to us all. https://t.co/bO5UfaTOxe

— Bury Tomorrow (@burytomorrow) August 21, 2016

Tom Searle. One of the most influential and genius musicians I've ever had the pleasure of… https://t.co/sbgMsWJT3Q

— Andrew Tkaczyk (@Mtndrew222) August 21, 2016

Your songs and words influenced countless musicians. Your music transcended genres. Rest in power, Tom Searle. https://t.co/wXAWNghbGj

— Invent, Animate (@Invent_Animate) August 21, 2016

So sad to hear of the passing of Tom Searle. I cannot count the times his riffs made my jaw drop to the floor and hairs stand on end.

— Chris Miller (@chrisymas) August 21, 2016

the entire world will feel the effects of losing Tom Searle. this is utterly devastating news. be strong @Architectsuk. we love you

— Every Time I Die (@everytimeidie) August 21, 2016

Rest in peace Tom Searle. So, so sad. Love and condolences to @Architectsuk X

— Biffy Clyro (@BiffyClyro) August 21, 2016

Yesterday we lost an incredible person and musician. Someone we're blessed to tour with and call a friend. RIP Tom Searle. You are missed.

— WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps) August 21, 2016

Rest in peace Tom Searle. You've given the UK scene so much and so many bands like us respect and admire what... https://t.co/FzNCapBWj8

— Gallows (@gallowsofficial) August 21, 2016

Yesterday music lost a beautiful soul, someone who we had the pleasure of knowing well and touring with. Tom Searle, rest in peace brother.

— Deaf Havana (@deafhavana) August 21, 2016

We will miss you Tom Searle. The world has lost an incredible person.

— Northlane (@Northlane) August 21, 2016