Punk rock star Casey Chaos has died at the age of 59.
Brian Perera, founder of Cleopatra Records, confirmed the news of the lead singer of band Amen's death.
In a statement released to the public, he said: "With heartfelt sadness, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Casey Chaos." Brain said that "Casey wasn’t just an extraordinary musician - he truly lived and breathed the lifestyle."
His statement continued: "May he rest in peace alongside Rozz Williams and the many tortured souls we admire and respect." Chaos had taken to the stage with bands including Christian Death and Scum. He was born on October 9, 1965 in Trenton, New York. The musician was raised in Melbourne, Florida.
Chaos, whose real name was Karim Chmielnski, was a skateboarder when he was younger and went on tour at the age of 10. Duane Peters introduced him to the band Black Flag in 1982, which lead to Chaos exploring a career in music. He initially started off with Casey and the Skate Punx.
The band, which also consisted of guitarist Ken Decter, bassist Scot Lade and drummer Bill Erwin, was subsequently renamed Disorderly Conduct. Chaos later moved to Los Angeles and the group changed their name again to Amen. The band released four studio albums over a decade-long span, consisting of Slave (1994), Amen (1999), We Have Come for Your Parents (2000) and Death Before Musick (2004).
Amen took part in NME's 2001 tour with the groups Alfie, JJ72 and Starsailor. Chaos worked with friend and guitarist of the band Christian Death, Rikk Agnew on record Iconologia in 1993 and performed with Scum. Amen started working on a new album in 2014 yet they were unable to complete it due to touring obligations for Slipknot's Knotfest.
Chaos went back to work on the incomplete record in 2019 but was struck by delays again due to the Covid pandemic. The album was never completed.
Tributes have poured in for the musician following the news of his death. Drummer Roy Mayorga said: "Rest in peace - Casey Chaos! It was great to know you and to call you my friend. I will miss you always. There will never be another one like you... love you brother."
Former MTV host Matt Pinfield commented: "My heart has been heavy today because we lost one of my brothers and our friend Casey Chaos. Rest In Peace, my rock and roll brother." Guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite added he was "shocked to hear of the passing of our friend Casey Chaos."
He continued: "I know he was in a lot of pain over the years, he really threw himself around onstage back in the day..such a lovely bloke, we just hung out together 2 months ago." Journalist Sammy Jones wrote: Really sad to hear the news about Casey Chaos. I did a couple of interviews with him back in the day, which turned into really long, sometimes deep conversations about life. Fond memories of him, and his shows. Another lesson in making every day count. RIP Casey."
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English (US) ·