An official cause of death has been settled upon for late Crazy Town vocalist Seth “Shifty Shellshock” Binzer. Binzer co-fronted the outfit from the mid 90s and their early aughts platinum-certified heyday through to his passing in June of this year.
Per TMZ, the 49-year-old Binzer, who had publicly struggled with drug addiction throughout his career, ultimately succumbed to a fatal combination of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine. His cause of death was newly ruled on this week by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, with the overdose being described as accidental.
The now confirmed manner of his death was previously suggested by his manager Howie Huberman. Binzer was found dead in his Los Angeles, CA residence on June 24th of this year. Binzer‘s long battle with addiction often played out in the public eye, thanks to his appearances on rehab-oriented television shows and a number of erratic incidents.
His final year with Crazy Town was sadly tainted by his struggles, with a bloody backstage brawl with his then Crazy Town bandmate Bobby Reeves taking place in April of this year. That seemingly drug-fueled incident saw the band ejected from their spot on the ‘Nu Metal Madness Tour 2‘, with Jared Gomes of headliners (hed)p.e. expressing concern for Binzer at the time, stating:
“(hed)p.e. had to kick Crazy Town off the tour. We’re not saints by any means and (hed)p.e. has done some crazy shit, and I’m not passing judgment on Crazy Town, or Seth [Binzer, aka Shifty Shellshock] or anything like that. But whatever has gone on with us we’ve always tried to come with a good rock show.
Because of what’s going on with Seth and Crazy Town right now, Seth needs help. We can’t just sit by while he’s on the road battling demons to the death. He needs to get off the road and deal with that shit. So, you’ve seen the video. If it was just a fist fight between band members, maybe I could be the first one to kinda of mediate or some shit like that.
But this is a lot deeper than that. It’s a lot messier, so it’s definitely sad for us you know. Because I consider Seth a homie, but [we] just couldn’t keep it going. And (hed)p.e. doesn’t support the shit that’s gone on and the shit that’s been done or been said by Crazy Town.”
Sadly, Binzer was seemingly unable to view the incident as a wake up call, and was arrested for a DUI the same day his band were booted from the bill. A collaborative track with We Are Pigs titled “Faded” arrived several weeks afterward and found Binzer openly discussing his battles with addiction.
Crazy Town would return to the stage with a revised lineup led by Binzer for several shows in the weeks after the tour ejection mentioned above before his untimely death.
