The Locust’s Gabe Serbian, Who Once Lived and Drummed Locally, Has Died at Age 44

The punk and metal world has lost a true luminary. Gabe Serbian, drummer for seminal avant-garde noisegrind band the Locust, passed away on Saturday, April 30th, the day before what would have been his 45th birthday. The Locust confirmed his death on social media today.

Serbian, whose flagship act played helped introduce a generation of kids to experimental heavy music, played in a plethora of notable bands including Cattle Decapitation (of which he was a founding member), Head Wound City, Le Butchurettes, and served as the founding vocalist of the celebrated hardcore punk supergroup Dead Cross. Upon his departure, he was replaced by none other than Mike Patton.

A native of southern California, Serbian graced Austin as a resident for only a short time, just a few years before returning home to start a family. But in that short time, he managed to elevate Austin’s heavy music scene with his work in local bands Skycrawler and the burn-bright-burn-fastest grindcore outfit Wet Lungs, recording an EP with the latter.

The Locust is scheduled to headline an Oblivion Access festival show on May 15, which would be the band’s first Austin appearance since their 2013 Fun Fun Fun Fest performance. It’s unknown if the band plans to play their upcoming bookings or not.

The cause of his passing is still unknown to fans, but what is known is that his legacy will be an enduring one. Survived by his wife and two young children in San Diego, he will be mourned worldwide for his contributions to extreme music. But here, in the Live Music Capital of the World, Gabe’s friendliness, humility, and non-rockstar attitude left an indelible mark on those who got to meet him, see him perform, and those lucky enough to have played with him.