Casey Chaos (real name Karim Chmielinski) of Amen has died at the age of 59.
In a statement on Amen’s social the band posted:
“It is with great sadness, grief and sorrow that we confirm the passing of Casey Chaos after seeing the news currently being reported.
“As you can imagine, everyone in the band, past and present, are absolutely devastated.
“There was a lot going on with AMEN in the past 5-6 years that we didn’t announce. Casey loved and appreciated your support, and always wanted to wait until things were complete, rather than sharing unfinished work-in-progress material.
“The rest of us are going to reflect on the ways we can honour Casey in the way he deserves; to have his genius, talent and
“Please share any positive memories you have about Casey on this post…“For our part, we will share more in time.
“REFUSE AMEN, LONG LIVE CHAOS.
“Goodbye, brother.”
Amen formed in Los Angeles in 1994 but had most of their success out of the UK. Casey Chaos had been a member of Disorderly Conduct whose 1986 album was titled ‘Amen’.
Amen released four albums between 1994 and 2004. The band took a five-year break from 2009 returning in 2014. At that point they started work on a fifth album which is understood to be near completed but unreleased.
Chmielinski was born in New York but grew up in Melbourne, Florida (where Jim Morrison came from). He was a professional skater at age 10.
Casey also had a project with Twiggy Ramirez and Queens of the Stone Age called Headband. He was also a member of Scars on Broadway with Daron Alakian of System of a Down.
A cause of death has no been announced.
Tracii Guns la LA Guns said:
Casey Chaos. The one man I’ve met in my life that was 100 percent not fucking around. A living Tesla coil . We toured together. I fell in love with his insanity and also his very sensitive heart. His band Amen tore us apart every night when I was in Brides . I never felt like a bigger poser in my life when I watched him and his band. In fact I loved them so much their bassist Scott Sorry ended up replacing my bassist in the Brides which was an amazing experience. Casey dealt with pain 24 hours a day and unfortunately he caused a lot of pain to others. Like I said he was never fucking around. I haven’t spoken to him in years and I hate that. He is a legend in my mind and he’s unforgettable. Cya next time Casey
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