Cave In, Old Man Gloom Bassist/Vocalist Caleb Scofield Dead at 39 | Page 2 | Revolver

Cave In, Old Man Gloom Bassist/Vocalist Caleb Scofield Dead at 39

Sludge-metal luminary passed away March 28th following car crash
cave-in-fred-pessaro.jpg, Fred Pessaro
Caleb Scofield (center) performing with Cave In, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Austin, Texas, 2011
photograph by Fred Pessaro

Caleb Scofield, longtime bassist and vocalist for the sludge-metal bands Cave In, Old Man Gloom and Zozobra, died yesterday, March 28th. He was 39. Scofield perished after his truck crashed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames outside a New Hampshire toll plaza shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, reports the New Hampshire Union Leader. Scofield's family has since launched a GoFundMe to help cover his funeral expenses. Pitch in now here.

Born and raised in Pembroke, New Hampshire, Scofield joined Cave In in 1998, filling in the vacancy left by previous bassist Andy Kayte; His signature murky tones can be heard on all five of the band's studio albums, including 2000's seminal Jupiter LP. Post Cave In, Scofield held stints in Old Man Gloom, the Aaron Turner–fronted doom-metal band, and formed his own sludge band Zozobra, featuring members of Cave In and Isis.

Scofield's friends and peers immediately took to social media to pay their respects. "Devastated to hear about the untimely passing of my friend Caleb Scofield. My heart aches for his family and bandmates," wrote Pelican's Trevor de Brauw, while Converge drummer Ben Koller Tweeted out the link to the fundraiser, urging fans to "give what you can." Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley paid tribute as well, Tweeting: "Devastating news. Cave In changed it all. rest in peace Caleb."

Update: Cave In wrote the following statement on their Facebook page, linking out to the fundraiser.

"We are shocked and devastated by the passing of Caleb Scofield. He was one of a kind, our best friend and an unfathomable world of inspiration. Thank you for your support, and for understanding how difficult this is for us. Please donate to his family."

Old Man Gloom also took to Facebook for the following:

"We'd like to thank everyone for the kind words coming in. We will have countless words to say, and endless stories to tell in the future, but today we are just trying to keep it together. All I ask is that if Caleb has ever brought you a moment of joy, please follow this link and support his family."

Other bands that worked heavily with Scofield also wrote tributes in his memory. Isis wrote on Facebook, "Yesterday the world lost a very special person: Caleb Scofield. He was deeply important to us as a friend, tour mate, roommate, collaborator and human. He was a great father, a loving husband and his loss will be most deeply felt by his family. His music in his various bands (Cave In, Old Man Gloom, Zozobra), have inspired us and many others, and will continue to do so for years to come. We love you and miss you already Caleb."

Converge wrote, "How do you sum up someone like Caleb Scofield in a facebook status? We all loved him deeply. We were all truly lucky to call him a friend. We all loved the music he made and we were all inspired by him. The news of his passing is a hard pill to swallow. We will miss him. Rest in peace friend."

Upate 2: Hydra Head Recordings have launched a collection of hard-to-find Old Man Gloom- and Zozobra-related items in Scofield's memory. All proceeds from the merch — which includes a memorial t-shirt, an cassette of unreleased Zozobra songs, test presses, and more —will benefit the late musician's family. Head here to pitch in.