AceShowbiz - Shock rocker Josh Martin has died in a fatal escalator accident at a shopping mall in Providence, Rhode Island.

The 45-year-old, a former guitarist with grindcore metal band Anal ****, fell backwards off an escalator at the Providence Place mall on Monday, May 28 night, according to a police report obtained by The Boston Globe.

Witnesses said he was "fooling around" on the rail of the escalator, fell and suffered "massive injuries" after hitting his head on a table in the food court a floor below. He was subsequently admitted to Rhode Island Hospital and was pronounced dead.

Officials told the newspaper the death looked to be accidental, but that they'll review surveillance video to see if there's any evidence of foul play.

Newspaper reports didn't initially identify the rocker as the victim, but his friends told music website Vanyaland that it was him who had suffered the fatal fall.

Martin played with the band, leading exponents of grindcore - an extreme blend of thrash metal and hardcore punk featuring shrieks and growls - from 1996 until 2001 and again from 2006 to 2011. The band split that year after the death of frontman Seth Putnam. Putnam died of a heart attack at the age of 43.

Martin and Putnam also played together in other metal bands, including Impaled Northern Moonforest and Adolf Satan. Although the group, who formed in 1988, did not enjoy chart success, they built a devoted following with their intentionally offensive themes in their lyrics.

However, the group's love of creating offensive music also caused controversy, and they have been criticised for including misogynist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, and racist lyrics in their songs.