Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot's cause of death revealed

By Andrea Swensson Tue., Dec. 6 2011 at 10:08 AM

Photo by Erik Hess

Flattus Maximus performing his final show at First Ave

It's been over a month since Gwar fans learned of the death of guitarist Flattus Maximus, a.k.a. Cory Smoot, which happened sometime in the hours following when Smoot and the rest of the band played a show at First Avenue and loaded onto their tour van to travel north to Canada. When Smoot's bandmates went to wake him the next morning to gather his passport near the North Dakota-Manitoba border, they found that he had died with seemingly no warning signs, devastating the entire Gwar crew.

Today, a report from a North Dakota coroner sheds some light on the cause of Smoot's death.

According to North Dakota coroner William Masselo, MD, "We have finalized the autopsy report and death certificate. I have determined that Cory died from a coronary artery thrombosis brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease."

The coroner's statement comes directly from the band, who say they will continue touring as a four-piece and have retired the character of Flattus Maximus. Gwar fans can make donations to Smoot's memory. There will be a tribute concert in his honor on January 7 at the Canal Club in Richmond, Virginia, with Mensrea, Cannabis Corpse, DBX, which will also serve as a posthumous release show for his solo record When Worlds Collide.

Tags:

Cory Smoot, Flattus Maximus, Gwar

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Robert

shame really. Wonder what the toxicology report came back as due to the fact that this is a common occurrence with cocaine use. I would be something along that lines is in play I hate to say. There have been several people in the 20s and 30s who died of thrombosis and the tox showed cocaine or other stimulants in their system. Lin Bias was one of the first who brought his to light with his death way back when on the ve of his NBA draft. Either way condolences to his family and bandmates.