Dee Cernile, guitarist for the ’90s Canadian hard rock band SVEN GALI, died this past Saturday, February 25 after a three-year battle with lung cancer. He was 46 years old.

“Dee was a great guitarist, singer, and songwriter who always wore his heart on his sleeve,” David Bendeth, the executive who signed SVEN GALI to BMG Canada and produced their 1992 self-titled debut, told Billboard.biz. “His love of music and life made him a true rockstar. He will be missed by many that had the great fortune to work with him and hear that great infectious laugh. He was larger than life.”

SVEN GALI‘s aforementioned first CD went gold in Canada (signifying shipments in excess of 50,000 copies) and was nominated in the “Hard Rock Album Of The Year” category at the 1993 Juno Awards. The band’s second LP was recorded in Seattle with Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE) while their 1995 album, “Inwire”, featured guest appearances by BLIND MELON‘s Christopher Thorn and CANDLEBOX‘s Kevin Martin. SVEN GALI disbanded the following year, but reformed 11 years later.

According to Cernile‘s Facebook page, he’d been working on a new record toward the end of his life. “It won’t be another SVEN GALI record, but it will rock,” he wrote.

Video footage of Cernile playing at a SVEN GALI reunion show in Thorold, Ontario in 2011 can be seen below. Source: Blabbermouth.net