Today marks a sad one for fans of industrial legends Ministry, as guitarist Mike Scaccia (also of Rigor Mortis) has passed away at the age of 47.
As Rolling Stone reports, Scaccia was performing onstage in Fort Worth, TX, on Saturday night (December 22) as part of a 50th birthday celebration for Rigor Mortis frontman Bruce Corbitt. Scaccia collapsed onstage and was quickly taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
According to the medical examiner, Scaccia died from a sudden heart attack brought on by heart disease. Other sources have noted that Scaccia had requested for the club to turn off their strobe lights, and that he possibly suffered a seizure during the performance.
Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen released the following statement:
I just lost my lil' brother and my best friend – the 13th Planet compound is devastated, completely in shock and shattered. Mikey was not only the best guitar player in the history of music, but he was a close, close, close part of our family – and I just lost a huge chunk of my heart today. Our lives are forever changed. Life without Mikey is like orange juice without pulp – kind of bland. I have no words to express what this guy meant to me, my family, my career. . . . everything! ... Rest in peace my brother, my friend, my heart. Please pray for Mike Scaccia and Jenny, his wife and their children, and his family.
An on again, off again member of Ministry, Scaccia most recently made an appearance on the band's comeback album Relapse.
As Rolling Stone reports, Scaccia was performing onstage in Fort Worth, TX, on Saturday night (December 22) as part of a 50th birthday celebration for Rigor Mortis frontman Bruce Corbitt. Scaccia collapsed onstage and was quickly taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
According to the medical examiner, Scaccia died from a sudden heart attack brought on by heart disease. Other sources have noted that Scaccia had requested for the club to turn off their strobe lights, and that he possibly suffered a seizure during the performance.
Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen released the following statement:
I just lost my lil' brother and my best friend – the 13th Planet compound is devastated, completely in shock and shattered. Mikey was not only the best guitar player in the history of music, but he was a close, close, close part of our family – and I just lost a huge chunk of my heart today. Our lives are forever changed. Life without Mikey is like orange juice without pulp – kind of bland. I have no words to express what this guy meant to me, my family, my career. . . . everything! ... Rest in peace my brother, my friend, my heart. Please pray for Mike Scaccia and Jenny, his wife and their children, and his family.
An on again, off again member of Ministry, Scaccia most recently made an appearance on the band's comeback album Relapse.
