Mike Scaccia - Ministry Frontman Pays Tribute To Mike Scaccia

The 47-year-old guitarist was performing with metal band Rigor Mortis in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday night when he collapsed. Scaccia was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and reports suggest he suffered a seizure while on stage.

Scaccia spent several years working with Ministry and frontman Jourgensen has now spoken of his devastation following his friend's sudden passing.

He says in a statement, "I just lost my lil' (sic) brother and my best friend. (I am) devastated, completely in shock and shattered. Mikey was not only the best guitar player in the history of music, but he was a close, close, close part of our family - and I just lost a huge chunk of my heart today. Our lives are forever changed. Life without Mikey is like orange juice without pulp - kind of bland. I have no words to express what this guy meant to me, my family, my career... everything!...

"He is my hero, my friend and my idol. Mikey was always beside me - my right-hand man - through thick and thin, the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. Rest in peace my brother, my friend, my heart. Please pray for Mike Scaccia and Jenny, his wife and their children, and his family."