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, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

acts, including

Rigor Mortis Rigor mortis (Latin: ''rigor'' "stiffness", and ''mortis'' "of death"), or postmortem rigidity, is the third stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemic ...

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

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 Richard23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. History 1984: Origin ...

Life and career

Scaccia was born in

Babylon, New York The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and Fire Island are in the southernmost part of the town. It bord ...

. 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) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

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 be ...

to join his band

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, released on November 14, 1989 by Sire Records. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven direction, with Jourgens ...

'' tour. Jourgensen was so 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 Book ...

'', throughout 1992. He also played on their

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

tour. Throughout 1994–1995, recording began on Ministry's follow-up to ''Psalm 69...'', ''

Filth Pig Filth or The Filth may refer to: Common uses * Dirt, unclean matter * Police officer, a pejorative in British slang Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Filth'' (film), a 2013 film based on the novel * ''Filth'', an alternative title for ''S ...

''. They relocated to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

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 from the United States, headquarter ...

for

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

possession. He was originally confronted because he resembled an armed-robbery suspect and he was carrying a case that they thought might contain a gun. When they opened the case, they found heroin instead. Scaccia was arrested and then released on $2,500 bail. He left the band right after completing ''Filth Pig'', in 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 clean, sober Jourgensen again asked him to rejoin for touring their new album, '' Animositisomina''. He agreed, but left 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 the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, 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 An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

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 blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

brought on by

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

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

Mansfield, Texas Mansfield is a suburban city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area. The city is located mostly in Tarrant county, with small parts in Ellis and Johnson counties. Its location is approximately 30 miles f ...

Personal discography

;With

* ''Rigor Mortis'' (1988) ;With

* ''

In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up ''In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up'' is a live album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on September 4, 1990, by Sire Records. Critical reception and legacy Audio from the live performance of "Breathe", subtitled "L ...

'' (1990) * '' Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs'' (1992) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

Greatest Fits ''Greatest Fits'' is a greatest hits album by American industrial metal band Ministry (band), Ministry, released on June 19, 2001 by Warner Bros. Records. Background The compilation was released to coincide with the release of the movie ''A.I. A ...

'' (2001) * ''

Houses of the Molé ''Houses of the Molé'' is the ninth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on June 21, 2004 by Sanctuary Records. It is noteworthy for being the first Ministry album not to feature bassist and longtime collaborator P ...

'' (2004) * ''

Rio Grande Blood ''Rio Grande Blood'' is the tenth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released in 2006. It is their first release through 13th Planet and Megaforce Records. Overview The album is the second installment in the band's ant ...

'' (2006) * ''

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

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2012) * ''

From Beer to Eternity ''From Beer to Eternity'' is the thirteenth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on September 6, 2013 by 13th Planet Records. Although frontman Al Jourgensen had previously stated that this was going to be Ministry's ...

'' (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 - l ...

'' (2006) ;With

Lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

* ''

Pure Chewing Satisfaction ''Pure Chewing Satisfaction'' is the second studio album by American band Lard, released in 1997. Critical reception The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' wrote that "the sound may be a repetitive industrial/metal grind (think Ministry's 'Just One F ...

'' (1997) * ''

70's Rock Must Die ''70's Rock Must Die'' is an EP by Lard, released in 2000. Track listing Personnel Lard *Al Jourgensen – guitars, keys, programming, production * Paul Barker – bass, keys, programming, backing vocals (1), production *J ...

'' (2000) ;With

1000 Homo DJs 1000 Homo DJs was a side project of American industrial rock band Ministry. The project released two singles, one of which featured a cover of Black Sabbath's " Supernaut". 1000 Homo DJs began as a side project to release outtakes from Ministry' ...

* ''Supernaut'' (1990) ;With

Skrew Skrew is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1990 and disbanded in 1998, the group announced its return in 2009. Biography Skrew was formed in 1990 in Austin, Texas, by Adam Grossman and Danny Lohner. The band emerged from the dem ...

* ''Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame'' (1992) ;With

League of Blind Women League of Blind Women was a short-lived alternative rock supergroup that included Rob Buck (lead guitar) from 10,000 Maniacs, Jerry Augustyniak (drums) from 10,000 Maniacs, Casey Orr (bass) from Gwar and Rigor Mortis, Mike Scaccia (guitar) fro ...

* ''League of Blind Women'' (1998) ;With

Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters is an American alternative country band, formed by Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen, who uses the pseudonym Buck Satan. The initial lineup also featured Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick and ex-Ministry members Tony Camp ...

* '' Bikers Welcome Ladies Drink Free'' (2011) ;Various artists compilation * ''Lucio Fulci: A Symphony of Fear'' (1999)

References

Bibliography

* *