Court documents reveal strange behavior from a popular Tampa Bay area death metal guitarist just before his house went up in flames. 

Pat O’Brien is the lead guitarist for Cannibal Corpse, a Tampa-based death metal band with a large global following. A house he apparently rented in Northdale caught fire Dec. 10. 

Firefighters showed up a little after 7 p.m. to find ammunition exploding inside the home.

Meanwhile, investigators say O’Brien broke into a house a few doors down, refused to leave and told his neighbors “the rapture is coming.” 

Court documents show O’Brien also made strange phone calls to his parents earlier that day, telling them “the aliens have landed.” 

Deputies say when they tried to arrest O’Brien, he lunged at one of them with a switch blade. He was subsequently tased. 

The day after the fire, a neighbor on Norwood Drive told News Channel 8 they believed O’Brien kept some sort of flamethrower at the house, and practiced with it.

Court documents show investigators found “flame-throwing incendiary devices” both inside and outside the house the night of the fire.

The next day, a search warrant was executed and 160 items, primarily guns, gun parts and ammo, were seized.

Records show the barrel of at least one confiscated shotgun had illegally been sawed off. 

Hillsborough County property tax records show O’Brien is not the owner of the home on Norwood Drive, but it appears he pays the utilities and has since Dec. 2016. 

O’Brien is charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He has posted bond. 

News Channel 8 stopped by a different address listed for O’Brien on arrest records Tuesday. No one came to the door.