“A true one-of-one human being in every aspect of life”: metal, hardcore, wrestling worlds pay tribute to ex-Every Time I Die guitarist Andy Williams after shock death aged 48

Prominent members of the wrestling, hardcore punk and heavy metal communities have paid tribute to former Every Time I Die guitarist Andy Williams following his death aged 48.

Williams, who played in metalcore band Atomic Rule and wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name The Butcher, died on Saturday, September 5, after suffering a medical emergency at an independent wrestling event and being taken to hospital.

TMZ announced his death the following day, and AEW verified the news shortly afterwards. The promotion wrote in a social media statement: “All Elite Wrestling is saddened to learn of the passing of Andy Williams, AKA The Butcher.

“A trailblazing musician with ETID and Atomic Rule, Williams made a successful transition into the world of professional wrestling and was incredibly respected by his peers both in and out of the ring. Our condolences go out to Williams’ family, friends and fans.”

Multiple wrestlers have paid tribute to Williams, including his AEW colleague Brody King, who called him “effortlessly funny, kind, and [a] supporter of all things his friends were into”. Matt Hardy, who used to perform in AEW as well as its chief rival WWE, said, “Andy was a joy to work with: he was a kind, funny and deep individual who was an extremely talented musician & wrestler.”

WWE wrestler Paige, who used to appear in AEW under the name Saraya, called Williams “one of the best human beings” on X (formerly Twitter). Fellow ex-AEW star Danhausen shared a photo of Williams and wrote, “Rest in peace, sweet man,” while WWE’s Matt Cardona remembered, “I wasn’t lucky enough to know him well, but he was always super cool to me when we saw each other. I was mad at him when he shaved his head because his Butcher figure had long hair and became inaccurate.”

In the world of music, metalcore supergroup Better Lovers, which features several of Williams’ ex-Every Time I Die bandmates, celebrated him as “a true one-of-one human being in every aspect of life”. Progressive metal band Between The Buried And Me posted a lengthy tribute on Facebook and Instagram.

“No one in our world will ever stop talking about Andy Williams,” they wrote in part. “And that’s the closest thing to immortality anyone could hope for. Our heart breaks for his family and those who were closest to him, particularly his wife Hana, who adored him beyond words. RIP to one of the nastiest riffers of all time.”

On X, Chris Motionless of Motionless In White remembered Williams as “one of the nicest and funniest people we’ve ever toured with”, and Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta said, “Life can be cruel and unfair, and that’s why we need people like Andy Williams around.”

Born in Buffalo, New York, in December 1977, Williams co-founded Every Time I Die in 1998 and was a constant member during their 24-year run. He appeared on all nine of their studio albums, including 2021 swansong Radical, before the band imploded due to a schism between singer Keith Buckley and the other members.

Following ETID’s split, Williams teamed up with former members of The Acacia Strain to start Atomic Rule. Their three-song EP, With Skull-Crushing Force, came out last September. Hours before his death, Williams posted a video to Atomic Rule’s social media accounts saying that the band had written and recorded new demos. They’re booked to play three shows with Gwar in November; it’s unclear whether they’ll still go ahead.

A longtime wrestling fan, Williams made his in-ring debut in 2015 and later formed a tag team with Jesse “The Blade” Guilmette. The pair debuted in AEW in November 2019.

Williams compared his career in music with his wrestling endeavours in 2022, telling Canadian broadcaster Reneé Paquette on her podcast: “Wrestling, to me, is like writing a song. Once I kind of understood how to write that ‘song’, it was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s cool – there’s an intro, there’s an outro, there’s a chorus.’ It really does work like that.”