Reed Mullin Dies: Rockers React
The death of Corrosion of Conformity drummer Reed Mullin has resulted in an outpouring of grief from the punk and metal communities on social media.
"Very sad to hear about the passing of our friend @ReedMullin of @coccabal," David Ellefson of Megadeth tweeted. "Prayers and condolences to his family, friends and bandmates. ... RIP."
"I think back to the days of meeting him and getting to know this person that had a glow around him," Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante wrote on Instagram. "I’ll never forget the time he lost one of his shoes in the pit at one of our shows. He came backstage with one shoe on like it was nothing, he just rolled with it."
A native of Raleigh, N.C., Mullin began playing drums as a teenager after receiving a "sparkly pawn-shop drum kit" for Christmas. After some basic tutelage from friend Woody Weatherman, the duo, along with bassist Mike Dean and singer Benji Shelton, founded Corrosion of Conformity shortly after that. By 1984, Eric Eycke was the singer, and they recorded their debut LP, Eye for an Eye.
The band went through a handful of lineups -- including a stretch without Dean -- but by the time of its major-label debut, 1994's Deliverance, the group found stability with Mullin, Weatherman, Dean and singer Pepper Keenan.
A back injury forced Mullin out of the band in 2001, but he returned in 2010. Other health issues caused him to miss shows recently; drum tech John Green filled in for those performances. It's unknown at this time who will serve as a permanent replacement.
Another drummer, Jon Wurster (who's played with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats and Bob Mould), who lives in Mullin's hometown of Raleigh, added, "Reed Mullin earned his place on the Mount Rushmore of punk/hardcore drumming decades ago. Anyone lucky enough to see him play back then knew they were in the presence of greatness. ... He was always super-nice and it’s my understanding that he was the spark plug that kept punk alive and flourishing in Raleigh."
Read below to see what others had to say about Mullin.