Michael Ralph Scaccia ( ; June 14, 1965 – December 22, 2012) was an American musician, best known as a guitarist for several heavy metal and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

acts, including

Rigor Mortis Rigor mortis (), or postmortem rigidity, is the fourth stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemical changes in the muscles postmortem (mainly calcium ...

, Ministry and

Revolting Cocks Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American-Belgian industrial rock band, and sometimes supergroup, that began as a musical side project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. History 1984 ...

Life and career

Scaccia was born in Babylon, New York. He was of Italian descent and had three older sisters. Scaccia's first band, Spectrum, was formed with high school friends Chuck and Chad Williams on guitar and bass, Johnny Carpenter on drums and Barry (Baron) Lane on vocals. Bruce Corbitt eventually replaced Barry Lane on vocals. Scaccia left Spectrum in late June 1982; the next year, he formed

with schoolmates Harden Harrison and Casey Orr. Bruce Corbitt was added to the lineup on vocals in the summer of 1986. Within five years they landed a major label deal with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1987. In 1988, Rigor Mortis released their self-titled debut album via the label. In 1989, Scaccia was asked by

Al Jourgensen Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is t ...

to join his band Ministry for their 1989–1990 ''

The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry (band), Ministry, released on November 14, 1989, by Sire Records. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven directio ...

'' tour. Jourgensen was impressed by Scaccia's talents that he included him into the band full-time. Scaccia left Rigor Mortis in 1991. He then went on to record and tour for Ministry's next album, ''

Psalm 69 Psalm 69 is the 69th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul". It is subtitled: "To the chief musician, upon Shoshannim, a Psalm of David". The Boo ...

'', throughout 1992. He also played on their

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

tour. Throughout 1994–1995, recording began on the Ministry's follow-up to ''Psalm 69...'', '' Filth Pig''. They relocated to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, where sessions took place. Amidst the recording, on August 29, 1995, Scaccia was arrested at a

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

for

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

possession. He was originally confronted because he resembled an armed-robbery suspect and was carrying a case that they thought might contain a gun. They found heroin in the case instead. Scaccia was arrested and then released on $2,500 bail. He left the band right after completing ''Filth Pig'', in an attempt to rid off his addiction. In 2003, Rigor Mortis, with Scaccia in the lineup, reformed in Texas to positive reviews. Also at this time, a sober Jourgensen again asked him to rejoin for touring their new album, '' Animositisomina''. He agreed, but left the Ministry again in 2006 before rejoining with Al Jourgensen in the studio to record what would be ''

Relapse In internal medicine, relapse or recidivism is a recurrence of a past (typically medical) condition. For example, multiple sclerosis and malaria often exhibit peaks of activity and sometimes very long periods of dormancy, followed by relapse or r ...

'', which was scheduled to tour in the summer of 2012. It was confirmed that Scaccia had been working with the original members of Rigor Mortis as they worked on their first album in 20 years. Scaccia collapsed onstage shortly after 11:30 pm on December 22, 2012, at The Rail Club in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, where he was performing as part of the 50th birthday celebrations for Bruce Corbitt, the singer for Rigor Mortis; he died onstage between 11:36 pm and 11:40 pm. He was officially pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after midnight on December 23. Although initial reports suggested a

seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

possibly caused by the

strobe lighting A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning ...

at the venue, the coroner indicated the cause of death to be a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

brought on by

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

. He was 47. A memorial service was held for Scaccia on Sunday, December 30 at the Aristide Event and Conference Center in Mansfield, Texas.

Personal discography

;With

* ''Rigor Mortis'' (1988) * ''Freaks'' EP (1989) * ''Rigor Mortis Vs. The Earth'' (1991) * ''Slave to the Grave'' (2014) ;With Ministry * '' In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up'' (1990) * '' Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs'' (1992) * '' Filth Pig'' (1996) * '' Greatest Fits'' (2001) * '' Houses of the Molé'' (2004) * '' Rio Grande Blood'' (2006) * ''

Cover Up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2012) * '' From Beer to Eternity'' (2013) ;With

* '' Linger Ficken' Good...And Other Barnyard Oddities'' (1993) * ''

Cocked and Loaded ''Cocked and Loaded'' is an LP released February 14, 2006 by the Revolting Cocks on 13th Planet Records. Track listing Promo and Europe Retail Personnel All track numbers refer to the retail version. Revolting Cocks * Alien Jourgensen - ...

'' (2006) ;With

Lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

* '' Pure Chewing Satisfaction'' (1997) * '' 70's Rock Must Die'' (2000) ;With 1000 Homo DJs * ''Supernaut'' (1990) ;With Skrew * ''Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame'' (1992) ;With League of Blind Women * ''League of Blind Women'' (1998) ;With Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters * '' Bikers Welcome Ladies Drink Free'' (2011) ;Various artists compilation * ''Lucio Fulci: A Symphony of Fear'' (1999)

References

Bibliography

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