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Veteran punk rock musician Casey Chaos, lead singer of the band Amen, died at the age of 59 in mid December.
He was found by his mother slumped over with his head back by a sofa at his Los Angeles house just before Christmas.
The cause of death was revealed by a friend on Facebook.
The musician died from heart failure.
'He had suffered a massive heart attack,' his pal, photographer Dean Karr, wrote on the social media site. 'Casey had been dealing with heart issues, poor circulation, and high blood pressure for the last few years.'
Karr added, 'We lost a great man/musician/friend/son.'
Veteran punk rock musician Casey Chaos, lead singer of the band Amen, died at the age of 59 in mid December
He was found by his mother slumped over with his head back by a sofa at his Los Angeles house just before Christmas said his pal Dean Karr
Dean explained how the evening unfolded in his post.
'Hardcore Punk singer Casey Chaos (Karim Chmielinski) of the band AMEN passed away on December 20, 2024 at roughly 10:20 p.m. in his Laurel Canyon home,' said the artist.
'He was excited for his Mother's arrival from Melbourne, Florida to spend Christmas with him and had sent a limousine to retrieve her from LAX airport.'
But once she got to the house there was no answer.
'The Mother arrived at 10:45 p.m. and after no response to her knocking on the door, she let herself in with a spare key. Upon opening the door, she discovered Casey sitting on the floor with his back against the sofa and head tilted back. He had suffered a massive heart attack.
'Casey had been dealing with heart issues, poor circulation and high blood pressure for the last few years.
'Regardless, we lost a great man/musician/friend/son.'
He added more information about the passing.
'Casey was cremated on 12/23/24 at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, CA. Memorial services for Casey will be announced at a later date. Casey Chaos is survived by his Mother Tambil Chmielinski and her dog Momo.'
The cause of death was revealed by a friend on Facebook. The musician died from heart failure; seen in 2002
'He had suffered a massive heart attack,' Karr wrote on the social media site. 'Casey had been dealing with heart issues, poor circulation, and high blood pressure for the last few years.' Seen in London in 1999
Karr also talked about his pal's career.
'Casey proved to the industry to always be yourself - NO rules applied to this rock icon!' he wtote.
'Casey Chaos had also played bass in Christian Death with Rozz Williams and Rikk Agnew, other bands include Disorderly Conduct and Scum. Power hitters Dave Lombardo, Roy Mayorga and Shannon Larkin have laid down drum tracks to be included in an upcoming new Amen album being finished in London by John King and Oliver Kenny!'
Chaos, who also took the stage with bands such as Christian Death and Scum, was born October 9, 1965 in Trenton, New York, and raised in Melbourne, Florida, the music news outlet NME reported.
The outlet noted that Chaos, whose real name was Karim Chmielnski, initially was involved in skateboarding as a child, going on tour to perform exhibitions at 10.
Chaos' skateboarding pal Duane Peters introduced him to the band Black Flag in 1982, NME reported, leading Chaos to explore a career in music with the band Casey and the Skate Punx.
The band, which also consisted of guitarist Ken Decter, bassist Scot Lade and drummer Bill Erwin, was subsequently renamed Disorderly Conduct, according to NME.
Dean explained how the evening unfolded in his post. 'Hardcore Punk singer Casey Chaos (Karim Chmielinski) of the band AMEN passed away on December 20, 2024 at roughly 10:20 p.m. in his Laurel Canyon home,' said the artist
'He was excited for his Mother's arrival from Melbourne, Florida to spend Christmas with him and had sent a limousine to retrieve her from LAX airport.' But once she got to the house there was no answer. 'The Mother arrived at 10:45 p.m. and after no response to her knocking on the door, she let herself in with a spare key. Upon opening the door, she discovered Casey sitting on the floor,' it was added; seen in 2002
Chaos subsequently relocated to Los Angeles and the group again changed their band name to Amen.
Chaos creatively collaborated with his friend Rikk Agnew, guitarist of the band Christian Death, on the group's record Iconologia in 1993, according to NME. He had also performed with the group Scum.
Amen released four studio albums over a decadelong span, consisting of Slave (1994), Amen (1999), We Have Come for Your Parents (2000) and Death Before Musick (2004).
Amen was involved with NME's 2001 tour with the groups Alfie, JJ72 and Starsailor.
Amen began recording a new album in 2014 but was unable to complete it amid touring obligations for Slipknot's Knotfest.
Chaos had returned to work on the album five years later in 2019, NME reported, but the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the process and the record was never completed.
On social media, multiple people involved with music industry paid memorial to Chaos amid news of his death, while fans remembered him as 'an absolute legend' and 'so underrated as a performer.'
'Rest in peace - Casey Chaos!' veteran drummer Roy Mayorga said on Instagram. 'It was great to know you and to call you my friend. I will miss you always. There will never be another one like you ... love you brother.'
Former MTV host Matt Pinfield said, 'My heart has been heavy today because we lost one of my brothers and our friend Casey Chaos. Rest In Peace, my rock and roll brother.'
Guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite, known as MGT, said he was 'shocked to hear of the passing of our friend Casey Chaos.
'I know he was in a lot of pain over the years, he really threw himself around onstage back in the day..such a lovely bloke, we just hung out together 2 months ago.'
Journalist Sammy Jones wrote, 'Really sad to hear the news about Casey Chaos. I did a couple of interviews with him back in the day, which turned into really long, sometimes deep conversations about life.
'Fond memories of him, and his shows. Another lesson in making every day count. RIP Casey.'
English (US) ·