Mike Howe RIP

[Dead Planet]

This sucks....excellent singer....RIP

 

Sadly, Metal Church vocalist Mike Howe is no longer with us. The band has issued the following statement: 

"It is with our deepest regrets that we must announce the passing of our brother, our friend and true legend of heavy metal music. Mike Howe passed away this morning at his home in Eureka, California. We are devastated and at a loss for words. Please respect our privacy and the Howe family’s privacy during this most difficult time."

Mike Howe was the singer of Metal Church from 1998 - 1996, and again from 2015 - 2021.

[AlphaMale]

Damn. R.I.P.

[auslander]

Oh damn, I have really enjoyed their recent stuff. Thoughts with his loved ones.

Was he ill? How did he die?

[Crazysam]

Oh wow, sad and surprising news, only 55 years old too.  Blessing In Disguise and Hanging in the Balance are two of my all-time favorite metal albums.  RIP Mike

[whiplash1972]

 

Damn... terrible news. Metal Church's recent output with Mike has been tremendous... R.I.P.

 

 

 

[Leykis101]

Damn starting to be like drumming for Spinal Tap, dont take any lead vocalist jobs available in Metal Church, and perhaps somebody oughta put old boy Ronnie Munroe on notice, he may want to like construct a life room or something to live the rest of his days out in.

[Metal T]

From the Halford' school of singing...a d@mn good frontman / singer who also did a great job replacing David Wayne (RIP) 

Was just listening to 'Heretic' awhile back.

 

RIP Mike

 

 

[auslander]

Neither drugs nor alcohol are believed to be factors in the sudden death of Metal Church frontman Mike Howe ... according to cops.

A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. tells TMZ ... cops got a call Monday morning just after 10 AM in Eureka, CA reporting an unexpected death at a home. We're told when deputies arrived they found Mike dead at the scene. There were no drugs or alcohol paraphernalia at the location.

.......

So sad. I truly hope this isn't another suicide of a middle aged man. It almost feels like an Epidemic lately. 

[martinsane]

Holy shit.

[kourosofsteel3]

Cannot stop missing the mighty throater! Glad I was able to witness his greatness before the pandemic!  (Only drawback was the shortage of quality booze during the 4th or 5th track of the setlist)

 

 

[Dead Planet]

Metal Church vocalist Mike Howe was found dead at his home in Eureka, California on Monday, July 26. TMZ reported that that Howe took his own life, according to police who found his body, and the Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. said that Mike's official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging, with authorities officially calling it a suicide.

Earlier today, Metal Church issued a since-deleted statement responding to the TMZ report, suggesting Howe "was victimized by a failing health-care system and subsequently poisoned by the venom of Big Pharma. In short and in essence, he fell prey to the real 'Fake Healer'... enough said."

The band has since posted the following: "Concerning our recently deleted post addressing the news that Mike’s passing was a suicide, we wanted to dispel any misconceptions that might have arisen from certain media reports. In our efforts to do that, our attempts at honesty created a narrative that fell outside our purest of intentions. We were in no way, shape or form referring to anything in relation to vaccinations, COVID or politics. We were saying our brother was hurting and while he was seeking medical care for it, the treatments he was utilizing did not protect him. Otherwise, he would still be with us today.

"If you knew Mike Howe, then you knew he was a truly good human being who loved his friends, his family and his many fans around the world. He would always go the extra mile to make someone feel good and he would always give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. We ask that you remember Mike in that way and for the amazing metal music he created.

"This is an extremely difficult time for everyone who knew Mike personally and those that knew him through the music. We are all still processing the loss of our brother. We apologize that the original statement was misunderstood or created an incorrect dialog. We ask that you please stop attacking each other in relation to Mike’s passing and Metal Church. We ask that you take that energy and use it to keep Mike’s memory alive by sharing the music he created while he was with us. We want Metal Church music to bring people together as it has over the years and not be divisive.

[Crazysam]

That makes the situation even sadder knowing he took his own life.   I don't fully understand the original post from the band though.  Was he taking medicine for a mental illness or physical health problem that didn't help him and he got worse?  Or maybe became addicted to a pain killer?

[Darkstone]

For sure he was prescribed medication for depression/anxiety or whatever type of mental illness. 

Those antidepressant drugs that doctors are happy to prescribe are VERY addictive and unbelievably, most have "suicidal thoughts" as a side effect.

It's hard to fathom.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Darkstone

[auslander]

It's extremely disturbing how many of our peers (men aged 40s to 60s) are killing themselves these days. The media who black out reporting on this real issue are not helping. The widespread belief that talking about suicide in the media will cause more suicides is a myth. In reality, not talking about it, not addressing it, is causing more death. I hope that that one thing might come out of this tragedy, that people our age start talking about this at least. It really is a genuine public health crisis. I am so sad about this. Sorry for the speech.

[martinsane]

On 7/30/2021 at 12:52 AM, kourosofsteel3 said:

Cannot stop missing the mighty throater! Glad I was able to witness his greatness before the pandemic!  (Only drawback was the shortage of quality booze during the 4th or 5th track of the setlist)

 

 

Sounds like a swell time/show. I was fortunate enough to see Mike, Kurdt and Duke VERY regularly at a haunt we gathered at called Meekers Landing in Kent, Washington back in 89/90 (so much so that I started calling the 2nd wave of the church "the meeker boys"), they only played there once w/Mike though, I still have my backstage pass. It sure was fun tossing darts and inhaling pitchers of beer with them. No ego's, just a handful of long hairs chewin' the fat and getting lit. In hindsight I wish I fanboy'd a bit more but at the time it was just some dudes hangin' out.

Sad that Mike took his own life, he seemed so stoked being back in MC and the like. My prayers to his family.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

On 7/31/2021 at 3:50 PM, martinsane said:

Sad that Mike took his own life, he seemed so stoked being back in MC and the like. My prayers to his family.

Who the fuck knows what's going on in someone's life that influences them to take their life. It's sad, for sure, but I don't judge them. Shit can def feel unbearable. 

[AlphaMale]

1 hour ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

Who the fuck knows what's going on in someone's life that influences them to take their life. It's sad, for sure, but I don't judge them. Shit can def feel unbearable. 

I have been close to that point quite a few times. Depression is powerful. 

[martinsane]

5 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

Who the fuck knows what's going on in someone's life that influences them to take their life. It's sad, for sure, but I don't judge them. Shit can def feel unbearable. 

You don't and I didn't judge him, just said it was sad and that he was as giddy as a school kid to be back in MC and now he's dead. Not sure what your on about but go fuck yourself, unless I am mis interpreting than go fuck myself.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

14 hours ago, martinsane said:

You don't and I didn't judge him, just said it was sad and that he was as giddy as a school kid to be back in MC and now he's dead. Not sure what your on about but go fuck yourself, unless I am mis interpreting than go fuck myself.

You misinterpreted. I just meant to say the inner turmoil is seldom visible at the surface level. I had a friend who was the most cheerful person to be around. Always smiling. Always making us laugh. But always struggled with crippling depression and suicidal thoughts. 

[martinsane]

9 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

You misinterpreted. I just meant to say the inner turmoil is seldom visible at the surface level. I had a friend who was the most cheerful person to be around. Always smiling. Always making us laugh. But always struggled with crippling depression and suicidal thoughts. 

Understood, thanks for explaining. I understand that feeling.