The family of Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan have issued a statement about his untimely death.

Issuing it on avengedsevenfold.com they hailed him as a “genius” who was “much too young to fall.”

Sullivan passed away at his home in Huntington Beach, southern California on December 28 at the age of just 28. The exact cause of his death is yet to be confirmed.

The full family statement reads:

We would like to thank all of Jimmy’s fans for the heartfelt comments that have been posted – it is comforting to know that his genius and antics were appreciated and that he was loved so much. Our hearts are broken – he was much too young to fall.

February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009
Óg agus saor go deo (forever young and free)

Barbara & Joe, Kelly & Katie
& the extended Sullivan family

(by Scott Colothan)