Former Overkill and Anvil guitarist Sebastian Marino passed away on January 1 after being rushed to the hospital while working on a sound technician job. Marino performed on Anvil's 1991 album Worth The Weight, as well as Overkill's three albums The Killing Kind, From The Underground Below, and Necroshine between 1996 and 1999.
News of Marino's death comes from his friend Bruce Pilato, who posted the following statement on Facebook (obtained by Blabbermouth).
"FAREWELL to my dear friend Sebastian Marino, who died suddenly in the early hours of today after being rushed to a hospital while doing a sound job on New Year's Eve in Florida. Sebastian owned and operated AUDIO IMAGES one of the most acclaimed audio & video production companies in the country. He and I go back to the 1980s and in the mid 1990s we worked together with Linda Rutherford & Celtic Fire, which featured his first wife.
"It was Sebastian who I approached for a road crew when I first started working with Carl Palmer in 2005. Sebastian essentially brought a slew of top quality production people who made up the road crews of Carl Palmer's band; Asia; Yes and other platinum level acts around the globe. A brilliant musician in his own right (he played guitar for Overkill and Anvil among others)- he was like a best friend to any working musician or road tech's who interacted with him. He always treated them fairly and often working for less than he should have just so the music could survive. Sebastian… you were a diamond whose legacy will shine on forever. RIP, pal."
"It's with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of our good friend & great musician, Sebastian Marino," added Overkill in a tweet. "Seb was an asset in the studio as well as on the stage for the 3 releases he did with us. The music world has lost one of the good ones."
Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow also commented on Marino's death, saying "Condolences to my friend Sebastian Marino's family and friends. Seby was a dear friend and I will miss him profoundly!! Worth the Weight was an extremely special Anvil album and it will keep Seby alive through our history forever! RIP SEBASTIAN MARINO"
We wish Marino's friends and family all the best at this time.