Andrew J. “Andy” Williams was born December 12, 1977, in Buffalo, New York, and became a distinctive figure in two very different worlds: heavy music and professional wrestling.
His musical future took shape in the late 1990s. Williams and guitarist Jordan Buckley shared an enthusiasm for the band Deadguy, and in 1998 Williams became a founding member of Buffalo metalcore band Every Time I Die alongside Jordan and vocalist Keith Buckley. Williams served as the band's rhythm guitarist throughout its entire existence.
Every Time I Die developed a sound that combined hardcore punk and metal with grooves and elements drawn from Southern and classic rock. Rather than remaining fixed stylistically, the group continued expanding its approach over nine studio albums. Williams and Jordan Buckley became complementary guitarists: Williams described himself as the player concerned with groove while Buckley supplied more of the technical detail. That contrast became an important part of the band's musical identity. By the time Every Time I Die ended in January 2022, Williams had spent more than two decades helping shape one of the most enduring bands to emerge from American metalcore.
Alongside music, Williams carried a lifelong fascination with professional wrestling. He recalled being absorbed by wrestling as a child and particularly admired Ric Flair. By the mid-2010s, he was training seriously and working independent wrestling events while continuing to tour with Every Time I Die. His first singles match came against Tarik at Smash Wrestling's Any Given Sunday 4 on March 20, 2016. He tore his meniscus in the match, underwent surgery, and returned to wrestling while maintaining his music career.
Williams eventually formed a regular tag team with Jesse Guilmette, known as The Blade. Williams became The Butcher, and together they competed as The Butcher and The Blade. Their partnership took them from independent promotions to All Elite Wrestling. Williams made his AEW debut on Dynamite in November 2019 alongside The Blade and The Bunny, attacking Cody Rhodes and immediately establishing the group on national television.
For several years, Williams balanced careers that individually demanded enormous physical and personal commitments. In January 2020, after 22 years without missing an Every Time I Die performance, he chose an AEW match involving wrestling legend Diamond Dallas Page over a band show in Paris. His bandmates understood: it was an opportunity Williams believed he might never receive again.
After Every Time I Die disbanded in 2022, Williams concentrated heavily on wrestling but eventually returned to creating music. He formed Atomic Rule, which made its live debut in 2024 and released its first recorded material in 2025. The project allowed him to explore heavier, progressive and more expansive ideas, and he spoke enthusiastically about finally finding a group dynamic that felt like a genuine team.
Williams left behind an unusual body of work: more than two decades of influential heavy music followed by a genuine second career in professional wrestling, then a return to making new music when he might easily have rested on what he had already accomplished.