Some very sad news to report tonight from the British metal community. Ben Aucott, guitarist of Mage (as well as several other bands previously) has tragically passed away on Sunday at the age of 40. Ben leaves behind his wife and little girl – even more tragically he had only gotten married last weekend. The band posted this short statement on the Mage Facebook page:
Some sad news from Mage.
Yesterday our friend, brother and guitarist Ben Aucott sadly passed away.
As some of you know Ben got married last Saturday and leaves behind a wife and daughter… and many very sad friends.
We are heartbroken beyond words.
Please leave a comment, and tag anyone that may have known this wonderful and kind man.
R.I.P Ben. We love you buddy.
Mage
I’ve been compelled to post this sad news after reading the sheer outpouring of love in the comments on Facebook to this statement. The amount of people with kind things to say about Ben, from his close friends to those who only had brief encounters with him in the UK metal scene make him sound like one of metal’s good guys. Whilst the likes of Paul Gray and Mitch Lucker will make the headlines, people like Ben who weren’t in big bands deserve to be remembered just as fondly, because he clearly had a big impact on a lot of people.
Please take 5 minutes out of your day and go and read the comments on the Mage Facebook post here.
I and the rest of the Rock Sins team would like to offer our sincere condolences to Ben’s wife, daughter, family, friends and band mates. There is already talk of a benefit gig being set up for Ben’s family so if that is going to take place we will let everyone know here. RIP Ben.
