Dee Cernile, the guitarist for 90s hard rock band Sven Gali, passed away over the weekend after a battle with lung cancer.  He was just 46 years-old.  Together with condolences and memories from numerous heavyweights from the Canadian music industry, the following message was posted on Cernele's Facebook page:

"After such a courageous journey, two days ago Dee told us that he had nothing more to do here and he wanted to pass away to do what he needed to do elsewhere. This morning Dee got his wish and took his last breath. He went so very peacefully with love surrounding him and his hand held. He is now resting in peace. His family would like to thank everyone for all of your love and support."

Sven Gali released its self-titled debut album in 1992, achieving gold certification in Canada (which then took only 50,000 copies), and was nominated for Hard Rock album of the Year at the 1993 Juno Awards, while the band was also nominated for Most Promising Group.  The band went on to record a pair of albums before disbanding in 1996. 

Sven Gali reunited in 2007, playing live sporadically until Dee was diagnosed with cancer in 2009.  A pair of benefit shows for Cernile were put together in August that year, and he was so ill that a back-up guitarist was available, though he ended up playing both shows.