MUTANT SOLDIER Singer Succumbs To Leukemia

June 4, 2009

D.X. Ferris of the Cleveland Scene reports that former MUTANT SOLDIER singer Kevin "Sku" Skizenta died Tuesday, June 2, succumbing to leukemia. He had turned 40 the previous day. Skizenta was a husband and father of two.

Skizenta fronted MUTANT SOLDIER (MySpace page) from 1988 through 1992, helping the band hold its own in the second wave of Cleveland thrash. He idolized METALLICA frontman James Hetfield, and carried a half mic stand in tribute to TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy.

"That band was everything to him," recalls bassist Greg Van Krol. "He was a metalhead. He was a good dude, a fair dude. He was always there for you."

MUTANT SOLDIER opened big thrash shows at the Agora and headlined small venues like Sabers and the Berea Roller Bowl. The well-received 1989 demo, "Battered Existence", drew positive notices from as far away as Japan. The band recorded another EP, "Soldier of Misfortune", that remains unreleased.

Read the entire article from the Cleveland Scene.

MUTANT SOLDIER performing in 1989:

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