I had not yet even gotten over the shock about the passing of Ray Manzarek when this equally saddening news came to my attention. Regretfully I share with you the news that the great Trevor Bolder (founder and bassist at one time for David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars and the current bringer of the thunder for Uriah Heep) has passed away after battling cancer. He was only 62 years of age. Having just seen this fantastic musician only a few months ago and enjoying some musical chit chat and a drink after the gig this news just brings me down about such a loss. I’ve copied the bands official statement below my photo from this gig for you all to reflect upon.

Trevor Bolder Onstage @ B.B. King Blues Club (2012)

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It would seem that another incredible musician has left us as the news circulated earlier about the passing of the great Ray Manzarek, legendary keyboardist and founding member of The Doors.

I’ve copied the official statement from his publicist Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald;

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 20, 2013 — Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, passed away today at 12:31PM PT at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74. At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his wife Dorothy Manzarek, and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek.

Manzarek is best known for his work with The Doors who formed in 1965 when Manzarek had a chance encounter on Venice Beach with poet Jim Morrison. The Doors went on to become one of the most controversial rock acts of the 1960s, selling more than 100-million albums worldwide, and receiving 19 Gold, 14 Platinum and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone. “L.A.Woman,” “Break On Through to the Other Side,” “The End,” “Hello, I Love You,” and “Light My Fire” were just some of the band’s iconic and ground-breaking songs. After Morrison’s death in 1971, Manzarek went on to become a best-selling author, and a Grammy-nominated recording artist in his own right. In 2002, he revitalized his touring career with Doors’ guitarist and long-time collaborator, Robby Krieger.

“I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today,” said Krieger. “I’m just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him.”

Manzarek is survived by his wife Dorothy, brothers Rick and James Manczarek, son Pablo Manzarek, Pablo’s wife Sharmin and their three children Noah, Apollo and Camille. Funeral arrangements are pending. The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please make a memoriam donation in Ray Manzarek’s name at www.standup2cancer.org

The Doors: Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek & Morrison (1966)

While I was too young to see The Doors in concert based on my vintage, I can honestly say that the keyboards of Manzarek were probably the very first that I remember hearing as a young fan of music and while I eventually moved into the Metal side as time went by; there was no mistaking the undeniable influence and magic of his signature sound. As a matter of fact, as I write this sentence down I hear his influential notes in my head. It seems as though it just comes to you. Thank you Ray Manzarek for being such a player and for setting a standard that has inspired so many and will continue to do so long after your passing. May you Rest In Peace and may your family, band mates and worldwide friends find some comfort despite the sadness. Please say hello to Jim for all of us.

Learn more about the great Ray Mazarek via his Wikipedia entry HERE.

The Godfather Of Metal Watches Over Us

That’s all I have to say about it…….

The news hit the Metal Community late Thursday en masse it seemed with the sad report that Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman had passed away. I was sitting in Duke’s Bar having a little bit of supper when my phone started blowing up with texts and emails about the news and some others asking if I could confirm what people were hearing. Sadly, this was indeed true and the bands official statement read as follows

“Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.”

Jeff Hanneman was born Jeffrey John Hanneman in 1964 and as many know full well was a founding member of the legendary Thrash Metal band Slayer. As a guitarist Hanneman was very influenced by the speed and pace of the Punk scene and this helped formulate the style that he would bring to a larger than life sense in the mighty Slayer. The diehard fans might not need a reminder of this but to take a piece from his Wikipedia entry “Hanneman had contributed both lyrical and musical material to every Slayer album and wrote the songs “Raining Blood”, “War Ensemble”, “South of Heaven”, “Seasons in the Abyss” and “Angel of Death”, which are played at almost every live Slayer show”. Sadly Jeff Hanneman would withdrew from his active touring schedule sometime in early 2011 after he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, which is a debilitating skin disorder. It was widely reported that this was the result of a spider bite that had happened while on tour somewhere in South America. By 2012, there were interviews with Tom Araya who had spoke of Jeff’s recovery from the disease but later in February 2013, Kerry King revealed that he was still dealing with continuing health problems that were keeping him from being an on tour active part of Slayer. When Jeff passed away yesterday morning it was in a hospital near his home and of liver failure but so far there is no information as to whether or not this initial disease had contributed to what caused his death. Whatever the case may be it is still a shame and was news that crushed the larger Heavy Metal community whether they be musicians or worldwide fans.

Personally speaking I got into Slayer much later than my friends did. I leaned more toward the glittery stuff for awhile but had a heavy band and they all really enjoyed Slayer. Once I started listening to it a little more at their suggestion I got much more into it. I technically started my listening exposure to the band with what they had on “Hell Awaits” but it would not be until “Seasons In The Abyss” that I would actually go out and buy my own Slayer music. These two shots in the memorial were shot by me of Jeff in concert with Slayer. One from 2006 and another from 2007. I did not shoot the band a lot but was glad I had the chance to in the end. Jeff Hanneman is a figure in Thrash Metal legend and one that will never ever be forgotten. May he Rest In Peace.

Memorial thoughts are always welcome on our postings of this nature. What did Jeff Hanneman mean to you as a Metal fan or even a musician. I will leave the comments open for your submissions.

Late last night I arrived home to the news reports that bassist Chi Cheng of The Deftones had passed away at age 42. The musician was involved in a terrible car accident in 2008 that left him in a semi-conscious state and while there were slight improvements to his condition over the years, in the end he lost the fight and has left this plane.

The band has not yet made a statement about this, but Chi’s Mother has left the following on the website that kept everyone up to date on his condition “Our dearest Family, This is the hardest thing to write to you. Your love and heart and devotion to Chi was unconditional and amazing. I know that you will always remember him as a giant of a man on stage with a heart for every one of you. He was taken to the emegency room and at 3 am today his heart just suddenly stopped. He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear. He fought the good fight.You stood by him sending love daily. He knew that he was very loved and never alone. I will write more later. I will be going through the oneloveforchi and any other information may not be reliable. If you have any stories or messages to share please send them to the onelove site. Please hold Mae and Ming and the siblings and especially Chi’s son, Gabriel in your prayers. It is so hard to let go. With great love and “Much Respect!” Mom J (and Chi)”

I admit that I have never historically followed what The Deftones do in the Metal realm but so many of my friends are in love with their sound so I had to make sure to put some sort of memorial posting together. We send out condolences to the worldwide friends and fans of Chi Cheng and most importantly the family who now has to come to grips with the sad end to a tragic tale. Rest in Peace Chi Cheng, your loved ones shall never forget you.

My apologies for the fans about getting this memorial brief online a few days later than planned but I have really been keeping a frenetic schedule this past week and unable to get a lot of things done. That being said, we just wanted to be sure that our readers knew that Hate’s bassist Slawek Archangielskij aka “Mortifier” had passed away. The Polish Blackened Death Metal band were actually on tour and the musician apparently went to bed and simply never woke up.  What a shame.

“Mortifier” in NYC (2011)

The band posted a statement which read: “At night 5th/6th April near a German town of Munchberg, our friend, best comrade and longtime bass player unexpectedly passed away. After the show in Stuttgart last night he went to sleep and never woke up. We found him lifeless early in the morning and immediately called an ambulance. He was reanimated, but to no avail. Results of S?awek’s autopsy should be known soon. In this situation, we decided to cancel the remaining shows and return home. We gave detailed testimonies to the German police. We are shocked and shattered by his sudden, unexpected death. We mourn together with Slawek’s family and friends. Adam, Konrad, Stanislaw, Daniel /HATE”

I only ever saw the band in action once and I think its because they had only been to these parts for that one tour with Mayhem. With that in mind we send condolences to his worldwide fans, friends, and family and share the gallery that was posted for that show HERE.

This was some sad news to start my Metal day, but it appears that Iron Maiden’s original drummer, Clive Burr had passed away last night. He was only 56 years old but had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for a number of years. What a shame. His birthday was only four days before.

Any card carrying Metal head knows how awesome a drummer Clive was and while originally a member of the band Samson, Clive is most famous for his work on the first few Iron Maiden albums (the self-titled, “Killers”, the seminal “Number Of The Beast”, “Maiden Japan” an the “Soundhouse Tapes”). He had a powerful style that was influential to many an aspiring drummer. After Iron Maiden, he did some work with Trust (which is where his replacement actually came from) along with Elixir and several others before falling ill.

Clive was always a favorite of mine since those first few Maiden albums were canon to me as a growing Metal head and drummer myself. At the time every musician I knew had to do some now considered “Old Maiden” but to me it was still very new, and very fresh. Funny is how that last part seems to still apply. Now since there is never a bad time to listen to classic Maiden perhaps you can do so with Clive in mind today a little more than you might have before his passing. On behalf of the PiercingMetal brand we say not only “Rest In Peace” but “Up The Irons” in his honor. I plan on digging out the practice pad and seeing if I still can do any of the stick work. As I close up this little memorial posting, I cannot help but find it strange that the Ides Of March will hit us on Friday and that is the of a song that Clive played drums on for Iron Maiden’s “Killers”. Thanks for the great music Clive. Sorry you had to leave but at least you did so in your sleep like the reports say.

It’s with great sadness that I must report on the passing of Renaissance’s own Michael Dunford who died Tuesday after suffering a massive Instantaneous Cerebral Hemorrage at his home. According to reports, the legendary guitarist/composer had just returned home from touring with Renaissance when this happened. He was rushed to the hospital but never regained consciousness and the doctors said there was nothing that could be done. He passed on surrounded by his loved ones.

Dunford joined Renaissance in the early 70′s and was a part of the group’s second, but most influential lineup. He joined as guitarist and composer and thanks to his creativity the band climbed to Progressive Rock heights. Together with Annie Haslam (the bands siren of a singer), the world enjoyed classics such as “Prologue”, “Turn Of The Cards”, “Scheherazade and Other Stories” and many more. I don’t have to tell lifelong fans of this kind of music about how amazing it was but for you younger generation of Progressive Rock followers these are must haves for the collection.

While I realize that it broadcasts my vintage, I first heard Renaissance as some of the music that my parents listened to and I loved it. It was very different to my musical ear and while I would eventually start to follow the Metal path with bands like Sabbath, Priest and KISS; the Progressive meets Classical style that Renaissance delivered was forever imprinted within my musical psyche. I never saw the classic lineup when it was touring but I would be fortunate enough to catch them on the 2009 40th Anniversary Tour. It blew me away and it was at that show that I decided that whenever possible to do so, I would be sure to attend a regional performance. This past October, my friend and I caught the band doing “Novella” and other songs at the Ethical Culture center and excitement was high about recordings that were in progress. At this point I do not know what will happen, but I only hope that they do choose to continue in his memory after some healing has happened.

On behalf of the PiercingMetal site and blog, I send the deepest condolences and sincerest of sympathies to Michael’s family, friends, band mates and worldwide collection of fans. Thank you for the music and the performances that you gave us good sir. Your memory will live on forever in your melodies. May you Rest in Peace.

Learn more about Michael’s work with Renaissance HERE

This has been a terrible week of news in our region and sadly I must continue the process by informing our readers that Mitch Lucker, lead singer of Suicide Silence has died. His death comes from injuries that were sustained during a motorcycle accident – He was 29 years of age and he leaves behind a wife and daughter, his band mates of many years and his worldwide support of fans. Clearly he will be missed.

On behalf of the PiercingMetal site, we send condolences to all who loved him and thank him for the music that he gave his fans and the world. Rest In Peace Mitchell.

UPDATE 11/7/2012: A fund has been set up in order to help his daughter’s education going forward and fans can investigate that by clicking this link: http://www.suicidesilence.net/donate/ Those who donate $20 or more will receive a special memorial shirt for their kindness.

And sadly another great one has left us. This afternoon the world lost the legendary artist Joe Kubert who has passed away at age 86. According to reports, the artist had been hospitalized for about a month. While I realize that this was not a musician who passed and would normally find me posting the notice in our “When The Music Died” category, it is without question that his artwork sang to all illustrators and was a veritable symphony of creative power.

Mr. Kubert was actually born in Poland, but his family moved to good old Brooklyn when he was only a few months old. He had been drawing since very, very young according to his Wikipedia entry but for me it was not until he began working on DC Comics titles that I learned of his mastery. Kubert is most notable for his work on Sgt. Rock, Hawkman and The Haunted Tank. He also created the enigmatic Ragman with Robert Kanigher. I really enjoyed that strange hero and still have all the original issues in my collection. He had a thrilling character called Tor which was set in primitive times and even had a hand in The Viking Prince title for awhile. It was great stuff for sure. Joe Kubert was not only famous for working on these characters, but also for starting The Kubert School and for being the father of Adam and Andy Kubert who are both very popular artists in their own right.

As a lifelong comic book fan, we want to send sympathy and condolences to his family, friends and worldwide fans. Thank you Joe for everything you gave to us. Fans might want to hit up Amazon.com to see what they can find in terms of compiled works. I know that there are several dedicated to Kubert’s art and characters.

Learn more about his life via his Wikipedia entry HERE.