Mike Howe, former frontman for the long-running thrash band Metal Church, has died. On Twitter, Metal Church announced this morning that Howe died yesterday at home in Eureka, California. No cause of death has been reported. Howe was 55.

Howe, a Michigan native, started out in the early ’80s, singing for the Detroit band Hellion. He first made his mark as the leader of the LA speed metal band Heretic, who released one album, 1988’s Breaking Point, before breaking up. In 1989, Howe became the new singer for Metal Church. That band, which had formed nine years earlier, was based in Aberdeen, Washington, and its lineup was in constant flux. When Howe joined, Metal Church had already released two albums with singer David Wayne. (When Wayne left the band, he joined Howe’s former Heretic bandmates to start a new band called Reverend.)

Howe debuted with Metal Church on their 1989 album Blessing In Disguise, and he stayed with the band for two more albums, until they broke up in 1996. Two years later, Metal Church reunited without Howe. Howe left music behind, raising a family in Tennessee and working as a carpenter.

In 2015, after David Wayne died in a car accident, Howe rejoined Metal Church. Howe sang for Metal Church on 2016’s XI and 2018’s Damned If You Do. Last year, Metal Church released the collection From The Vault, which included four new songs recorded with Howe.

Below, check out some of Howe’s work.