R.I.P. Mike Howe of Metal Church

Gilbert wrote:

I have their live Dynamo 1991 concert on Dvd.

Will watch it during the weekend.

Anyone else owns this one? Solid live performance.

I own a copy of that too, but it's packed away in storage with the rest of my shit. Was really wanting to watch that yesterday too. Maybe I'll look on YouTube for it tomorrow.

I was such huge fan of the first two Metal Church albums and when David Wayne quit, and they got this blonde singer to join, Mike Howe, I was not so sure what it was going to sound like, I had never heard Mike Howe's previous band. I than saw the video for 'Badlands' and really liked it and liked Howe's voice. Mike Howe was his own man and did not try to sound like a David Wayne clone. Its too sad he is now gone, 55 is way too young.

Mike's death has been officially ruled a suicide by local authorities.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-singer-mike-howes-death-ruled-suicide/

Fat Freddy wrote:

Mike's death has been officially ruled a suicide by local authorities.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-singer-mike-howes-death-ruled-suicide/

Damn man. I would have never expected him to do this.

My fear has been confirmed…  

It was suicide! This makes it even worse…  

I wonder why? He seemed happy to be back in Metal Church. I guess all the craziness of 2020 got to him. No mention of a suicide note.

My co-worker that committed suicide last April was the same as Mike. They smile on the surface and they can be the nicest and most genuine people. It’s hard to see the warning signs because they don’t want to talk about it…

Fat Freddy wrote:

Mike's death has been officially ruled a suicide by local authorities.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-singer-mike-howes-death-ruled-suicide/

Damn I was afraid that was going to be what happened. I thought either some underlying medical condition he had that he covered up, or suicide. Really sad to hear, wonder what could have driven to do that. Seemed like such a upbeat positive man, I'd never guess that's how he would go.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Mike's death has been officially ruled a suicide by local authorities.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-singer-mike-howes-death-ruled-suicide/

Damn I was afraid that was going to be what happened. I thought either some underlying medical condition he had that he covered up, or suicide. Really sad to hear, wonder what could have driven to do that. Seemed like such a upbeat positive man, I'd never guess that's how he would go.

I had two suspicions. Suicide or heart attack…

He was in too great of shape! The guy even practiced yoga.

It makes you wonder if when Mike heard about the suicides of fellow musicians like Chris Cornell, he started considering doing the same at some point… or was 2020 and Covid the reason? How far back has he been struggling with depression?

If there was no suicide note, there is a small chance he was murdered. But I have a feeling it really was suicide. Look at Robin Williams… nice and happy looking people are good at hiding pain.

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-mike-howe-was-victimized-by-a-failing-health-care-system-before-his-suicide/

Troublezone wrote:

If there was no suicide note, there is a small chance he was murdered. But I have a feeling it really was suicide. Look at Robin Williams… nice and happy looking people are good at hiding pain.

I was actually thinking about Robin Williams as well.

It didn't have to end like this

Robin Williams was terminally ill. He didn't kill himself because of depression.

Troublezone wrote:

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-mike-howe-was-victimized-by-a-failing-health-care-system-before-his-suicide/

That original post was deleted off Facebook because it caused things to spiral out of control.


This is Metal Church's Facebook from about an hour ago:


Concerning our recently deleted post addressing the news that Mike’s passing was a suicide, we wanted to dispel any misconceptions that might have arisen from certain media reports. In our efforts to do that, our attempts at honesty created a narrative that fell outside our purest of intentions. We were in no way, shape or form referring to anything in relation to vaccinations, COVID or politics. We were saying our brother was hurting and while he was seeking medical care for it, the treatments he was utilizing did not protect him. Otherwise, he would still be with us today.
If you knew Mike Howe, then you knew he was a truly good human being who loved his friends, his family and his many fans around the world. He would always go the extra mile to make someone feel good and he would always give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. We ask that you remember Mike in that way and for the amazing metal music he created.
This is an extremely difficult time for everyone who knew Mike personally and those that knew him through the music. We are all still processing the loss of our brother. We apologize that the original statement was misunderstood or created an incorrect dialog. We ask that you please stop attacking each other in relation to Mike’s passing and Metal Church. We ask that you take that energy and use it to keep Mike’s memory alive by sharing the music he created while he was with us. We want Metal Church music to bring people together as it has over the years and not be divisive.
Godspeed Mike Howe, WE LOVE YOU!!!

Sorry 007, I didn’t see your post.

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metal-church-apologizes-for-original-statement-regarding-mike-howes-death-issues-amended-version/

Lari wrote:

Robin Williams was terminally ill. He didn't kill himself because of depression.

Doesn’t Michael J Fox have the same condition? (Parkinson’s)

He’s still alive. It’s not necessarily terminal… he just didn’t want people to see him with it!



Btw… you obviously are very naive to the fact comedians are some of the biggest victims of depression!

I think Metal Church are accusing big pharma of failing to provide proper medication for Mike Howe’s depression. That’s my guess of what they are saying… although it’s a bit vague.

Sounds to me like they are blaming big pharma of giving him drugs without much therapy to help him deal. The drugs they give for depression can actually make things worse, and often times it takes several trials or different drugs to find one that helps. Even then, you can be on one for years that helps, then all of a sudden it stops working and the doctors end up changing things around. That process can also make things very hard on the person taking the medications. This part here:

"were saying our brother was hurting and while he was seeking medical care for it, the treatments he was utilizing did not protect him. Otherwise, he would still be with us today."

Makes me think that's what happened to Mike. It's tragic and really sad to hear he went out like that. Having had family members go thru this shit, I can feel the anger behind their statement. I hope his family and those closest to him can come to terms that it wasn't really Mike that killed himself, it was a disease that took his life. A disease no different than cancer or any other.

Troublezone wrote:

Lari wrote:

Robin Williams was terminally ill. He didn't kill himself because of depression.

Btw… you obviously are very naive to the fact comedians are some of the biggest victims of depression!

What a weird presumptive comment. Where did I say that?

I only said Robin Williams didn't kill himself because of depression.

Robin Williams' widow says it wasn't depression that led actor to take his life

Robin Williams' son opens up about father's mental health, saying the star was "frustrated" and "very uncomfortable" before his death

His quality of life became so bad because of Lewy body disease, he felt dying was easier.

Iron Maiden stopped playing Tears of a Clown on tour after more details of Williams came out, and the "sad clown" narrative was debunked. They didn't want to disrespect him and Steve Harris probably felt a little embarrassed for assuming he knew what had gone down.

Lari wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Lari wrote:

Robin Williams was terminally ill. He didn't kill himself because of depression.

Btw… you obviously are very naive to the fact comedians are some of the biggest victims of depression!

What a weird presumptive comment. Where did I say that?

I only said Robin Williams didn't kill himself because of depression.

Robin Williams' widow says it wasn't depression that led actor to take his life

Robin Williams' son opens up about father's mental health, saying the star was "frustrated" and "very uncomfortable" before his death

His quality of life became so bad because of Lewy body disease, he felt dying was easier.

Iron Maiden stopped playing Tears of a Clown on tour after more details of Williams came out, and the "sad clown" narrative was debunked. They didn't want to disrespect him and Steve Harris probably felt a little embarrassed for assuming he knew what had gone down.

Are you aware that sometimes even those closest to us don’t know everything. His wife didn’t either. To have Parkinson’s is very depressing.

You also skipped over my comment about Michael J Fox having Parkinson’s (and still being alive). The terminal illness comment is incorrect. You can live with Parkinson’s for many years.

Glenn Tipton also has Parkinson’s. No mention of him being on his death bed…

Do you believe every “debunked” statement given? Who can debunk depression and people that use humor to mask it.

You probably believe every “fact checker” that is on payroll of biased political billionaire corporations too.

If you guys are going to argue, can I suggest you take it to a private message format? This thread is dedicated to a m an that recently lost his life, I find it very disrespectful to have this shit going on in it.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

If you guys are going to argue, can I suggest you take it to a private message format? This thread is dedicated to a m an that recently lost his life, I find it very disrespectful to have this shit going on in it.

I agree.