COAL CHAMBER's MIKEY COX to miss shows after shattering his femur
27-10-2026
COAL CHAMBER drummer Mikey “Bug” Cox has suffered a broken femur following a fall while playing basketball, requiring emergency surgery. As a result, the 49-year-old drummer, who went public with his cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment in April, will be unable to join his bandmates for their performances on October 24 at Sick New World Texas festival in Fort Worth, Texas and October 31 at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California with P.O.D., CRADLE OF FILTH and BLACK SATELLITE. Filling in for Cox at those shows will be DEVILDRIVER drummer Davier Pérez Ortega.
Cox shared the following message via social media: “I am absolutely DEVASTATED to share that I will not be performing with COAL CHAMBER at Sick New World Texas or our Halloween show at House of Blues Anaheim.
“I suffered a nasty fall playing a pick up basketball game with my son. I drove in for the game winning shot ( which I made BTW! ) but a collision with another parent sent me crashing to the concrete, shattering my femur. I needed surgery and 3 pins, and I won’t be walking for at least 6 weeks . After everything my body has endured from chemo, radiation and 3 surgeries, my bones are fragile and couldn’t take the fall !
“I’ve played through fractured fingers, dislocated shoulders and cancer treatment, but this time I simply can’t overcome it in time. I’m absolutely crushed to miss these shows and was determined not to let them get cancelled.
“My boy Davier Perez will be filling in for me. He’s been with me for years, has my complete trust, and is basically the 5th member of COAL CHAMBER. I know he’s going to KILL IT!
“I’m fighting hard to recover and hoping to make it to the Halloween show to support my band from the crowd with all of you ! Fingers crossed !
“It’s been an incredibly tough two years for my family, but I’m not giving up. Thank you for all the love and support. I’ve fought my way through cancer, and I’ll fight my way through this too.
“I WILL BE BACK! Nothing will stop me! Next year is going to be HUGE for COAL CHAMBER!
“I love every single one of you! Your support for myself and COAL CHAMBER means everything to me !”
COAL CHAMBER recently canceled its appearance at this year’s edition of the Louder Than Life festival in order to allow Cox to undergo his final surgery related to his cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment.
Cox released the following statement via social media: “Please read‼️ I wanted to share a quick update!
“After months of scans, tests, and appointments, I’m beyond grateful to say that I passed all of my recent tests and finally got the green light from my doctors for what we hope will be my final cancer surgery. Because of that, COAL CHAMBER will be postponing our performance at Louder Than Life. While I’m bummed to miss it, this is the news my family and I have been fighting for, and I couldn’t be more excited to take this next step.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this long cancer journey. Your love, encouragement, and positive energy have meant the world to me.
“My focus now is on surgery, recovery, and getting back on stage with my COAL CHAMBER family as soon as possible. The future is looking bright, and I can’t wait to see you all again soon!
“Fuck Cancer!”
COAL CHAMBER‘s appearance at this year’s Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, Nevada in April marked the band’s first live performance since Cox‘s successful battle with cancer.
In late April, Cox revealed that he was diagnosed with stage three cancer on April 1, 2025. He described the experience as “dark” and “scary” and added that he went through “a yearlong battle and absolutely brutal rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and eventually surgery” before being declared “cancer-free”.
COAL CHAMBER played its first two shows in eight years at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas in May 2023 and at the Inkcarceration Music And Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio in July 2023. That same year, COAL CHAMBER completed a U.S. tour as the support act for MUDVAYNE.
After COVID-19 nearly took Fafara out in 2021, Dez was very vocal about his brush with death and COVID’s after-effects, which were brought into view when DEVILDRIVER canceled its appearance at the 2023 Bloodstock Open Air festival in the U.K. due to inflammation in his lower heart.
In January 2025, COAL CHAMBER canceled its previously rescheduled “Fiend For The Fans” U.S. tour. The trek, which was originally slated to kick off in August 2024 before being postponed to March/April 2025 due to Fafara‘s health emergency, was supposed to feature support from FEAR FACTORY, TWIZTID, BLACK SATELLITE and FRAYLE.
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