ARMORED SAINT singer John Bush has reflected on Mike Howe‘s death, saying the METAL CHURCH singer was “a really nice guy and a genuine person.”
Mike Howe‘s official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging, TMZ has revealed. A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Dept. told the site authorities are calling it a suicide.
In a recent interview with “I Ask No One With Kevin Re LoVullo,” Bush said: “I couldn’t believe when I heard the news about [Mike] passing away recently. We had just [done] a tour with METAL CHURCH not too long ago — we went to play a bunch of dates in Europe with METAL CHURCH, some festivals as well as a lot of headline shows together. And we did some shows out here in America as well on the West Coast — we played Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and L.A. And Mike was just an incredible singer — powerful voice, great vibe.
“I’m still pretty flabbergasted about his passing; I just can’t believe it. We shared a bus recently, and we did a bunch of interviews together ’cause people wanted to interview the two singers when we were on tour together. I’m really bummed about that one. I don’t know what to say.
“I’ve heard that he took his own life, and, man, I wish he would have just called me,” Bush continued. “‘Cause we did chat after the tour. He has his older son. I think his son was playing college football, and he was super proud of his kids. That one really, really hits me hard.
“Mike was one of those guys — he was just a nice man; he was just a good guy. In the music business, you meet a lot of pricks — in bands and out of bands and agents and managers, whatever. But he was a good guy. He was a really nice guy and a genuine person. And that one really bugs me.”
Howe fronted METAL CHURCH from 1988 until 1994 and officially rejoined the band in April 2015.
