THE guitarist of a Brighton-based internationally successful metal band has died at the age of 28.

Tom Searle, who played in the band Architects, has passed away after three years living with cancer.

His brother Dan, who was also in the band, posted a tribute to Tom on the band's Facebook page this morning.

Dan also hailed the work of the Martlets Hospice in Hove, which took care of Tom in his final days.

Fans of the band have already raised more than £15,000 for the Martlets Hospice after a Just Giving page was set up.

It has been reported that Tom was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer back in 2013, but was given the all-clear after an operation to remove part of his lower leg.

Dan said on Facebook: "It is with unbelievable pain and sadness that I have to announce that at around twelve minutes past midnight on August 20 my amazing brother, Tom, passed away after over three years living with cancer.

"He was an incredible songwriter and guitarist. He was my closest and oldest friend. He was a funny, intelligent and sweet man and he leaves an enormous void in all of our lives."

Architects have released seven studio albums, played numerous rock festivals including Reading and Download at Donnington, and shared stages with bands such as US legends Metallica and Sheffield rockers Bring Me The Horizon.

Twins Dan and Tom grew up in Brighton, attending Varndean High School, and founded the band as teenagers.

Dan said: "Many of you will be aware that Tom has been absent from various shows over the past 15 months and I can now let you know that this was due to various surgeries that he had to have to treat the cancer.

"When we left for our European Festival tour on June 2, Tom was very unwell.

"He had been advised to stay in hospital to receive care but ultimately there was nothing they could do for him and he signed himself out of the ward two days before we departed for Germany.

"Some of you might view this as reckless but this is the way Tom wanted to do things throughout his last year because he never wanted the cancer to get in the way of what he loved.

"He got on stage and performed his last two shows at Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park [German rock festivals], which took him an incredible amount of strength but those are two shows that we will never forget.

"We had to cancel our European festival tour and US headline tour because on June 8, in Luxembourg, Tom was extremely sick. We called an ambulance and he was taken into ICU. The following day he was placed into a medically-induced coma and the doctors told us it was unlikely they’d ever be able to wake him.

"Five days later, against all the odds, he was awake again and, in a few short days following that, myself and Tom cancelled the air ambulance that was due to take him home and we got the Eurostar train home. Classic Tom Searle.

"He spent the last two months of his life fighting with everything he had to overcome the disease once and for all, and things appeared to be moving in the right direction, but in the last two weeks it suddenly took a turn for the worst and finally he left us."

Dan said he did not know what would become of Architects.

Dan added: "The band will never be the same and there is simply no denying it."

He said the band would be forging ahead with their All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us tour in Australia along with a UK and European headline tour in October and November.

He said: "We hope these shows will be an opportunity for everyone out there to show their respects to my wonderful brother. It won’t be easy for us to get on stage and play every night without him, but it's something we must do.

"We want to carry on, that is important to say, and we will strive to do so, but we will not release any music unless we truly believe that it is something that Tom would have been proud of. Whether or not we can achieve that is something that we will have to discover in time.

"The Martlets Hospice in Hove took unbelievable care of Tom in his final days.

"We were constantly blown away by their compassion and hard work and we feel hugely indebted to them for ensuring we were able to make some amazing memories with Tom before he passed away."

The band has set up a Just Giving page for the Martlets Hospice. Visit justgiving.com/thomassearle.

WHO ARE ARCHITECTS?

Architects are a metalcore band who formed in Brighton in 2004. They became hugely popular among an alternative hardcore scene in the city and are now regarded as one of the most successful bands of their kind to have emerged from it.

Their sound is typified by fast guitar hooks, frenetic drumming and aggressive vocals. While their heavy style is an acquired taste, their Facebook page is liked by more than 700,000 fans and the band have 132,000 followers on Twitter. Their most recent album, All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, released in May this year, peaked at 15 in the UK charts.

Above is an example of their sound. Tom Searle is wearing a red and black checked shirt over a white T-shirt. His brother Dan plays drums.