Ben Graves, Former Murderolls/Dope Drummer, Has Passed Away
Ben Graves, former drummer for Murderdolls and Dope, has died at the age of 46. His death was announced by his fiancee Lydia Munster, who revealed Graves had been fighting cancer for the last 11 months. She released the following statement regarding his death:
This is incredibly hard for me to write this, but I know it is necessary because Ben has so many friends and fans. Most of you don’t know that Ben has been battling cancer for the last 11 months. It was his decision to keep his health very quiet. Ben passed away today, May 9th 2018, from complications due to his cancer. His diagnosis was grim but he fought a long and hard battle to try and beat it and overcome the odds. Some battles can’t be won no matter how hard you try. Please respect me, his family and close friends while we grieve. Even though we knew it was eventually coming, the complication was sudden and very unexpected. It’s devastating to lose someone you love more than yourself. My heart is broken, my heart died with him. We will be taking him home to Massachusetts. I will organize a memorial for Ben’s LA friends, details to follow. Post some photos of Ben for us to see him as he was. – 💔Lydia
Lydia also reported that Graves will be taken home to Massachusetts and a memorial for his friends in Los Angeles will be held sometime in the future.
Murderdolls frontman Wednesday 13 remembered his former bandmate with the following Facebook post:
“I will forever cherish the memories with you. Touring all over the world for the first time, living our dream and constantly quoting ‘The Terminator‘ and ‘Commando‘ movies. Love ya, buddy. There will never be another Ghoul. See ya on the other side.”
Graves okayed with the Murderdolls from 2002 until 2004 even though he didn’t record drums for their debut album, Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls. After he left the band, he moved on to play drums for Dope from 2005 – 2006.
Our thoughts go out to Graves’ family and friends during this difficult time.
