Sad news for the metal, noise, and experimental music world today, as Gabe Serbian, drummer for mysterious noise rock band The Locust, died yesterday, April 30th, 2022. According to Metal Archives, Gabe died one day short of his 45 birthday.
The Locust posted the following statement on their Facebook:
“It’s with heavy hearts that we have to share the passing of Gabe Serbian on April 30th, 2022. This world will miss Gabe as a friend, family member, musician, and artist. He will continue to live on in so many ways and through everyone he has connected with during his time with us. May 1st is his birthday, and we hope that you can find a way to celebrate his life.
“During this difficult time we ask that you give Gabe’s family privacy.”
The Locust wasn’t Gabe’s only contribution to the rock and metal world. He was also the founding drummer and one of the earliest guitarists for vegan death metallers Cattle Decapitation, and performed vocals for experimental crossover thrash act Dead Cross until he was replaced by Mike Patton in 2016.
But it was with The Locust that Gabe left his most irritated hive on the face of the rock world. Serbian played guitars in the band until 2001, at which point he took over drumming. His frenetic rhythms and explosive live performances quickly because the stuff of underground legend, and made the band one that hit extremely hard with a certain type of unorthodox fan.
To break the fourth wall, The Locust were always one of the most extreme bands out there for me growing up. They were one of those bands you spoke about with respect, because they were so intense and jarring that they were a little scary. A whole lot of that was their absolutely insane drumming, while I wasn’t familiar with Serbian personally, as a name (which was seemingly part of The Locust’s masked MO), I was always amazed by his performances.
Everyone at MetalSucks sends their heart out to Gabe’s family, friends, collaborators and fans during this time. A GoFundMe has been launched to benefit Gabe’s wife and two children, so please give if you can.