Former Ministry and Prong drummer Aaron Rossi dead at 44

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Metal Hall of Famer Aaron Rossi played with Prong, Ministry, John 5 and others and was nominated for a Grammy in 2009

Aaron Rossi at the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.
(Image credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Former Ministry and Prong drummer Aaron Rossi has died of "a sudden, severe heart attack" at the age of 44.

Known affectionately as 'The Beast,' Rossi played on Ministry's 2009 live album Adios... Puta Madres and 2013's From Beer to Eternity.

Before that, he drummed on Prong's 2009 record Power of the Damager and its 2009 follow-up Power of the Damn Mixxxer.

For his work on Adios... Puta Madres – in particular the track Señor Peligro – Rossi was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Metal Performance category at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010.

And in 2020 he was inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame with Prong.

A statement posted on his Instagram page confirms Rossi died in January.

It reads: "It is with overwhelming sadness to share that on January 27, 2025, Aaron John Rossi passed away from a sudden, severe heart attack.

"Aaron was a force with his own gravitational pull. His powerful energy instantly captured you. If you saw him on stage, you were blown away by his immense power, speed and agility – and if you were lucky enough to know him in person, you were equally taken by his kindness, humour and humility.

"Aaron leaving us so soon is beyond devastating, but we know that he would not want to be remembered that way. He made us laugh and told us stories like it was his job. We sincerely hope you will share some of your own stories of Aaron in the comments.

"Aaron’s talent on the drums and his ear for music was incomparable – and his sound will live on forever. He will always be The Shredder, The Beast, The Big Dog.

"Rock In Peace, Aaron! We love and miss you!"

In 2015, Metal Hammer described Rossi as "a slave-driving dynamo that supercharges proceedings" in a review of a Ministry show in Sydney, Australia.

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.