Drummer Bud Mills of the long-running San Francisco Bay Area death metallers Insanity passed away on November 14, 2007 after a "hellish" battle with esophagial cancer.
Insanity was formed in 1985 in the San Francisco Bay Area and Bud Mills was one of the first drummer to take the speed factor up a notch. According to the band's official bio, Bud Mills "innovated the 1-1 drum beat that was faster than the fastest thrash beat used at the time."
At the time it seemed like Insanity had all the potential to rise to the top of the metal scene and Bud would be recognized as a pioneer in extreme drumming. Unfortunately Bud never got the recognition he deserved due to a number of unfortunate events including the death of Insanity vocalist and guitarist Joe De Zuniga in 1987. Just as the band was developing an international underground following and record labels such as Nuclear Blast were offering to sign the band, Insanity was derailed.
In the summer of 2007 as the band was preparing to record and preparing for shows in Northern and Southern California, Bud Mills was diagnosed with bloodclots. After more tests cancer was discovered and it turned out to be esophageal cancer stage 4.
The pre-production tracks Bud recorded prior to his death are being mixed and will be released in the near future on the "Visions of Apocalypse" album.