Sacred Reich Rhythm Guitarist Jason Rainey Death at 53

Sacred Reich founding guitarist Jason Rainey died on Monday (March 16) after an apparent heart attack. He was 53 years old.

His wife, Renee Novak, first shared the news of the musician’s death and the alleged cause. The veteran Metal Blade Records thrash act confirmed the unfortunate news soon after that. “Jason, we wish you peace and love,” the group conveyed in a message celebrating the musician’s life.

Rainey (pictured above, third from left) was with Sacred Reich until early last year, after meeting with the band at their 2006 reunion. He helped form the group in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1985 and performed with Sacred Reich until his initial breakup in 2000. Guitarist Joey Radzi will replace him in 2019.

“My husband Jason Rainey passed away [an] hour ago,” Novak announced on Facebook Monday night. “Most likely, it’s a [heart] attack. They worked on it for half an hour but couldn’t save it.”

The Holy Reich later stated: “It is with deep sadness and broken hearts that we must announce that our friend, guitarist and founding member of the Holy Reich, Jason Rainey, passed away.”

Phil Rind, the band’s bassist and lead vocalist, also shared memories of Rainey on social media. On Tuesday morning (March 17), the singer took to Instagram with a series of photos of the late guitarist. “My friend and brother are deceased,” said Rind in the caption.