I was shocked and saddened to hear that musician and professional wrestler Andy Williams died early this morning after collapsing following a match last night in Millvale, Pennsylvania. He was 48. Williams was best known as the founding rhythm guitarist of Buffalo metalcore outfit Every Time I Die, a role that he remained in until they disbanded in 2022. Williams elected not to join the rest of the instrumental section from ETID's final lineup (lead guitarist/fellow founding ETID member Jordan Buckley, bassist Stephen Micciche, drummer Clayton "Goose" Holyoak) in their new band Better Lovers to focus on his wrestling career with AEW, but he was part of a newly founded post-hardcore/sludge metal band called Atomic Rule that released a pair of EP's last year.
As I'm not a wrestling fan, Williams' work in ETID is what I'll primarily remember him by. Him and Buckley were such a formidable guitar tandem that always knew when to punch people in the face with their riffs or give them a chance to breathe before picking the tempo back up again. On top of his top-notch guitar playing, he was a colorful personality that fully embodied the goofy energy that ETID often carried themselves with. ETID would've never become the beacon of consistent greatness that made them one of the most influential bands in the history of metalcore without Williams and his electrifying presence. He'll be sorely missed and my thoughts go out to his family and friends.
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