It is with our deepest regrets that we must announce the passing of our brother, our friend and true legend of heavy... Posted by Metal Church on Monday, July 26, 2021
METAL CHURCH singer Mike Howe has died at the age of 55. No cause of death has been revealed.
The news of Howe's passing was broken by METAL CHURCH in a social media post this evening. The band wrote: "It is with our deepest regrets that we must announce the passing of our brother, our friend and true legend of heavy metal music. Mike Howe passed away this morning at his home in Eureka, California. We are devastated and at a loss for words. Please respect our privacy and the Howe family’s privacy during this most difficult time."
Howe, who fronted METAL CHURCH from 1988 until 1994, officially rejoined the band in April 2015.
In the summer of 2014, METAL CHURCH suddenly found themselves in need of a new singer. As fate would have it, guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof was already in talks with Mike for another project that he was working on with SAXON drummer Nigel Glockler, so he decided to ask Mike to rejoin METAL CHURCH. Mike agreed, but true to form, didn't want to make it official until he knew for sure that the integrity of the new material was there.
