Suicide Silence guitarist Mark Heylmun says the death of Mitch Lucker in 2012 brought the rest of the band back from the brink of destruction.
He admits their drink and drug abuse was completely out of control – and only the frontman’s fatal motorcycle crash forced them to face the danger they were in.
Haylmun tells AltPress: “There was a whole hell of a lot going on prior to Mitch’s passing. We couldn’t have been more unprepared. The lines had blurred between our lives on tour and at home.
“Somewhere inside I knew we’d all gone over the line. We were all doing crazy shit. I was concerned for other people in my band – but I didn’t feel like I could confront anyone without being a hypocrite.”
He describes his bandmate’s death as “super-traumatic” and says he was still in shock while putting Lucker’s memorial show together.
“I hardly even remember playing,” he reflects. “I was all over the place; I had no idea what I was going to do. I was trying to sober up – all I knew was I’d had a monkey on my back for three years straight.”
The band eventually regrouped behind former All Shall Perish frontman Eddie Hermida, and released fourth album You Can’t Stop Me in July.
Heylmun reports he’s lost 70lbs in weight and now eats healthily, drinks far less and feels much better. And although he accepts the band’s success will always be tinged with sadness, he says: “It took us a long while to see how something so tragic could turn out to be a good thing on any level. We came out of it as stronger people.”
Suicide Silence tour the UK in November:
Nov 14: Birmingham Asylum
Nov 15: Newcastle Riverside
Nov 16: Glasgow Cathouse
Nov 17: Manchester Academy 2
Nov 18: Leeds Cockpit
Nov 19: Southampton Mo Club
Nov 20: Cardiff Solus 2
Nov 21: London Koko
