The vocalist of Swedish metal band Nasum has officially been declared dead after he went missing in the Asian tsunami.
Mieszko Talarczyk’s body was identified in February and is due to be flown back to Sweden.
An official list of the dead and the missing was recently published in the Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet.
The metal singer and his girlfriend were on holiday in Thailand when the tsunami hit. They left Sweden a few days before Christmas and were scheduled to return early in the New Year.
They were staying in a bungalow at Phi Phi Island when their bungalow was swept away.
Mieszko’s girlfriend was found severely injured several weeks ago and returned to Sweden for medical treatment.
Mieszko, who turned 30 just days before, was among more than 500 Swedes declared missing in Thailand following the massive undersea earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale.
At Nasum’s last public appearance, playing at Sweden’s P3 Guld Awards 2005 where they were nominated for the best metal/rock award, the band took to the stage to deliver a statement.
"We want to officially thank all of [the fans] for their support and compassion that definitely has helped us in this time of anxiety and uncertainty," it said.
"Many people have in one way or another been affected by the Asian disaster. Many people have performed heroic acts to comfort and to help. Many minutes of silence have passed.
"Minutes of silence have never been Nasum’s thing, so we now ask you to honour the deceased, the injured, the survivors and all the heroes with a big warm applause."
A statement from the band’s record company, Relapse, called the death of the Nasum’s front man ‘a tragedy’.
"[He] grew into one of the leading musicians in the Swedish heavy music scene. Fronting Nasum, he helped pioneer the Swedish grindcore movement. The Relapse family is extremely saddened by Mieszko’s passing. He will be missed greatly by all."
The band, who released their fourth and most successful album ‘Shift’ in 2004, have halted all band actions to take stock. Nasum’s website has also closed until further notice, but carries a short tribute to their band mate and friend.
The band were luminaries of the extreme music scene, globally they were recognised for breaking sonic boundaries and had built up a huge following.
Although the future for Nasum is uncertain, their career with Mieszko was nothing less than stunning, groundbreaking and loud.
