Cannibal Corpse guitarist Erik Rutan has left the death metal band’s current European and U.K. tour to return home to deal with “catastrophic” damage to his home cause by Hurricane Helene.
In support of last year’s album, Chaos Horrific, Cannibal Corpse kicked off the overseas run with Municipal Waste and Immolation on Sept. 20 in Germany.
While the tour remains underway, the death metal legends are operating short-handed with longtime guitarist Rob Barrett serving as the lone guitarist for the time being.
A post on social media (seen below) revealed the unfortunate news regarding Rutan’s home, announcing that he needs to be present with his family in order to “deal with this situation.”
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Hurricane Helene made historic landfall as a Category 4 storm, causing widespread flooding in Florida and nearby states such as Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. The storm has also resulted in power outages for millions of people as the storm’s death toll has now exceeded 100, according to a recent NBC report.
In St. Petersburg, where Rutan lives, the Washington Post reports that the city experienced a record storm surge of nearly 6.5 feet, besting a previous record by 2.3 feet.
Rutan’s Mana recording studio is also located in the same city, but there is no word on the condition of the facility at this time. Every Cannibal Corpse album since 2006’s Kill (except 2014’s A Skeletal Domain) was tracked at Mana with Rutan, as well.
Loudwire wishes Erik Rutan and his family the best during this difficult time.
Watch Cannibal Corpse Play Without Erik Rutan
In the video below, you can watch Cannibal Corpse’s full show at The Roundhouse in London as a single-guitar attack.
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Almost four decades of brutality!
Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita
