(CelebrityAccess) — Bill Rieflin a drummer and musician who performed with numerous rock, industrial and experimental groups, most notably progressive rock legends King Crimson, has died. He was 59.
Rieflin’s passing was announced on the in a brief statement posted to King Crimson’s website: “After a long battle with cancer, Bill Rieflin passed away yesterday.”
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp also reported Reiflin’s passing on social media:
While Rieflin got his start as a professional musician in Seattle’s punk scene, he is best known for his work with industrial groups such as Nine Inch Nails, and KMFDM, where he served as drummer, keyboardist and programmer from 1995–2003.
He also collaborated regularly with R.E.M. following the retirement of drummer Bill Berry in 1997.
In 2013, Rieflin joined Robert Fripp, his longtime collaborator in projects such as Humans and Slow Music, as one of the three drummers for the new lineup of Fripp’s group King Crimson.
Rieflin stepped away from the group following the release of “Live in Toronto 2015” but returned in 2017 as the band’s first dedicated keyboardist.
Rieflin was married to painter Francesca Sundsten until her death in March 2019. Her work was used on the covers of multiple albums that Reiflin performed on, including KMFDM’s Nihil, Filthy Friends’ Invitation and King Crimson’s Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind.
