Atomic Rule bassist Travis Bennington has public commented on the tragic passing of his bandmate Andy Williams. The latter, also known for his work in Every Time I Die and his years spent wrestling in AEW and on the indie wrestling circuits as ‘The Butcher‘, died this past Saturday, September 05th, after suffering a medical emergency towards the end of a professional wrestling match.
There has been an absolutely massive outpouring wave of love for Williams in the wake of his death, with his peers in the heavy music and wrestling world flooding social media with their admiration for the big man. Atomic Rule was Williams‘ latest musical venture, and the outfit had been working on new music together across the past week, something Williams was stoked about, making this post about their progress just hours ahead of his passing.
Bennington took to social media this morning, September 07th, to say the following about his late friend and bandmate:
“For the last 36 hours I’ve tried to wrap my head around the fact that my friend isn’t walking back through the door. That I’m not getting coffee with him on the way to the airport. That I’m not hugging him goodbye and telling him how much I love him.
While I try to wrap my head around this loss, I’m trying to also find the words to describe the incredible human being Andy was and the relationship we had.
The words and feelings I keep coming back to are “I was so lucky to get to know him.” I truly believe each person whose life he touched was lucky to know him. Every single one of us got a genuine and unique to us experience from him. To some it looked like love of wrestling, to others love of music, for me it was brotherhood. Andy gave me so much love, so much encouragement and so much understanding. He built me up to be the best version of myself. He believed in me even when I couldn’t believe in myself.
Playing music along side of him felt like home, as did watching movies, long phone calls about life, late night drives listening to music and trying to sell each other on bands we couldn’t stand. Everything with him felt like home, and now home feels less than.
I am going to miss my friend for all of time.
I am going to miss my brother for all of time.I will never stop saying his name or carrying with me the light that he gave me.
He was one of a kind and meant so much to anyone he encountered.
Thank you for everything Andy… I love you with all of my heart.”
