Mitch Lucker

Mitch Lucker
Lucker performing with Suicide Silence in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Mitchell Adam Lucker
Born	(1984-10-20)October 20, 1984 Riverside, California, United States
Died	November 1, 2012(2012-11-01) (aged 28) Huntington Beach, California, United States
Genres	Deathcore
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2002–2012
Labels	Nuclear Blast, Century Media
Associated acts	Suicide Silence, Commissioner

Mitchell Adam "Mitch" Lucker (20 October 1984 – 1 November 2012)^[1] was an American musician and lead singer for the deathcore band Suicide Silence.

Music career

Lucker first started performing in his brother's garage band, covering a Hatebreed song he knew the lyrics to when they needed a vocalist. Lucker and rhythm guitarist Chris Garza later started Suicide Silence in 2002, a band which rose to fame very quickly.

Originally, the band had two vocalists, with Tanner Womack fronting the band as well as Lucker. However, when Womack was dismissed, Lucker became the solo vocalist.

The band's debut album The Cleansing becoming one of the biggest-selling Century Media releases with 7,250 copies sold in the first week. Their second album No Time to Bleed was released on June 30, 2009. The band's last album to feature Lucker, The Black Crown was released on July 12, 2011. By this time, his lyrics had begun to lose the previous controversial anti-religious content. When asked by Kerrang! Lucker explained:^[2]

I'm not trying to put people's beliefs down – it's about me and my life. This is my head cracked open and poured on the paper! I still have the same beliefs and same views, but I'm more open to everything. [...] At this point in my life, I don't see the good in making people hate you for something you say. This record is for everybody.

Influences

In an interview with The AU Interview, he said the bands that influenced him into starting a band were "Korn, Deftones, Slayer, Sepultura... everything that my dad would buy and bring home to me and my brother saying ‘Hey, listen to this.’"^[3]

Personal life

Lucker was born on October 20, 1984. He grew up in Riverside, California, with both his parents and his siblings. He was married to Jolie Carmadella on May 8, 2010 after having a daughter on June 30, 2007.

Tattoos

Lucker performing with Suicide Silence in London, 2008

Lucker was casually known for his extensive and large collection of tattoos on his body covering his arms, torso, neck/throat, hands, fingers and even his face. The only place he refused to ever get tattooed was on his back. He explained this by stating "I like seeing the artwork because it is artwork! [Having my back tattooed would] be like owning an expensive painting that you can never see. Like, ‘Oh, I have this beautiful, expensive painting, but you can’t see it because it’s at my uncle’s house." ^[4]

The tattoo Lucker had on his face was one of the last ones he ever got done. The tattoo was the Japanese kanji symbol for the word "strength".

Lucker's signature black bars that he has on each of his fingers were cover-up tattoos. The original finger tattoos he had across his fingers was "FORXEVER". Lucker stated that he witnessed too many people bearing this exact tattoo, as a result he had the black bars tattooed over each letter.^[4]

Death

On November 1, 2012, it was announced by Orange County Coroners Office that Mitchell Lucker had died that day from injuries sustained after a motorcycle accident in Huntington Beach, California. The coroner's office said Lucker was "pronounced dead at 6:17 a.m. Thursday at UCI Medical Center in Orange County". One report stated that Lucker crashed his motorcycle shortly after 8:55 p.m. on October 31 after an argument with his wife. She stated that she begged him not to leave. She said he had been drinking. One report stated that Jolie and their daughter Kenadee had tried to follow him in the car. She pulled up to the accident and stated she was his wife. Mitch never woke up and later was taken off life support.^[5][6][7] He was 28 years old.

Aftermath

On the night of November 1, a candlelight vigil was held in memory of Lucker at the crash site. It was attended by 300–400 people, including fans, friends, and family members. At the vigil, Lucker's wife, Jolie Carmadella, stated that he had been intoxicated at the time of his death, and that she had begged him not to leave the house:^[8]

He was an alcoholic, and it's been a big battle. I tried to stop him. I was in front of him begging him not to leave the house. Begging him. 'Just seriously, for us, don't leave.' And he did. And this is what happened...He was an amazing man. He was a wonderful father and a great husband. And now he's gonna miss out on watching [his then five year-old daughter] Kenadee grow, because he decided to drink and ride.

His Suicide Silence bandmates held a memorial show titled "Ending is the Beginning" on December 21, 2012, which took place at the Fox Theater in Pomona, CA. It served to benefit Kenadee Lucker's future education costs. The band has also started the Kenadee Lucker Education Fund and continues to promote donations towards Mitch's daughter.^[9][10]

Also, Oliver Sykes, lead vocalist of Bring Me the Horizon teamed up with band photographer Adam Elmakias to raise money for Lucker's daughter. All raised money will go towards her education fund. This fund has since been discontinued.

Discography

Suicide Silence

• Suicide Silence - EP (2005)
• The Cleansing (2007)
• No Time to Bleed (2009)
• The Black Crown (2011)
• You Can't Stop Me (2014) - Posthumous, lyrics only^[11]

Commissioner

• What Is? (2011)

Collaborations

• "Predator; Never Prey" (featuring Mitch Lucker) – The Acacia Strain (2006)
• "Classic Struggle" (featuring Mitch Lucker) – Winds of Plague (2009)
• "We Are the Many" (featuring Mitch Lucker) – Caliban (2012)
• "The Sinatra" (featuring Mitch Lucker) – My My Misfire
• "Spit Vitriol" (featuring Mitch Lucker) - The Devastated (2012)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mitch Lucker.