Legendary VOIVOD guitarist Denis “Piggy” D’Amour passed away last night, August 26th, due to advanced colon cancer at the age of 45. According to Blabbermouth, D’Amour slipped into a coma Thursday night and died less than 24 hours later in the palliative care unit of a Montreal hospital, surrounded by family and friends.

Here is what the rest of the band had to say via voivod.com:

“Piggy passed away last night Friday August 26, 2005 from advanced colon cancer. As we all mourn his passing, we also celebrate his life. Thank you so much to everyone who sent Piggy get well wishes in his last few days with us.”

The band’s label, The End Records, to whom they had recently signed to weeks ago had the following message:

“We are all devastated by the tragic passing of a true legend, our beloved Denis D’Amour aka Piggy. Piggy and the rest of VOIVOD have already become family to our team here at The End, and they are the nicest people to be around. Piggy was a big inspiration to us and his many other fans the world over. We feel lucky for the privilege of getting to work with him and to know him. No words can describe our admiration for him. Piggy’s guitar playing was always full of energy and innovation and life. In many senses, he will always be alive through his music.

“We love you Piggy, and you will always be in our thoughts. May you rest in peace, dear friend. Our deepest condolences to his family, friends and bandmates.

--the staff at The End”