A tribute to Jim ‘Sadist’ Konya (1971-2015)

WORDS: David Creamer

For those of you who have been living under a rock (or worse, have never heard of NUNSLAUGHTER), all I can say is shame on you. Great shame. Recently, a terrible tragedy has befallen the underground metal community and it is one that we shall all find incredibly difficult to recover from.

In the past months, Jim “Sadist” Konya was admitted to hospital after suffering a particularly nasty stroke. Whilst his close friends and family were very worried from the onset, Jim still maintained a very high morale and an attitude high in positive vibes, managing to flash the devil horns toward his friends with the arm that had not been afflicted by the stroke. It wasn’t until things took a very unexpected turn, when Jim then suffered another incredibly bad stroke. From this, the doctors looking after him decided to place him into a medically induced coma, until it was eventually agreed that the machines supporting Jim’s life functions were to be turned off.

It is painful to write about his passing. Not just because of the fact that the band will ultimately split as he was NUNSLAUGHTER through and through, but because of the person he was. Of the fact that many people did not know him and his music existed. While this may be an opportune time to mourn, we must look at the man he was. The person we should all inspire to be one day.

The biggest understatement to make about Jim would be that he loved extreme music. Jim WAS extreme music. He was very much a crazed metal fan as he was a metal musician, with a knack for being at many underground metal and punk shows around Cleveland, as well as doing long distance travelling too. When news came of his first stroke, so many people began to post stories online of their encounters of Jim. Some spoke about bumping into him and just talking to him about music. Randomly in the conversation he would bring out a CD and asked if you had it, to which if you said yes, he would then run back to his car, or rummage through the merch stand for patches or shirts you didn’t have. Tales of his endless generosity seem themselves endless. If you knew Jim or had just met him for the first time, if he liked talking to you then he would sometimes ask for your address and weeks later a box of CDs or other stuff would arrive at your doorstep.

He would get on a pedestal and talk endlessly about the music he loved, and promote them as much as he could. More could be written about the type of person he was. But to squeeze it all into one article simply would not do him the least amount of justice. In his final days, we as a metal community waited with baited breath, hoping that something so serious could surely not happen to such a whimsical and beautiful soul such as Jim. Even when word came that he had ceased all mental functions, we clung onto that tiny shimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, he would pull through.

It is incredibly emotional to write about him, and in some way, his passing will never truly be accepted. His music, his memories and his passion will live on in all of us for many years to come. Our thoughts are with his close friends, his family and his band members.

Goodbye Jim, we will miss you greatly.