Andy Williams, Every Time I Die guitarist and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) performer, has died aged 48 after suffering a medical emergency at an independent wrestling event. Wrestling, hardcore and heavy metal communities have united in mourning since news broke on Sunday, 6 September.
According to TMZ, Williams collapsed at the end of his match. Doctors rushed to his aid and performed CPR before an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital, where he later died. AEW verified the news shortly after TMZ’s announcement, writing in a social media statement: ‘All Elite Wrestling is saddened to learn of the passing of Andy Williams, AKA The Butcher. A trailblazing musician with ETID and Atomic Rule, Williams made a successful transition into the world of professional wrestling and was incredibly respected by his peers both in and out of the ring. Our condolences go out to Williams’ family, friends and fans.’
Tributes pour in from the Andy Williams Every Time I Die community and beyond
The response from across music and wrestling has been immediate. Metalcore supergroup Better Lovers, which features several of Williams’ former Every Time I Die bandmates, described him as ‘a true one-of-one human being in every aspect of life’. Progressive metal band Between The Buried And Me posted a lengthy tribute on social media: ‘No one in our world will ever stop talking about Andy Williams. And that’s the closest thing to immortality anyone could hope for. Our heart breaks for his family and those who were closest to him, particularly his wife Hana, who adored him beyond words. RIP to one of the nastiest riffers of all time.’
From the world of wrestling, AEW colleague Brody King called Williams ‘effortlessly funny, kind, and [a] supporter of all things his friends were into’. Matt Hardy, who performed in AEW and its chief rival WWE, said: ‘Andy was a joy to work with: he was a kind, funny and deep individual who was an extremely talented musician and wrestler.’ Paige, who appeared in AEW under the name Saraya, called him ‘one of the best human beings’ on X. Former AEW performer Danhausen shared a photograph of Williams with the words ‘Rest in peace, sweet man’, while WWE’s Matt Cardona remembered: ‘I wasn’t lucky enough to know him well, but he was always super cool to me when we saw each other. I was mad at him when he shaved his head because his Butcher figure had long hair and became inaccurate.’
In the wider metal world, Chris Motionless of Motionless In White remembered Williams as ‘one of the nicest and funniest people we’ve ever toured with’. Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta wrote: ‘Life can be cruel and unfair, and that’s why we need people like Andy Williams around.’
Twenty-four years with Every Time I Die, then a new chapter
Born in Buffalo, New York, in December 1977, Williams co-founded Every Time I Die in 1998 and remained a constant member across their 24-year run. He appeared on all nine of their studio albums, including their 2021 swansong Radical, before the band imploded following a schism between singer Keith Buckley and the other members.
After ETID dissolved, Williams teamed up with former members of The Acacia Strain to form Atomic Rule. Their three-song EP, With Skull-Crushing Force, came out last September. Hours before his death, Williams posted a video to Atomic Rule’s social media accounts announcing that the band had written and recorded new demos. The band are booked to play three shows with Gwar in November; whether those dates will still go ahead remains unclear.
A longtime wrestling fan, Williams made his in-ring debut in 2015 and later formed a tag team with Jesse ‘The Blade’ Guilmette. The pair debuted in AEW in November 2019, where Williams wrestled as The Butcher. He drew a direct line between the two crafts in a 2022 conversation with Renée Paquette on her podcast: ‘Wrestling, to me, is like writing a song. Once I kind of understood how to write that “song”, it was like, “Oh, OK, that’s cool, there’s an intro, there’s an outro, there’s a chorus.” It really does work like that.’
Andy Williams Every Time I Die fans and wrestling audiences alike are now left with those Atomic Rule demos, recorded in the final days before his death, as what may prove to be his last musical statement.
