Authorities in Georgia have said that three members of the heavy metal bands Wormreich and Khaotika were killed in a single-vehicle crash when their van went off the roadway Monday morning.
NBC News reported that the accident happened around 7 a.m. when the van carrying 12 people veered off I-85, rolled down an embankment, and then crashed into a tree near Jackson County.
The crash killed Khaotika drummer Nicholas Chrisostomo and Wormreich guitarists Ian McKinney and Paul Truesdale. In addition to the deceased, eight other people were injured and taken to area hospitals. The driver of the van, Khaotika guitarist Sergio J. Quesada, is the only person who did not need medical attention.
The metal bands were on a four-state tour and after playing a show in South Carolina on Sunday night, they were traveling to Atlanta for a show scheduled Monday evening.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the band Wormreich formed in 2009 and released the debut album Edictvm DCLXVI two years later. Khaotika is an Atlanta-based band that formed in 2014 and has described their sound as “melodic occult metal.”
The Georgia State Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.