Cannibal Corpse have just announced that Hate Eternal mastermind Erik Rutan will fill-in for guitarist Pat O'Brien on the band's upcoming touring commitments, which include co-headlining the Decibel Magazine Tour with Morbid Angel this Spring, and opening for Slayer on select final tour dates, along with Lamb of God and Amon Amarth.
Rutan has previous produced four Corpse records, (Kill, Evisceration Plague, Torture, Red Before Black), so he's more than familiar with the material. Also, Rutan is one of the most precise guitarists on the scene, so I'm sure he'll be just fine in his role.
Corpse guitarist Pat O'Brien is currently facing charges of burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.
O'Brien broke into a neighbor's home, threw a woman in the residence to the ground, and ran to their backyard where he hid behind a fence. When cops surrounded him, he tried to charge at them with a knife, but was tasered and arrested. As this was happening, his own home was engulfed in flames, and live ammunition was going off. There were "military-grade flame throwers" also causing the fire to get even bigger, resulting in his entire home burning down. Firefighters worked for hours to put out the blaze. There are no charges against O'Brien as a result of the blaze.
Deana Mazurkiewicz, the wife of O'Brien's Cannibal Corpse bandmate, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on MightyCause.com to try to help get Pat back on his feet. Deana wrote in a statement that Pat had no insurance and that people should "not jump to conclusions until the full details of what occurred come out." As of this writing, nearly $20,000 has been raised.
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Cannibal Corpse have announced that Erik Rutan will fill in for guitarist Pat O'Brien as O'Brien tends to personal issues. Rutan will appear live with the band for the Decibel Magazine Tour and the upcoming US leg of Slayer's final tour alongside Lamb of god and Amon Amarth.
— Cannibal Corpse (@CorpseOfficial) January 18, 2019
