Mark Lanegan, the powerful force behind Screaming Trees who was also known for his work in Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins, has died at the age of 57.
“Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland,” a representative for Lanegan said in a statement. “A beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley. No other information is available at this time. The family asks everyone to respect their privacy at this time.”
Born in Ellensburg, Washington, Lanegan was a pioneer of the grunge scene, fronting Screaming Trees from 1985 until their breakup in 2000. The band released several albums during its run, scoring the rock hits “Nearly Lost You” from 1992’s Sweet Oblivion and “All I Know” from 1996’s “Dust.”
He also was an essential member of Queens of the Stone Age throughout the years, appearing on five of the band’s albums, including their breakthrough LPs Rated R and Songs for the Deaf.
No cause of death was given, but in a recent interview with Consequence, Lanegan detailed a horrific battle with COVID — which left him in a three-week coma and temporarily deaf. He was still dealing with long-term effects of COVID, but it is unclear whether any of that is related to his death.
At the time of our interview a few months ago, Lanegan told us he was on the mend, remarking, “[I feel] a million times better — I finally turned the corner. But it took a really long time. It was crazy. There’s some residuals. Whatever I had, it attacks places where there was trauma in the body previous times.”
