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Metal Musician Rock Singer

Died On This Date (June 22, 2018) Vinnie Paul / Drummer for Pantera, Damageplan, Hellyeah

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Vinnie Paul (Born Vincent Paul Abbott)
(March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018)

The original uploader was Mjfelker at English Wikipedia. – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by DingirXul., CC BY-SA 3.0.

Vinnie Paul, founding drummer for the highly influential metal band, Pantera, reportedly died in his sleep on June 22, 2018. He was 54. According to TMZ: “Vinnie’s family tells TMZ … he died in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. His body’s been turned over to the medical examiner to determine a cause of death, and after that he’ll be flown back to his home state of Texas to be buried between his mom and brother.”

Born in Abilene, Texas, Paul’s first introduction to music likely came from his father, Jerry Abbott, a country music songwriter and producer who went on to helm Pantera’s early records. Formed in 1981, Pantera counted Paul’s brother, Darrell Abbott (later known as Dimebag Darrell) among its ranks.  Pantera went on to become one of the biggest names in metal during the ’90s, selling over 60 million albums combined. After Pantera disbanded in 2003, Paul formed nu-metal band, Damageplan with his brother. Their only album, New Found Power, debuted at #38 on the Billboard charts.  Before the band could pick up real steam however, tragedy struck when Dimebag was shot and killed along with four others when an assailant climbed the stage and began firing with no apparent motive.  After taking an 18-month hiatus, Paul joined metal supergroup, Hellyeah, in 2008.  The band went on to release five albums before Paul’s passing.

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Died On This Date (December 13, 2017) Warrel Dane / Lead Singer of Sanctuary & Nevermore

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Warrel Dane (Born Warrel Baker)
March 7, 1961 – December 13, 2017

Second from left, with Sanctuary. Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

Acclaimed American Metal singer, Warrel Dane, who fronted both Sanctuary and Nevermore, died of a heart attack while working on a solo album in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was 56. Born in Seattle,  Washington, Dane trained as an opera singer before ultimately finding  his way to Metal. His first band of note, Sanctuary, signed with Epic Records in 1987.  Their debut album, Refuge Denied, was notable for being produced by Dave Mustaine, who was just growing into his own with Megadeth. It was released in 1988.  Although the band’s follow up, Into The Black, received some exposure via a video on MTV,  it was the early ’90s, and they fell victim to the newfound popularity of grunge. Rather than give in to label wishes for them to shift their sound toward grunge, Dane left the band in 1992 and formed Nevermore which leaned more progressive than Sanctuary’s thrash sound.  Nevermore signed with Century Media who went on to release their seven studio albums over the next 15 years.  In 2011, the band went on hiatus while Sanctuary reunited and released their most successful album to date, 2014’s The Year the Sun Died.  They went on to release two more studio albums before Dane’s passing.

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Died On This Date (November 18, 2017) Malcolm Young / AC/DC Founder & Rhythm Guitarist

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Malcolm Young
January 6, 1953 – November 18, 2017

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Malcolm Young, the co-founding guitarist for legendary hard rock band, AC/DC passed away with his family by his side after a long battle with dementia.  Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Young moved with his family to Australia when he was 10 years old.  At 20, he formed AC/DC, which would go on to include his brother Angus Young on lead guitar, and Bon Scott on lead vocals. There were several line-up changes through the years, including the hiring of Brian Johnson on lead vocals after Scott passed away in 1980.  With early Bon Scott fronted albums like T.N.T., Powerage, and Highway to Hell, the band began to build a huge following around the world due in large part to the bigger-than-live sound and image largely conceived by Malcolm.  Their first album with Johnson, 1980’s Back in Black, sent the band’s popularity into the stratosphere. That album alone has sold over 50 million copies while their entire catalog sits at over 200 million in sales.  They are one of the highest-selling bands of all time.

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Died On This Date (March 30, 2017) Elyse Steinman / Guitarist For Raging Slab

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Elyse Steinman
DOB Unknown – March 30, 2017

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Elyse Steinman is best remembered as the founding guitarist for the beloved New York City heavy rock band, Raging Slab.  Formed in 1983, Raging Slab found a sound that was drawn from equal parts early ’70s hard rock, and late ’70s punk rock.  By the late ’80s, they had built a sizable regional following and record companies began to take notice.  After releasing their debut, Assmaster, on a small independent punk label, major labels came knocking.  After a bidding frenzy, they ultimately signed with RCA in 1989. Soon, Guitar Player magazine was describing them as “Lynyrd Skynyrd meets Metallica,” and their fans couldn’t get enough.  Although their line-up changed quite a bit over the years, Steinman was always there pounding away on guitar.  Elyse Steinman died as a result of breast cancer on March 30, 2017.

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Died On This Date (January 28, 2017) Geoff Nichols / Black Sabbath

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Geoff Nicholls
February 28, 1948 – January 28, 2017

Photo by Chris Walter

Geoff Nicholls was the longtime keyboardist for Black Sabbath.  Although not nearly as recognized as core group since he primarily played off stage for some 25 years.  Born in Birmingham, England, Nicholls helped form his first band of note, Quartz (initially called Bandy Legs) during the mid-’70s.  Quartz, an influential band that helped usher in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, built a sizable enough following to sign with Jet Records in 1976.  They released their debut album, the Tony Iommi-produced Quartz in 1977 and went on to tour with Black Sabbath after its release. In 1979, Nicholls left Quartz to play with Black Sabbath. Although unaccredited, his debut was on their Heaven and Hell album of 1980. He went on to play on every subsequent Sabbath album through 1995’s Forbidden.  In later years Nicholls played with former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin.  Geoff Nicholls died of lung cancer on January 28, 2017.  He was 68.

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