Mike Browning, drummer for Morbid Angel, has died aged 62, according to his bandmates.
He was a founding member of the death metal group and remembered as a ‘true pioneer’ by fans.
‘R.I.P Mike, thanks for helping make all this happen,’ Morbid Angel said in a statement. ‘Our condolences to his family & especially his daughter.’
Morbid Angel was one of the first bands to include guttural vocals, which are now so iconic in the metal genre.
Originally forming under the names Ice and then Heretic, the band was started in 1983 by Browning and Trey Azagthoth.
He left the band after a falling out with Azagthoth in 1986, the same year their debut album Abominations of Desolation was recorded.
That was the only record he made with the group and wasn’t released until 1991, years after he had left.
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Morbid Angel’s first studio album, Altars of Madness, in 1989 is regarded as one of the most important death metal albums ever released.
Browning went on to work with several other metal bands, including Nocturnus, Acheron, and After Death.
Megadeath’s drummer, Dirk Verbeuren, called him a ‘musical legend and truly the nicest guy’.
‘I can’t believe you’re gone,’ he added. ‘Thank you for your music and for all the good chats.’
Profound Lore Records wrote: ‘RIP death metal legend/visionary and sci-fi death metal godfather Mike Browning of Nocturnus/Nocturnus AD.
‘It has been an honour good sir. Now journey beyond the gateway to the outer void!’
Guitarist Michael Amott wrote: ‘Damn, that’s a shock. True DM legend. Still have the letters and tapes we traded in the late 80s, met him in FL in 1990 and he was very cool. R.I.P.’
Browning is survived by his daughter Bela, who thanked fans for their messages as she branded him ‘an amazing person and an even better father’.
In another comment, she added: ‘Thank you for this beautiful post 💞 he was an amazing man and loved his work in music so very much.’
His band Nocturnus AD last posted in 2024 while performing at Swarm Fest, after dropping album Unicursal earlier that year.