Casey Chaos, frontman and founding member of Los Angeles metal/punk outfit Amen, has died at the age of 59. Confirmation of the sad news came via the band’s official Facebook page.
In a statement in the social media post, the band mourned the loss of its singer and mastermind, revealing that Casey and Amen had been working on an unannounced project for the past five or six years — presumably the long-awaited follow-up to 2004’s Death Before Musick.
The Facebook post read:
“It is with great sadness, grief and sorrow that we confirm the passing of Casey Chaos after seeing the news currently being reported. As you can imagine, everyone in the band, past and present, are absolutely devastated.
There was a lot going on with Amen in the past 5-6 years that we didn’t announce. Casey loved and appreciated your support, and always wanted to wait until things were complete, rather than sharing unfinished work-in-progress material.
The rest of us are going to reflect on the ways we can honour Casey in the way he deserves; to have his genius, talent and heart celebrated and experienced by the world and the people who appreciated it.
Please share any positive memories you have about Casey on this post…
For our part, we will share more in time.
REFUSE AMEN, LONG LIVE CHAOS.
Goodbye, brother.”
Elsewhere, Cleopatra Records founder and CEO Brian Perera paid tribute to the late singer on Facebook:
“I had the privilege of working with Casey during his unforgettable live performance with Christian Death at the American Legion Hall back in 1993. Walking into the hall with my good friend Matt Green and my wife, Yvonne, was an experience I’ll never forget — especially seeing Nicolas Cage sitting front-row center, completely captivated.
Touring with Slipknot, Coal Chamber and others, Amen were a key figure on the late 1990s metal scene, winning acclaim for the albums ‘Amen’, ‘We Have Come For Your Parents’ and ‘Death Before Musick’; subsequent projects include Headband, Scars on Broadway and Scum, while a fourth Amen album was seldom far from Chaos’s mind.
Casey wasn’t just an extraordinary musician,” Perera continued. “He truly lived and breathed the lifestyle.
May he rest in peace alongside Rozz Williams and the many tortured souls we admire and respect.”
Chaos (real name Karim Chmielnski) was born Trenton, New York, but grew up in Florida, where he formed the punk band Disorderly Conduct in his younger years. After relocating to Los Angeles, he would briefly play bass for the early 1990s iteration of deathrock act Christian Death — appearing on the live album Iconologia from 1993 — before forming Amen in 1994.
Mixing hardcore punk with the burgeoning alternative metal sound of the era, Amen would sign to Roadrunner Records for their proper debut, a self-titled effort, in 1999. The band would enjoy major-label support for its next two albums, 2000’s We Have Come for Your Parents, and 2004’s Death Before Musick.
Over the years, Amen had a revolving-door lineup surrounding Chaos, including everyone from Death Grips’ Zach Hill to Acey Slade, though the group was inactive for much of the past two decades aside from a reunion gig at Knotfest in 2014. Around that time, a new Amen album was reportedly in the works with producer Ross Robinson, though it has never come to light.
We send our condolences to Casey Chaos’s family, friends, and the Amen camp. See video of him performing with Amen, as well as various social media tributes below.