#IN_MEMORIAM: Today is a day that many people celebrate, but for some it will always be remembered with tragedy in mind. One year ago today (3.17.21), Corey Steger was innocently and needlessly lost in a tragic accident at the hands and poor decisions of another.
He was a husband, father, son, grandson, brother, friend, and musician most known for his time forming the band Underoath.
For me (Matt) personally and for InSymmetry Creations, LLC it was different. I knew Corey for over 20 years, and he and I had been in and out of each others lives many times (just life being life, and the fact that Corey lived fairly off the social media grid). He had recorded with me in the early 2000s on some #RoyalAnguish material, I was there at his last ever #Underoath show, we played shows together when he was in #Archer, and more.
Corey was the FIRST person to take part in the formative times of Heirs of Isildur, when it was simply a musical concept. He and I tried to get it off the ground in 2012, but as we always said it was like waves crashing on the shore: We had that burst of energy and then it slowly trickled away back to where it came from and then disappeared. It just wasn't the right time.
It wasn't until early 2016 when I had decided it was going to be music AND comics that things really took off. Corey was a huge part of the first album, performing guitar solos and/or vocals on every track on #TheCrossroadsConundrum which was released in 2017. He and I had initial discussions about 'the storyline', but what Heirs has become is far greater and more far reaching then he and I ever imagined in those formative discussions.
Flashback to December of 2020: Steph Cannon and I were about to embark on a December event for InSymmetry Creations, LLC, the umbrella home for all things Heirs of Isildur. I called Corey on the way down to the event to see if he wanted to participate in the follow up album (Heirs of Isildur vs Tales From Nocturnia). I literally could not even finish the sentence. "Yes Yes! Whatever it is I want to be involved in it." He was all in for the follow up album. Didn't matter what it was. If it was he and I doing something musically, that was good enough for him.
March 6th 2021 he and his best friend Rick Laub joined me in the home studio, while Steph Cannon was on video chat, and we recorded what would be his final tracks ever in his life. If we only knew then that it was gonna be the very last time we'd see him. It was a cool bonding experience that meant a LOT to the four of us even then. Little did we know the bond that would form after the fact between Steph, Rick, and me.
Just eleven days later his life was needlessly taken (3.17.21). It's had a profound impact on me and on our business. We were now the holders of the last piece of his creative work and we have taken that responsibility seriously. There is not a show or live event that goes by where his name is not organically mentioned, or his face is not seen. We have a memorial cover (with art by James Sims) that we did for him that is on display. That cover is currently the background on my phone. The picture attached to this post is the back cover of ALL versions of the Heirs Of Isildur: NightmareScenario comic that came out. The back cover of a comic is prime real estate, and its the least we could do to ensure that his memorial is those issues wasn't lost on the interior pages.
His name won't be forgotten. His musicianship won't be forgotten. Not as long as InSymmetry Creations, LLC and Heirs of Isildur have any say so in the matter.
Thank you in advance for any offers of condolence, but those who it should be directed towards are his wife (& kids), sisters, parents, grandmother, and best friend. We are the mere vessel that has the ability to post about him. THESE are the people that truly have the biggest hole left unfilled in their lives because of this tragedy.
Rest In Peace Corey Steger 2.15.1979 - 3.17.2021
NOTE: To hear some of his recordings with us, Here is the BANDCAMP link to our music. Today ESPECIALLY the song 'Endless Winter' should resonate with us all. Corey's vocal spots on this song are as bizarre and as timely as they come.
Matt Knowles
Steph Cannon
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