Terrible news: Bo Lueders, guitarist in Harm's Way and co-host of the Hardlore podcast, has passed away. The Hardlore social-media pages announced Leuders' passing this afternoon. No cause of death has been reported, though that Instagram post urges people struggling with depression or the urge to self-harm to find help. Lueders was 38.
After a stint in the straight-edge band Few And The Proud, Bo Lueders co-founded the Chicago metallic hardcore band Harm's Way in 2006, and they became known for their merciless but experimental style, pulling in threads of influence from things like powerviolence and industrial, and for their absolutely hellacious live show. They're one of the heaviest, most consistent hardcore bands on today's landscape. I just saw them play with Deafheaven a few months ago, and they crushed. Lueders has also played in bands like Double Crossed and Convicted, and he was briefly in the Knocked Loose side project xWeaponx.
Over the past few years, Lueders and Colin Young, a member of bands like Twitching Tongues and God's Hate, have been hosting the hugely entertaining and popular podcast Hardlore, and that's why I feel like I knew Lueders, even though we never met. On that show, Lueders and Young interviewed towering figures in punk, hardcore, and metal history, geeking out over minute recording details and mythic narratives. They also got deep and enthusiastic about riffs, breakdowns, and fast-food options. Just last month, we posted Lueders and Young's wonderfully shocked reaction to Touché Amoré leader Jeremy Bolm's "secret voice." Lueders' warm, open curiosity and deep knowledge were a constant delight. This simply does not feel real.
In a heartbreaking social media tribute, Young writes:
Bo,
I am writing this in hopes that it reaches you in some way cosmically. I will love, mourn, and celebrate you forever.
This beautiful thing we built together was the greatest honor of my life, and my only solace is knowing that we documented a lifetime of memories, at first to share with the world, but now to look back on and and preserve your warm, kind soul forever.
Say hey to Cayle and Cliff Burton for us, and feel free to stop by and haunt me any time.
Below, check out some of Lueders' work.
