Cave In, Old Man Gloom’s Caleb Scofield Dead at 39
Caleb
Scofield – bassist and vocalist for metal bands Cave In, Old Man Gloom and Zozobra, which he fronted – died in a car accident on Wednesday, New England Cable News reports. The musician was in his truck when it collided with a toll booth in New Hampshire. He was 39.
Scofield joined Cave In in 1998, three years after its inception and after a revolving door of bassists. They released their debut album, Until Your Heart Stops, on Hydra Head that same year. The band later signed to RCA and in 2003 released Antenna, but returned to their Hydra Head roots for their subsequent albums. Scofield remained in the group through all five of the group’s studio albums and through the band’s evolving sound, which he helped shape with his growling vocals and somber bass tones. Cave In went on hiatus in 2006, but in 2009 they reunited and released two more albums.
Outside of Cave In, Scofield joined sludge-metal supergroup Old Man Gloom, fronted by Hydra Head and Isis’ Aaron Turner. Their most recent studio album, The Ape of God, were released in 2014 via Profound Lore. Scofield also formed and served as the frontman of Zozobra, which featured Cave In members Adam McGrath and J.R. Conners and then-Isis member Aaron Harris.
“I’m not ready to talk about this yet, but I just wanted to say that Caleb will always be in my heart,” Harris wrote on Instagram, along with posting a photo of them together.
“We’d like to thank everyone for the kind words coming in. We will have countless words to say, and endless stories to tell in the future, but today we are just trying to keep it together,” Old Man Gloom wrote on Facebook, which included a link to the Caleb Scofield Memorial Fund. “All I ask is that if Caleb has ever brought you a moment of joy, please follow this link and support his family.”
“Yesterday the world lost a very special person: Caleb Scofield. He was deeply important to us as a friend, tour mate, roommate, collaborator and human,” Isis wrote in a post on Facebook, which also included the memorial fund link. “He was a great father, a loving husband and his loss will be most deeply felt by his family. His music in his various bands (Cave In, Old Man Gloom, Zozobra), have inspired us and many others, and will continue to do so for years to come. We love you and miss you already Caleb.”
Converge and their drummer Ben Koller each tweeted the Caleb Scofield Memorial Fund link as well. “Please give what you can if you have a minute,” Koller wrote. “Thanks everyone.”
“Saddened by the sudden death of Caleb Scofield. Great guy and was a pleasure working with him on the last two Old Man Gloom albums,” Profound Lore Label founder Chris Bruni wrote on Twitter, where he also shared a link the fund. “But those Cave In albums, genre defining and damn did they ever hit me hard.”