Will Carroll the drummer for the thrash metal outfit Death Angel has announced that he has recovered from COVID-19, and will be discussing his return on his weekly show titled Fool Metal Jacket (hosted on Gimme Radio), which will be put online today at 5:50 p.m. EST. The episode today will be titled Coma, and will document his recent experiences with the illness.
Carroll was placed on ventilator this year after contracting the virus while on the road with Testament and Exodus in Europe as a part of The Bay Strikes Back 2020 tour. Carroll was not the only one to contract the virus while on tour, Chuck Billy of Testament also announced he had the virus in late May, a few days before Carroll was placed on a ventilator.
“From when I announced on GIMME back in March that I was very sick and had COVID-19, through when I came out of the coma and jumped into the live chat to say ‘I’m Back!,’ the support and love from my listeners on Gimme Radio has been amazing,” Carroll explained in a press release. “These guys were really pulling for me the entire time. I’m so thankful for the whole Fool Metal Jacket family!”
Death Angel have released a total of nine studio albums since their debut of The Ultra-Violence back in 1987. Their most recent album Humanicide was released last year, which followed their 2016 release The Evil Divide. The band maintained the same lineup for their last three records, which was a first for the outfit.
Carroll went into detail regarding his illness, and the subsequent coma he was placed in as a result during the program. He explained that he was wheezing in his sleep and having a difficult time breathing, before waking up in the hospital from his 12 day coma.
“About three days after I was home [from tour.] My fiancee said I looked and sounded terrible. She said I was wheezing in my sleep and struggling to breathe,” he stated. “That’s the last thing I remember. I don’t remember the ambulance ride or getting to the hospital. The next thing I remember is waking up after a 12-day coma with tubes stuck in me and machines all around. I didn’t even know I was in San Francisco.”
He described some surreal experiences he had while he was in the coma, where he saw things such as hell, heaven, orgies and satan, despite the fact that he’s not a “spiritual” person. Carroll also described vomiting blood and having a heart attack as part of the surreal experiences, although he explained that he actually experienced heart failure during the coma.
“I don’t believe in Bigfoot and I’m not an ambulance chaser. I’m not a super-spiritual guy. I hardly believe in any of that stuff but I did have some out of body experiences. I went to hell and Satan was a woman and I was being punished for sloth. I was this giant obese Jabba The Hut type creature,” he explained. “I was vomiting blood and kept on vomiting blood until I had a heart attack which is kind of weird because I had heart failure during my coma. I remember rising up from Hell and floating up above my body and once I got to heaven it was horrifying there, too. It was like a Roman orgy and the angels were scarier than the demons.”
Caroll stated that the last things he recalled before waking up was being in a nightclub with friends. Upon waking up he asked the nurse if he was still in hell, although she ignored him
“I shot back down to earth and I was with some friends in a nightclub and I didn’t know why I was there,” he said. “That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up. My first words to the nurse were: ‘Am I still in hell? She just ignored it. As I said, I never believed in anything like that but I did see myself from above.”
While his bout with COVID-19 may have ended, Caroll explained that he is still suffering from other health complications. “I snore really bad and they think now I might have sleep apnea. I know people with asthma are very susceptible to the virus so I think my respiratory issues while sleeping contributed,” he elaborated.
Caroll also responded to those downplaying the virus and urged everybody to take it seriously. When asked what he thought of the people comparing it to the flu he stated “They are fools. This is not the common flu – that is ridiculous. You really need to stay indoors and follow the rules. It’s no fun to be cooped up and I’m no fan of Big Brother but we have to prevent this from spreading. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy and people need to take it seriously.”
Leave a Comment