Former MORGOTH Guitarist Carsten Otterbach Dies Aged 48
December 2nd, 2018
 Morgoth 1991 (l-r): Marc Grewe, Carsten Otterbach, Harry Busse, Sebastian Swart and Rüdiger Hennecke |
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Carsten Otterbach, former guitarist and founding member of German death metal band Morgoth, passed away on December 2nd, 2018 following a sudden cardiac arrest. He was 48 years old.
Morgoth issued the following statement: “Today we received the devastating message that Carsten Otterbach passed away. Without Carsten Morgoth simply would not have existed.
“He was founding member, motor, pilot, musician and manager. Carsten opened doors for the band that would have stayed locked without him. He was a fighter and never surrendered.
“He will remain in our memories as a friend and in our hearts as our brother. We miss you!”
Otterbach featured on Morgoth’s first two EPs, Resurrection Absurd (1989) and The Eternal Fall (1990), as well as their first three full-length studio albums, Cursed (1991), Odium (1993) and Feel Sorry For The Fanatic (1996). Morgoth split in 1998, but reformed in 2010, although Otterbach left the same year. The guitarist, who had suffered from multiple sclerosis for more than a decade, also fronted an artist management company, Direct Management.
Century Media Records co-founder Robert Kampf, who signed Morgoth to his label in 1989, posted the following message on Facebook: “With a very heavy heart I learned that a close friend of 28 years, Carsten Otterbach, has passed.
“I will always remember Carsten as a very sharp minded, well read, business savvy and at the same time very fun loving, tolerant, simply great guy. He will always live in my heart.
“Carsten fought very hard for his artist and was honourable as it gets. Legendary are the fights between my late partner Oliver Withöft and Carsten. The two of them fighting was scary if you were in the room, but always a fun story afterwards. Both were good friends and, unfortunately, did not make it to age 50.
“Farewell Carsten, you will not be forgotten and held in very high acclaim by your friends and by several generations of metal artists.”
Promotional photograph by Dirk Rudolph
