Avenged Sevenfold Stagehand Dies Following Accident After Show

A 19-year-old stagehand for Avenged Sevenfold died while disassembling the stage after the band’s show last night, February 20th, in Stuttgart, Germany.

Another worker fell from a height of roughly 60 feet and landed on the victim, who has only been identified as Melvin P. The man who fell from above survived the incident but was hospitalized with serious injuries. According to a report issued by the venue, Schleyer-Halle, both workers were contractors from an “external service provider” hired for the show (Google translation from German), not direct employees of Avenged Sevenfold.

Avenged Sevenfold issued a statement via Facebook:

We have some very sad news to report. Last night after our show in Stuttgart, Germany, a 26 year-old stagehand fell from the rafters while breaking down our stage. He fell a very far distance onto a 19 year-old man on the local crew. Tragically, the 19 year-old died from his injuries. The other man is now in critical condition at the hospital.

This is beyond heartbreaking to everyone in the band and on our crew. We all send our thoughts and prayers to the man in the hospital, both families involved, all of the local Live Nation crew and everyone else whose lives have been affected by this terrible accident. We love our crew so much as well as the many local staff who are essential to our show every night wherever we are around the world. This is such a stark reminder of how quickly an accident can happen and lives shattered in the process. When we hear more we will update you.

“Sad,” “tragic” and “heartbreaking” are all severe understatements; this news is devastatingly horrific. On behalf of everyone at MetalSucks, we wish the best to Martin P.’s family and friends, as well as everyone at the venue and in the band.