Former Malevolent Creation vocalist Bret Hoffmann has died at the age of 51 following a battle with cancer. His wife, Kimberly Karan Hoffmann, confirmed the news on Facebook, saying, "Today is the saddest day of my life. I just lost my soul mate, the love of my [life]. My best friend has passed away. I will always love [you] Bret Malev Hoffmann. RIP my love."

It was revealed through a GoFundMe campaign earlier this year that Bret had been diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. In a previous update on the page he encouraged those who don't see their doctors on a regular basis to do so. "I don't want to see my family, friends or fans go through anything like this EVER," he wrote.

Hoffmann served as Malevolent Creation's vocalist for multiple stints throughout his career. He performed on the band's first three albums, but then left following the release of 1993's Stillborn. He returned for both The Fine Art of Murder and Envenomed, but left again soon thereafter. Finally, he returned in 2006 for touring duties and can be heard on the albums Doomsday XInvidious Dominion and Dead Man's Path.

Hoffmann also fronted the bands Fire for Effect, Resthaven, South of Resthaven and Down the Drain.

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