The New York Hardcore scene will never be the same again, as vocalist and frontman Eddie Sutton of legendary crossover thrash group Leeway has died following his battle with cancer. Sutton’s fighting spirit remained, even after his transfer to hospice care at the end of last month following the completion of a clinical trial he had taken part in. But no matter how hard even the strongest among us fight, cancer fights dirty.
A tribute to Sutton was posted on his official Instagram account, and details of his wake were made public. The caption on the Instagram post reads:
“Edward Anthony Pomponio
Passed 4/19/24 peacefully in his sleep.
We would like to invite all his extended family to come say good bye to our son and brother.
The wake will be held
Tuesday, 4/23/24
at Farenga Funeral Home
3808 Ditmars Blvd
Astoria, Queens NY 11105
From 3pm-8pm”
Coming out of the mid-to-late-80s hardcore scene in New York, Leeway cut their teeth in the early days at the original birthplace of punk rock itself, New York’s own CBGB in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan. The band released four albums starting with 1989’s Born to Expire and concluding with 1995’s Open Mouth Kiss. The band broke up a number of times, but always found their way back to each other.
Sutton was first diagnosed with stage three adenocarcinoma in 2021 at the far-too-young age of 50. The community rallied behind Sutton, with many contributing to the GoFundMe that was set up to support Sutton’s recovery. At this time, the GoFundMe has yet to be updated to let fans know if additional funds are needed or not following his death.
Everyone here at MetalSucks would like to extend our condolences to Sutton’s family, friends, and fans all over the world who morn his loss today.