Peter Kowalsky, vocalist for various hardcore and metalcore bands including Remembering Never, Ether Coven, Until the End and xBISHOPx, has died after battling colon cancer.
Known to many as “Mean Pete,” Kowalsky was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in early 2020. According to an update the musician shared on Remembering Never’s social media in July of 2021, he’d finished chemotherapy in October of 2020, and his scans were coming back negative at the time. In August of 2022, he did a feature with Lambgoat about his favorite pieces of music.
“Music has been my obsession since I was a child and I own more records and CDs than I care to admit… I am a firm believer that music heals and is so much more than just some strings on a guitar or keys on a piano,” the vocalist wrote. “It’s more than spotlights and $40 shirts and loading bass cabs up flights of stairs. It’s more than a 9-month turnaround time for vinyl and more than bands skipping your town because you live in Monowl, Nebraska. It’s a way to connect to something that makes you feel less alone in a fucked up world, and when I was a kid I needed it. As an adult, I need it more than I ever thought I would.”
Kowalsky’s death was confirmed by Vadim Taver on the Furnace Fest Community Facebook page [via Lambgoat].
“Some unfortunate news to share. I know a lot of you probably knew him from posting here every now and then or from the bands he played in, but unfortunately Peter Kovalsky passed away today from an aggressive cancer that had returned,” Taver wrote.
“I remember meeting him in 2000/2001 when This Day Forward played Club Q in Ft. Lauderdale and Remembering Never was opening. We played countless shows together with Until the End and even though we didn’t speak regularly, I considered him a friend through the years. Thankfully, I got to see him last year because of Furnace Fest, but didn’t think that would be our last meeting. Rest easy, old friend.”
READ MORE: 10 Songs About Death That Help the Healing Process, Chosen by Spirit Adrift’s Nate Garrett
Several other fellow musicians have taken to social media to pay tribute to Kowalsky, including Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta, Unearth and more. See the posts below.
Loudwire sends our condolences to Kowalsky’s loved ones and fans. Rest in peace.
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