Mike Scaccia of ‘Ministry’ Dies After On-Stage Collapse

Rock musicians are known for their stage antics, from KISS‘s makeup and Ozzy biting the head off a bat, to stage dives and outlandish masks a la Slipknot.

What happened to Mike Scaccia, 45 — guitarist for the bands Ministry and Rigor Mortis — was no antic, but it certainly got attention.

Scaccia was performing onstage at a club in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a 50th birthday celebration for Rigor Mortis singer Bruce Corbitt, when he collapsed. He was ushered to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Scaccia had apparently been having problems already, as he requested the strobe lights be turned off during his performance. Shortly afterward he collapsed in a seizure, says Blabbermouth.net.

Scaccia was born July 14, 1965 and had formed the thrash metal band Rigor Mortis in 1983. In 1989 the guitarist was invited by Al Jourgensen to join Ministry. Scaccia’s first full length involvement in a recording with Ministry was the 1992 album “Psalm 69…”, the source of such industrial rock songs as “N.W.O.” and “Jesus Built My Hotrod”. He supported this album with a performance at Lollapalooza the same year.

Later in his career, he was featured in several other Ministry offshoot bands, according to Rolling Stone.

Bruce Corbitt, shortly after Scaccia died, had posted the news on Facebook:

“My brother is gone! The only reason I am who I am is because of this man. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t even be in a band. RIP Mike Scaccia! The greatest guitar player I ever knew!”

Al Jourgensen then posted a memorial on the Ministry Facebook page:

“I just lost my lil’ brother and my best friend – the 13th Planet compound is devastated, completely in shock and shattered … Mikey was not only the best guitar player in the history of music, but he was a close, close, close part of our family – and I just lost a huge chunk of my heart today. Our lives are forever changed. Life without Mikey is like orange juice without pulp – kind of bland. I have no words to express what this guy meant to me, my family, my career…. Everything!”

RIP Mike Scaccia. Rock on wherever you are now.