Metal Drummer Breaks Hand While Fighting off Robber

Metal drummer Stephen Arango, who plays in Florida deathcore band Traitors, recently broke his hand while fighting off a robber. Over on Instagram, the band shared a statement from Arango, who explained what happened and announced that the injury would prevent him from touring with the band during their shows alongside Ohio metalcore band Attack Attack. "Heartbroken to announce that I won't be joining my Traitors brothers this tour for the Attack Attack run," Arango began his statement.

He went on to share, "2 nights ago in Vegas, ended up in an altercation w someone trying to rob me which unfortunately led me to breaking my fist during the fight. Due to the impact of the hits, i have multiple breaks [and] parts of my hand shattered [and] chipped which means I will unfortunately need to undergo hand surgery so will have to sit out this run til I'm recovered." Arango then revealed that drummer Harrison Linder — of deathgrinders Trash Panda and Florida hardcore band Southpaw — will be filling in for him, "so make sure to show him love this run."

Arango then noted, "I will return soon & will be finishing the Traitors album while I'm home. Thanks for the nonstop support [and] here's hopefully to a speedy recovery." Finally, he made a request to fans, saying, "Instead of taking any donations towards surgery, would mean a ton to see the homies grab a tee or two from my Merch company [No Authority Apparel] as every dollar helps go toward the surgery."

The news has led to a lot of support for Arango, with one person writing in the post comments, "This is sad but also severely badass lmao, good to hear it's not one of those 'my injuries are so bad that I'll never be able to play again' situations." Someone else added, "F— that is brutal. I'm sincerely sorry. I always think how hard it would be if I did something to my fingers or hand or arm and was unable to play guitar. It's therapy for me." A third fan offered, "Wishing you a speedy recovery my dude. That robber chose the wrong one to f— with."

In addition to Arango, Traitors also features vocalist Tyler Shelton, bassist Cameron Perry, and guitarist Alan de la Torre. Notably, Perry also plays bass in Attack Attack. To date, Traitors has four studio albums: The Hate Campaign (2015), Mental State (2016), Anger Issues (2018) and Repent (2019).