Paul RogersUpdate 5:18 pm Thursday: A candlelight vigil for tonight has been announced. Details at the bottom of the post.
Mitch Lucker, vocalist for revered Riverside extreme metal band Suicide Silence, died early this morning from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash in Huntington Beach last night. He was 28 years old.
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According to the Orange County coroner's office, Lucker was hospitalized after the accident shortly before 9 p.m. yesterday and was pronounced dead at 6:17 a.m. this morning at UCI Medical Center in Orange, CA. Huntington Beach police are investigating the crash and expected to release details soon.
Suicide Silence's official website is currently down (presumably due to excess traffic), but Lucker's bandmates posted the following statement through the band's Facebook wall:
There's no easy way to say this. Mitch passed away earlier this morning from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident. This is completely devastating to all of us and we offer our deepest condolences to his family. He will be forever in our hearts.
R.I.P. Mitchell Adam Lucker – We Love You Brother
Within an hour, over 9,000 comments had appeared beneath the post.
“So thankful I got to see this man front and center in Columbus!” wrote a fan identified as Heather Powell. “He is truly amazing and will be truly missed.”
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Lucker lived in Huntington Beach at the time of his death, but Suicide Silence formed in Riverside in 2002, originally as a side project of members of various other local bands. Their first studio-quality release was an eponymous EP in 2006.
“We always wanna incorporate new things, do new things, improve the quality of the sound, improve the quality of the songwriting, improve everything,” Lucker told Blabbermouth.net in August. “And if we're not doing that, then we're just being fucking lazy, and we're not a lazy band; we work our asses off.”
Over the course of three albums (2007's The Cleansing; No Time to Bleed in 2009; and last year's The Black Crown), Suicide Silence garnered increasing critical acclaim and a wider audience, in part due to extensive touring. The band was part of the touring Rockstar Mayhem Festival in both 2008 and 2011, as well as tours including Music as a Weapon IV and Pedal to the Metal, both in 2009. They were scheduled to perform at California Metalfest VI in San Bernardino on November 24.
Suicide Silence earned a pair of Revolver Golden Gods Awards, for “Best New Band” and “Most Innovative Band.” Often associated with the deathcore genre, the band had recently moved more towards a metalcore sound.
“As a vocalist, [Lucker] continues to push his limits and improve his screaming on each release,” wrote Sputnikmusic.com's Jeremy Bentham in his July 2011 review of The Black Crown. “His screaming is powerful and easily the best part about the band.”
Lucker leaves behind a wife and daughter.
Our sincere condolences go out to his family, bandmates, and fans.
Update 5:18 pm Thursday: This notice has been added to the band's Facebook page:
ATTN: There will be a candlelight vigil held for Mitch tonight at 8pm in Huntington Beach at Main St. & 12th. This is open to anyone who would like to stop by and pay their respects.
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