pic: Tim Hubbard
Decibel is extremely saddened to announce the death of drummer/vocalist Mike Browning, who passed away on July 13, 2026, at the age of 62. A legend of the Florida extreme metal scene, Browning was a co-founder of Morbid Angel with Trey Azgathoth in early ’80s (as well as pre-Morbid Angel acts Ice and Heretic), then briefly performed with Tampa death metallers Incubus before going onto found his own band, the sci-fi death metal act, Nocturnus. The band’s 1990 debut, The Key, remains a death metal benchmark to this day. He’d record drums only on one more Nocturnus record, 1992’s Thresholds, before splitting with the band in 1992.
Browning spent time in several other Tampa metal acts over the next two decades before forming Nocturnus AD in the 2013. A spiritual successor to Nocturnus’ The Key era, the band released a pair of acclaimed albums via Profound Lore Records (Paradox and Unicursal), as well as single via the Decibel Flexi Series in 2024.
Live and die by the sign of The Key! Safe travels on your journey through the cosmos, Mike.
