Report: Heavy Metal Bandmember Says Bassist Stabbed Crew Manager

August 17, 2007

Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel reports: A heavy-metal band member repeatedly stabbed the crew manager in the chest after a Knoxville, Tennessee show with a knife the group used as a stage prop, according to testimony Thursday in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

During performances, the knife was used to stab a doll filled with strawberry jelly, band member Brandon Love testified.

Love said after Thursday's hearing that the band, now dissolved, was named "MALIGNANT CHRIST" (MySpace page).

An attempted first-degree murder charge against bass guitarist Zebulon D. Rouse, 22, of Knoxville, was sent to an Anderson County grand jury following the hearing.

Rouse is accused of stabbing Christopher McDowell, 23, of Clinton, with a butterfly-style knife early Aug. 5 while they were both seated in the back of a van traveling on West Wolf Valley Road.

The men had been bickering after a "battle of the bands" performance Aug. 4 at the Long Branch Saloon in Knoxville, according to testimony.

"McDowell was getting on Mr. Rouse's nerves quite a bit," said Love, who was driving the van. Rouse told McDowell "he was getting a little bit mouthy," Love testified.

Read the entire article at www.knoxnews.com.

Watch MALIGNANT CHRIST performing at the "Karaoke Battle of the Bands" with original lineup:

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).