Fourteen years after the death of Mitch Lucker, Suicide Silence guitarist Mark Heylmun has shared a personal tribute remembering his late bandmate and friend. The influential deathcore vocalist died in the early hours of November 1, 2012, following a motorcycle accident that occurred on Halloween night.
Taking to social media on the anniversary of Lucker’s passing, Heylmun reflected on the seven years they spent as friends, acknowledging how the passage of time has changed the way he processes the loss. While the larger memories of their time together remain important, he explained that it’s often the smaller details that have become harder to hold onto.
“I don’t have any more pictures of Mitch and me to share. I’ve shared them all at one point or another.
The more time that passes since he’s been gone, the more I find where the grief of his passing lives. I only knew him as a friend for seven years. Memories fade, and while the memory of him never fades, the memories of the times we spent together do.
I cherish all the big moments we had. All the trips we took together, tours, festivals, press tours, ‘pretty good for a small shitty ass show’ shows, the holiday BBQs at his house, or the times he crashed on my parents’ couch and spent time with my dad ripping cigs on the front porch. The list goes on.
But it’s the little stuff that makes me dig deep and wonder about all the things I’ve forgotten. The AIM messages, MySpace messages, phone calls, conversations after practice, late-night talks on tour, jokes in the studio, or the arguments we got into.
All the stuff that seemed so insignificant at the time seems so important to me now. I wish I could have been more grateful and more present for that special time in my life, and in our lives. It literally hurts thinking about the memories lost.
I’m grateful today to have known Mitch the way I did. I’m grateful to see how he’s reached ‘Legendary’ status. He deserves all the respect he gets because he is the GOAT.
So, on this anniversary of my friend being gone for twice as long as I even knew him, I want to challenge everyone to slow down and love your life.
I don’t care how bad you have it or how great you have it. Just try and find the love. You don’t know who’s going to be here tomorrow, and you definitely don’t know who’s going to be here 14 years from now.
RIP Mitch. Love you dude.”
Heylmun’s message closes with a call to appreciate the people in our lives while we have the opportunity, recognizing how quickly those moments can become memories. Lucker’s influence and legacy continue to resonate throughout the deathcore community, and the anniversary offers another occasion for fans and fellow musicians to remember the vocalist.
If you’re rocking with The Mosh Network, hit the link and add us as a Preferred Source on Google. That’s the easiest way to keep our latest metal, hardcore, and alternative news, tours, and releases showing up directly in your feed.
