It was confirmed late last night that Tonmi Lillman, best known as Lordi’s drummer Otus, has passed away. A cause of death has not been revealed yet. Lillman was 38 years old.
The members of Lordi released the following statement confirming the unfortunate news:
“Our dear friend and band mate, ‘Otus’ Tonmi Lillman, has sadly passed away. He will be greatly missed and we send our condolences to his family and friends. Otus: we thank You from the bottom of our hearts for the short time we got to know you and spend with you together. Rest in peace, friend.”
Lillman joined the band as the character ‘Otus’ in 2010 as a replacement for Sampsa “Kita” Astala. However, the drummer joined the group just after the recording of their last album Babez For Breakfast. Before joining Lordi, he had played drums in bands like To/Die/For and Sinergy, and Kylähullut (featuring Children Of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho and Klamydia’s Vesku Jokinen)
While many hold mixed feelings for the masked Finnish band and 2006 Eurovision winners, it’s very unfortunate for any band in such a situation as this. Our condolences go out to Lillman’s band mates, friends and family.
