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ROCK AND ROLL! => All Them Other Guys => Topic started by: Jack the Stripper on July 26, 2021, 08:45:40 PM
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So shocked and gutted right now :-[
The band wrote: "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."
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-singer-mike-howe-dead-at-55/
What a terrible loss.
R.I.P. Mike
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Such an amazing metal singer & frontman. Had the privilege of meeting him after the show in Melbourne in 2019. This one is hitting particularly hard.
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Holy fuck this is right out of nowhere and is like a kick to the nuts. I just cannot believe it. What a waste, and the last Metal Church albums were so great that I pine for what could have been.
Rest in peace Mike.
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Dear god....
I'm in absolute shock right now...I don't know what to say...
I think I'm gonna need some time to process this one...
Mike was hands down one of my all time favourite singers and such an amazingly humble fellow...
This is...I...god.
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Absolutely staggering, I may not have the hstory with Metal Church that you guys have, but in the last 18 months rarely a week goes bye without me playing some Metal Church. I was looking forward to more releases in the future.
55 is no age, so sad. :(
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That's brutal. He was firing on all cylinders and had a lot more living to do. R.I.P. Mr. Howe.
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Such a shock, such a loss.
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This is just starting to really sink in...
I never got the chance to see Metal Church live...I was talking to a member of the management team during the release of Damned If You Do that next time that they'd be touring Finland I'd go to see them and that I'd be able to meet the guys and Mike especially...shocking that it'll never happen now. I was really looking forward to that actually...as Mike seemed like such a nice guy.
I think since Ronnie's passing no other death has impacted me this much...
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Mikes official cause of death was determined to be a asphyxia due to hanging. Officially authorities are calling it a suicide.
Such sad news.
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Honestly, any cause of death would be sad news.
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I always find suicide to carry a certain extra amount of tragedy with it. I cannot imagine the mental torture someone has been going through that leads them to decide that ending their own life is the best course of action.
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I always find suicide to carry a certain extra amount of tragedy with it. I cannot imagine the mental torture someone has been going through that leads them to decide that ending their own life is the best course of action.
And the worst of it is that it's not visible the way other injuries and wounds often are, so it's even more of a shock when it leads to a death.
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Horrible news indeed...
One can only imagine the pain he'd been going through...so sad.
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Looks like there is more to the story obviously:
OFFICIAL BAND STATEMENT:
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. As to what really happened? He was victimized by a failing healthcare 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. #truth Godspeed Mike Howe, WE LOVE YOU!!!
It seems that he was suffering from some health issues and perhaps something went horribly wrong... Makes this even more tragic...
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That's so sad.
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Band has since posted this:
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.
Godspeed Mike Howe, WE LOVE YOU!!!
Also I read a post on their FB the day after he died from Mike’s son which got deleted soon after that said it was very unprofessional for the band as the family had found out Mike had died via Metal Church’s FB.
Some of the stuff in the statements the band have since put out seem a little unprofessional as well I must say.
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Well they are hurting...most understandable. I don't think they're thinking straight right now in this time. And considering how fast the whole suicide thing came out was bit overwhelming I can imagine.
And the biggest problem seemed to have been the people commenting on the post not the post itself. Shocker people on social media were acting like morons.
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@Jack
The trouble with band members is they're not trained PR men. I suspect they didn't run their statement by management first. They probably meant well but it can cause unexpected issues to arise. But the fact the family didn't know until it was already made public is unfortunate and regretable but surely for the authorities to sort out not the band?
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I get the band would be hurting big time but it seems way too early to be going down this track. Mike hasn’t even been laid to rest yet. You don’t need to be PR trained to understand that. But maybe what Charger said, they are in shock and that can lead to not thinking things through properly.
It is very unfortunate that the family found out that way and I don’t know what sort of relationship the band had with them but stuff like this does unfortunately happen from time to time.
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^True. It's why it's best to forgive, especially in the middle of a stressful situation.
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There's a pretty cool Memorial package for Mike Howe that's just been put up for Preorder at Rat Pack Records:
https://ratpakrecordsamerica.com/metal-church (https://ratpakrecordsamerica.com/metal-church)
Features a picture book featuring the career of Mike and a memorial t-shirt.
(https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/51176/3a59df4c31e87e4bd6545e2df194f3d99dde30d3/original/mike-howe-forever-flyer.jpg/!!/meta%3AeyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ%3D%3D.jpg)
I preordered my copy. It's limited to only 500 so it's pretty special.
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This came across my FB feed yesterday so I clicked and had a look and ended up jumping on a signed CD. I see they’re sold out now so was lucky to get one. Passed on the booklet, it seems like a tour program type booklet rather than an actual photo book.
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The photo book and t-shirt arrived today:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51820092358_21ec35ebbf_c.jpg)
It is a soft cover book but it does have a fair ammount of pictures from different eras and some personal shots from Mike as well.
I do wish it would contain some stories or other comments from the other guys in the band but as it is the pictures are nice too. Well worth it I think and such a cool memorial piece to have.
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Been a year since we lost Mike... Think I need to spin some METAL CHURCH tonight!
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Been a year since we lost Mike... Think I need to spin some METAL CHURCH tonight!
Truth.
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Metal Church just announced a final release to celebrate Mike's life and career in the form of a picture disc and cd called The Best Of Mike Howe 2016-2021.
The picture disc was a limited edition of just 300 copies and I was lucky enough to snag one...they have already sold out.
Also got the cd because it has an unreleased song on it.
https://ratpakrecordsamerica.com/metal-church (https://ratpakrecordsamerica.com/metal-church)