Andy Williams and Every Time I Die: His Role in the Band, Albums and Breakup Explained
Andy Williams was best known to wrestling fans as The Butcher, but long before his AEW career made him a recognizable figure in professional wrestling, he was one of the guitarists behind the Buffalo, New York, metalcore band Every Time I Die.
Williams was part of Every Time I Die from its formation in 1998 and remained with the group throughout its run. He appeared on the band’s releases and shared guitar duties with Jordan Buckley, helping shape the sound of a band that developed a devoted following in the hardcore and metalcore scenes.
Williams died in September 2026 at age 48 after collapsing following a wrestling match in Pennsylvania. His death brought renewed attention to the different sides of his career, including the music career that preceded and eventually overlapped with his wrestling work.
Here is a closer look at Andy Williams’ connection to Every Time I Die, his role as a guitarist, the band’s albums, its members and why the group ultimately broke up.
What Band Was Andy Williams In?
Andy Williams was a guitarist and founding member of Every Time I Die, a metalcore band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1998.
The original group was built around vocalist Keith Buckley, guitarist Jordan Buckley, guitarist Andy Williams, bassist John McCarthy and drummer Michael “Ratboy” Novak.
The band initially emerged from Buffalo’s hardcore scene and developed a style that mixed metalcore and hardcore punk with Southern-rock influences, aggressive guitar work and a distinctive sense of humor.
Every Time I Die released its first EP, The Burial Plot Bidding War, in 2000 before releasing its first full-length album, Last Night in Town, in 2001. The band eventually released nine studio albums before breaking up in 2022.
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Andy Williams’ Role in Every Time I Die
Williams played guitar alongside Jordan Buckley, making the two musicians an important part of Every Time I Die’s instrumental identity.
Rather than being simply a touring guitarist, Williams was part of the band’s core lineup from its early years through its final period.
His credits extended across the band’s catalog. AllMusic lists Williams as a guitarist and group member on albums including Hot Damn!, Ex Lives, From Parts Unknown, Low Teens and Radical.
The two-guitar setup allowed Every Time I Die to build its songs around heavy riffs, rhythmic changes and contrasting guitar parts.
That approach remained important even as the band’s sound developed over more than two decades.
Andy Williams and the Every Time I Die Guitar Sound
One of the most interesting parts of Williams’ music career was the partnership between the band’s two guitarists.
In a 2021 interview with Guitar World, Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams discussed the writing process behind Radical and the band’s approach to guitar music.
The album demonstrated that Every Time I Die was not interested in staying inside one narrowly defined metalcore formula. Songs could move between aggressive breakdowns, fast hardcore sections, unusual rhythmic ideas and more unexpected melodic passages.
Buckley and Williams’ guitar partnership was central to that flexibility.
That makes Williams’ role in Every Time I Die more significant than simply being listed as “guitarist.” He was part of the songwriting and instrumental foundation of the band.
Every Time I Die Albums Featuring Andy Williams
Every Time I Die released nine studio albums during its career.
The main studio catalog was:
- Last Night in Town — 2001
- Hot Damn! — 2003
- Gutter Phenomenon — 2005
- The Big Dirty — 2007
- New Junk Aesthetic — 2009
- Ex Lives — 2012
- From Parts Unknown — 2014
- Low Teens — 2016
- Radical — 2021
AllMusic’s discography lists the nine-album sequence from Last Night in Town through Radical.
Williams’ involvement stretched across this long period, making him one of the musicians most closely associated with the band’s recorded history.
Last Night in Town
Released in 2001, Last Night in Town was Every Time I Die’s first full-length album.
It followed the band’s early EP and established the group as a rising name in the hardcore and metalcore scene.
Hot Damn!
Hot Damn! followed in 2003.
The album continued the band’s aggressive metalcore sound while incorporating more Southern-rock guitar influences and melodic elements.
Gutter Phenomenon
Released in 2005, Gutter Phenomenon continued the band’s combination of hardcore aggression, heavy guitar riffs and Southern-rock influences.
AllMusic credits Williams on guitar alongside Jordan Buckley on the record.
The Big Dirty
The 2007 album The Big Dirty became another important step in the band’s development and helped Every Time I Die secure a deal with Epitaph Records.
The band continued expanding its audience while maintaining its aggressive live identity.
New Junk Aesthetic
New Junk Aesthetic arrived in 2009 and marked the band’s debut for Epitaph Records.
The album continued the group’s heavy sound but also demonstrated a stronger focus on hooks and more varied guitar arrangements.
Ex Lives
Released in 2012, Ex Lives continued Every Time I Die’s rise and became one of the band’s most visible releases.
From Parts Unknown
From Parts Unknown followed in 2014.
Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, the album continued the band’s aggressive metalcore approach while emphasizing fast, tightly arranged guitar-driven songs.
Low Teens
Released in 2016, Low Teens became another major record in the band’s catalog.
Williams is credited as a guitarist, group member and composer on the album.
Radical
Radical, released in October 2021, was Every Time I Die’s ninth and final studio album.
It contained 16 tracks and was produced by Will Putney. The record was critically well received and became the band’s final release before its breakup.
Williams was credited as a guitarist and group member on Radical.
Who Were the Members of Every Time I Die?
The band’s lineup changed over the years, particularly on bass and drums, but its best-known core included several musicians who remained associated with the group for long periods.
The original lineup included:
- Keith Buckley — vocals
- Jordan Buckley — guitar
- Andy Williams — guitar
- John McCarthy — bass
- Michael “Ratboy” Novak — drums
Over the years, musicians including Stephen Micciche, Josh Newton, Ryan Leger, Daniel Davison and Clayton “Goose” Holyoak became part of different versions of the lineup.
By the band’s final period, Williams and Jordan Buckley were the two guitarists, Stephen Micciche played bass and Clayton Holyoak played drums, with Keith Buckley handling vocals.
Why Did Every Time I Die Break Up?
Every Time I Die broke up in January 2022 after more than two decades together.
The breakup was unusual because the announcement came from four members of the five-piece band: Andy Williams, Jordan Buckley, Stephen Micciche and Clayton “Goose” Holyoak.
The four musicians said their final show with the band had taken place on December 11, 2021.
Their statement also described a breakdown in communication with vocalist Keith Buckley and said the members had been unable to agree on a joint public statement about the band’s future.
The split followed growing tension around the group late in 2021. Keith Buckley had taken time away from performing, citing mental-health concerns, and the band completed part of its touring schedule without him.
Keith Buckley later issued his own response, making clear that the situation involved a serious dispute between him and the other members.
Because the statements from the different sides did not present the situation in exactly the same way, it is more accurate to describe the breakup as a dispute among the members rather than reduce it to one uncontested explanation.
What Happened to Every Time I Die After the Breakup?
The breakup ended Every Time I Die as a band, but several former members continued making music.
Jordan Buckley, Stephen Micciche and Clayton Holyoak later became part of Better Lovers, alongside guitarist and producer Will Putney and vocalist Greg Puciato.
Andy Williams did not join that project because by that stage he had moved increasingly toward professional wrestling as his full-time career.
That created an unusual final chapter for Williams: the guitarist who had spent more than two decades in Every Time I Die was increasingly known to a different audience as The Butcher in professional wrestling.
Andy Williams Was Balancing Music and Wrestling
For several years, Williams effectively had two careers running alongside each other.
He had been performing with Every Time I Die for years when he began seriously pursuing professional wrestling.
By 2020, the two careers were directly overlapping. Every Time I Die had been working on its next album while Williams was also appearing in AEW.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the practical balance between those careers. Touring plans for Every Time I Die were delayed, while Williams continued working in professional wrestling.
In 2021, he was simultaneously promoting and performing music with Every Time I Die while appearing as The Butcher.
A Guitar World interview from that period captured that unusual situation: Williams had returned to Buffalo after wrestling in Orlando with AEW while discussing the band’s new album Radical.
What Was Andy Williams’ Connection to Every Time I Die?
The simplest answer is that Andy Williams was one of Every Time I Die’s founding guitarists and one of the band’s longest-serving members.
He was not a musician who joined shortly before the band’s success or appeared on only a few records. His involvement covered virtually the entire history of the group.
He helped form the band in 1998, appeared across its catalog and remained part of the final lineup when Every Time I Die ended in 2022.
That makes Every Time I Die an essential part of understanding Williams’ career, even though his later wrestling work introduced him to a much wider mainstream audience.
Andy Williams’ Music Legacy
Williams’ legacy is therefore split between two very different worlds.
To wrestling fans, he became The Butcher — a large, distinctive tag-team wrestler who spent years working in AEW and elsewhere.
To fans of hardcore and metalcore, he was the guitarist who helped build Every Time I Die’s sound from its Buffalo beginnings through its final album, Radical.
The band lasted more than 20 years, released nine studio albums and developed a loyal following before its contentious breakup in 2022.
Williams’ death in 2026 has renewed interest in that earlier part of his career, but his music story stands on its own. Every Time I Die was not simply something he did before wrestling; it was a major part of his professional life and artistic identity for more than two decades.
The Bottom Line
Andy Williams was in Every Time I Die, where he served as a guitarist from the band’s formation in 1998 until its breakup in 2022.
He appeared across the band’s long recording history, including its final album, Radical, and shared guitar duties with Jordan Buckley.
The band ultimately ended after a public dispute between four members and vocalist Keith Buckley in January 2022. Several former members later formed Better Lovers, while Williams continued down the professional-wrestling path that had increasingly become his primary career.
For anyone searching “Andy Williams Every Time I Die,” “Andy Williams band,” “Andy Williams guitarist,” “Every Time I Die albums” or “why did Every Time I Die break up,” the answer leads back to one of the longest-running chapters of Williams’ career: more than two decades as a guitarist in one of Buffalo’s best-known metalcore bands.
