Photo Credit: “Mike Scaccia,” © 2010 Ian Aberle, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: Creative Commons Licenses
Former Ministry guitarist Mike Scaccia died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack on stage at a Forth Worth show with the band Rogor Mortis.
During a show at the Rail Club in Fort Worth, Texas, 47-year old Mike Scaccia suffered what appeared to be a seizure while playing a birthday bash for Rigor Mortis front-man Bruce Corbitt. Scaccia was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival, reported the Fort Worth Telegram.
Although initial reports had it that Scaccia died as a result of a seizure, the Tarrant County medical examiner revealed that the former Ministry guitarist suffered a heart attack due to heart disease.
On Sunday morning, Rigor Mortis singer Bruce Corbitt posted a tribute to Mike Scaccia on his Facebook page. “My brother is gone,” wrote Corbitt. “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.”
In another tribute, Ministry’s lead singer Al Jourgensen also paid tribute to his longtime band-mate and friend. “Mikey was not only the best guitar player in the history of music,” said Jourgensen, “but he was a close, close, close part of our family, and I just lost a huge chunk of my heart today.”
Scaccia is survived by wife, Jenny Rowen Scaccia, and his four children.