Corrosion Of Conformity drummer Reed Mullin dead at 53

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Drummer and co-founder of Corrosion Of Conformity Reed Mullin has died at the age of 53

Reed Mullin
Reed Mullin (Image credit: Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns - Getty)

Corrosion Of Conformity drummer Reed Mullin has died at the age of 53.

The news was confirmed on the band’s social media channels earlier this morning in a short statement, which reads: “Reed, it’s with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to a friend, a brother and pioneer.

"Love and condolences to the family, friends and fans who will miss you and thanks for the music.”

Mullin co-founded Corrosion Of Conformity with guitarist Woody Weatherman and bassist Mike Dean in 1982, with the band releasing their debut album Eye For An Eye in 1984.

Mullin would go on to appear on 1985’s Animosity, 1991’s Blind, 1994’s Deliverance, 1996’s Wiseblood and 2000’s America’s Volume Dealer before departing the band in 2001.

He returned to the fold in 2010, and appeared on the COC's self-titled eighth studio album in 2012 and also featured on Corrosion Of Conformity’s last two records IX and No Cross No Crown.

In 2012, Mullin suffered a seizure while on the road with the group, and in 2016, the drummer was forced to leave Corrosion Of Conformity's tour with Clutch and Lamb Of God after suffering an alcohol-related seizure.

Mullin was also behind the Teenage Time Killers project in 2015 which also featured artists including Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Slipknot's Corey Taylor, former Dead Kennedys' frontman Jello Biafra, Blink-182's Matt Skiba and Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon.

Tributes to Mullin have begun to come in from the world of rock and metal, with Stone Sour and Hellyeah’s Roy Mayorga saying: “What an amazing drummer. He was definitely an influence and had a huge impact on myself and so many others. I remember the first time seeing him crush those drums so fast and so powerful. He was epic!”

Faith No More frontman Mike Patton said: “Damn! So sad to hear about my ol’ pal Reed Mullin. Rest in peace my friend.”

Eyehategod’s Mike Williams added: “I don’t know what to say. He was my friend and I’ll miss him. This one hurts.”

The cause of Reed’s death has not been made public.

I don’t know what to say... He was my friend & I’ll miss him. This one hurts... ☮️🖤 @coccabal Mike IX Williams

A photo posted by @southernnihilismfront on Jan 27, 2020 at 9:12pm PST

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.