Coal Chamber drummer Mikey Cox broke his femur in a fall while playing pickup basketball. He will miss the band’s Halloween show at House of Blues Anaheim on Oct. 31 with San Diego’s P.O.D., Cradle of Filth and Black Satellite. DevilDriver drummer Davier Pérez Ortega will fill in for that show and for Coal Chamber’s Oct. 24 set at Sick New World Texas in Fort Worth.
Mikey Cox: “Absolutely Devastated”
Cox, 49, shared the news on Oct. 23 in a post on Coal Chamber’s Instagram. “I am absolutely DEVASTATED to share that I will not be performing with Coal Chamber at Sick New World Texas or our Halloween show at House of Blues Anaheim,” he wrote.
He said he was playing with his son: “I drove in for the game winning shot ( which I made BTW! ) but a collision with another parent sent me crashing to the concrete, shattering my femur.” He needed surgery and three pins, and he wrote that he “won’t be walking for at least 6 weeks.”
Cox tied the break to his recent treatment. “After everything my body has endured from chemo, radiation and 3 surgeries, my bones are fragile and couldn’t take the fall,” he wrote. “I’ve played through fractured fingers, dislocated shoulders and cancer treatment, but this time I simply can’t overcome it in time.”
Davier Pérez Ortega Steps In
Cox said he “was determined not to let them get cancelled,” so both shows will go ahead with Pérez behind the kit. “My boy Davier Perez will be filling in for me. He’s been with me for years, has my complete trust, and is basically the 5th member of Coal Chamber. I know he’s going to KILL IT!” Cox wrote. Pérez plays drums in DevilDriver, the band Coal Chamber singer Dez Fafara also fronts.
Cox also said he plans to be in Anaheim as a fan: “I’m fighting hard to recover and hoping to make it to the Halloween show to support my band from the crowd with all of you! Fingers crossed!”
After a Year of Cancer Treatment
The injury follows a hard stretch for Mikey Cox. As Blabbermouth recapped, Cox revealed in late April that he had been diagnosed with stage three cancer on April 1, 2025. He described “a yearlong battle and absolutely brutal rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and eventually surgery” before being declared cancer-free. Coal Chamber’s set at Sick New World in Las Vegas in April was the band’s first show since his recovery. The band later pulled out of this year’s Louder Than Life festival so Cox could have his final surgery related to the cancer.
“It’s been an incredibly tough two years for my family, but I’m not giving up,” Cox wrote. “I’ve fought my way through cancer, and I’ll fight my way through this too. I WILL BE BACK! Nothing will stop me! Next year is going to be HUGE for Coal Chamber!” No 2027 dates had been announced when he posted.
The Halloween Show
The Anaheim show is Saturday, Oct. 31 at House of Blues Anaheim, 400 W. Disney Way. Live Nation lists a 5:30 p.m. time. The venue’s event notes on Bandsintown give doors at 5:30 p.m. and say the show is all ages, general admission and standing only. The lineup is Coal Chamber, P.O.D., Cradle of Filth and Black Satellite. Set times haven’t been posted.
Tickets are on sale through Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Lineup and price details are also on SDMETAL’s event listing.
For San Diego fans, P.O.D. are the hometown band on the bill. The Anaheim show is a chance to see them alongside Coal Chamber, with Pérez filling in for Mikey Cox. If Cox’s recovery goes the way he hopes, he’ll be in the crowd too.
SDMETAL
