PHIL DEMMEL PASSES OUT ON-STAGE… AGAIN
Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 10:30am by Axl RosenbergIt seems like every few months now, Blabbermouth has another story about Machine Head’s Phil Demmel passing out on-stage. Demmel, you see, suffers from something called cardiogenic syncope. “Syncope” is just a fancy medical term for fainting, and when it’s cardiogenic, it’s ’cause – you guessed it – the heart isn’t getting enough blood to the brain.
That sounds pretty scary, and watching video of one such incident that took place in Finland over the weekend, it looks pretty scary. But I’m (obviously, and despite the wishes of my mother) not a doctor, and the internet research I’ve been doing doesn’t give me a clear idea of what the condition means for Demmel in the long-term. In any case, we obviously hope the dude is alright. I like to think that it’s not just coincedence that Demmel’s addition to MH marked the start of their artistic renaissance.
-AR
Poor guy, best wishes to him.
So I am a doctor (yes, really) and this condition is generally perceived as very benign, but for a person that does a lot of standing, it can really be a pain in the ass because cardiogenic (or vasovagal) syncope episodes generally occur from prolonged standing. This is because the heart does not compensate for the change in gravity with an appropriate change in pumping. The worst thing that this could mean long term is a potential pacemaker, but he’ll be fine. But if I was Robb Flynn, I’d give him the Demonaz treatment from Immortal and just have him hang at home and write some lyrics. Not a good look passing out on stage at a fest…
Um, thanks! (No, really.) It made me feel a little bit better to read that, but having known a few hockey players whose professional playing days are over because of concussions, every time that guy falls I’m afraid he’ll hit his head and have more to worry about than just….wait, lemme copy and paste….cardiogenic syncope. Every time that happens, it must scare the Hell out of his bandmates…
Oh yeah, and best wishes to him x 2.
pussy
tough guy…
Moron
That sucks, I actually feel sorry for them.
Too much stage fainting. Hate to say that because it’s part of MH rebirth but soon or later they have to replace him.
This situation really sucks. Im’ very sad for Robb & Co.
They won’t have to replace him, he is going to need to get a pacemaker placed in his heart since his SA Node isn’t properly letting the chambers in the heart fill with blood before pumping them out. As Dr. MikeyP said above, he’ll be fine long term. (I’m in school to be a Physician’s Assistant). THIS would be my dream job: be an on site medical professional at metal fests! I’m glad that you don’t hear of things like this happen too often though.
…Machine Head rules and Phil Demmel owns!
And for him, of course.
Insert urban myth about post show stomach-pump revealing a belly full of semen.
Okay…
So, I heard that last time Jason went to a MH show, he passed out after staggering out of a particularly brutal, crowded pit. When he got to the hospital they pumped his stomach and out came a gallon of semen. Turns out he’d sucked the cock of every guy in the crowd that night.
Oh… and he had a gerbil in his ass… allegedly.
allegedly….
See what happens when you write killer, heavy ass music. His music is so heavy, even he can’t take it.
But on a non-joking note, I truly hope they can find something to help him out. I have epilepsy myself and have passed out on stage and it even scares me to watch it back. The worse part was that I don’t have stage crew to help me out and the band didn’t even realize it happened. So best of luck to Phil, hope shit gets worked out so you guys don’t have to keep worrying about this man. Take it easy.
Nobody heard you drop out of the mix? There’s in the zone and then there’s oblivious….
Sucks, man.
probably a bassist
JK bassists own
They might want to consider hiring a touring guitarist but still have Phil write songs and record them with MH. i’d rather catch a full MH show than be at the one where Phil dies.
Hey AR,
In regards to ” I’ve been doing doesn’t give me a clear idea of what the condition means for Demmel in the long-term”. It comes down to this:
The frequency of his fainting will occur more often as he gets older when he plays live. At this point he would either have to A) lower his onstage activity to prevent his heart going overboard or B) stop touring altogether. Not sure what his alcohol level is but if he drinks as frequently as I assume he does, then it’s probably making the condition worse. Doctor’s recommendation: Stop touring. My recommendation: Have fun, still write music but don’t go to crazy on stage.
Hey guys… Im a massive machine head fan from the UK, and also a Cardiac Physiologist.
We deal with patients with Cardiogenic Syncope all the time, and here’s a bit more about it.
Cardiogenic syncope occurs because of the signals being sent from the brain to the heart become confused. When the brain requires Oxygen it increased the heart rate. In Cardiogenic Syncope, these signals become confused and instead of the heart increasing in rate, it slows down. In can even go as slow as to stop. In turn, the patients blood pressure drops, and a faint (or syncopal episode) occurs. Once lay flat (due to the faint) the signals sent to the heart then organise themselves and the patients blood pressure goes back up causing them to come back round.
Now, the best and most effective form of treatment for this is a Cardiac Pacemaker which will prevent the heart from slowing down. However, this is not a complete cure. Most CS patients still get symptoms from this sudden drop as the blood pressure tends to drop all the same. No real technology or medication exists to prevent this but patients generally no longer faint.
Hope that clears it up a little for you all… And good Phil, you have a bit to go through im afraid mate!!
Yeah, this shit sucks. I have cardiogenic syncope also, and after standing for a good amount of time, headbanging and such, I just pass out. It’s also why I can’t really go to concerts. I just pass out after being in the pit.
MH has been my favorite band since high school. I love them so much, and Phil has been such a positive and great influence on the band. It’s so heartbreaking to see him have issues like this, and to cause Machine Head to have to stop playing big shows like they find themselves on now. Phil is in my hearts and prayers. And of course the obligatory quip…….
Machine Head is so fucking brutal their music kills their own bandmates.
I was black out drunk playing a show one time and passed out face forward into the crowd. We sucked horribly as a band (even sober) so nobody was there to catch me. At the time it was fucking hilarious, but then I realized something. If I don’t remember GOING on stage to begin with…I probably shouldn’t play the show.
But something like this…my god! You just can’t predict when it is going to happen…it could be a DVD taping or a live performance on television…you just never know! There is no way to prepare. I’d hate to see him go but I think he shouldn’t be a touring member of the band anymore unless there is a sure proof way to get it under control. Let the man record the album with the band or whatever but I think this is just too risky.
That crowd was so gracious and polite about it. Is that really a metal crowd?