Category Archives: In Memoriam

As applicable this category will be used to remember those entertainment personalities that we lost.

RIP: Legendary Record Executive Bill Aucoin Has Died

June 29, 2010 Ken Pierce 1 Comment

The Headquarters of PiercingMetal.com were saddened to learn of the death of legendary and beloved record industry executive Bill Aucoin. He died due to surgical complications and was battling prostate cancer. He was 66 years old. Below the photo, which we love as it shows a man of strength and vision, you will find the official press release on this sad news. We received this from one of our most worked with publicists, Carol Kaye, who is someone that keeps our readers in content based on how many articles we have written about her clientele.

Photo - Bill Aucoin — The Legendary Bill Aucoin

“William Aucoin, beloved record industry executive, manager, entrepreneur, and creative visionary, passed away this morning, Monday, June 28 at 9:11am EST at the Aventura Hospital and Medical Center in Aventura, FL. Born December 29, 1943, Bill was battling prostate cancer, and passed away from surgical complications.

The man known for masterminding the career of the world-renowned group KISS, Bill Aucoin also managed Starz, Toby Beau, Billy Squier, Billy Idol, and numerous other artists. His most recent venture is Aucoin Globe Entertainment, which he founded in 2007 (www.aucoinglobe.com). In its three years, Bill and his company developed bands in the US and around the world. He leaves behind his boyfriend of fifteen years, Roman Fernandez, and two sisters Betty Britton and Janet Bankowski.

Although I never was blessed with the opportunity to meet the man, I certainly admired the work he put into the band KISS when they were an up and coming outfit. I am pretty certain that his efforts on their behalf was the main reason that so many of us knew of them, and found them to be their favorite band of them all. His visionary guidance was also obviously helpful to the talented Billy Idol and Billy Squire. On behalf of PiercingMetal.com, we wish condolences and heartfelt wishes to all of his friends, family and anyone else whose life Bill touched. It is without question that he was a one in a million type of personality as its pretty safe to say that the words “beloved” and “record company executive” don’t usually find themselves in the same sentence. Bill Aucoin was a rare breed and let’s hope that his memory inspires others to work like he did.

Rest In Peace Bill. Say hello to Ronnie James Dio and Peter Steele for me. Learn more about Bill’s life by checking out his Wikipedia Entry HERE.

Features, In Memoriam

Slipknot’s Paul Gray Has Died: R.I.P #2 (5/24/2010)

May 25, 2010 Ken Pierce 3 Comments

Photo - Paul Gray — Slipknot Bassist Paul Gray

The PiercingMetal command was saddened to learn of the death of Slipknot’s bassist Paul Gray this morning, according to Bravewords.com the musician was found in an Iowa hotel room yesterday. He was only 38 years of age. No cause of death has yet been disclosed by authorities not has the band made an official statement outside of changing their website splash page to feature a photo of him onstage during their last tour. Whatever the case may be in this, it is certain that his family, friends and fans will miss him very much. This was too young an age to leave us I will say that much.
Continue reading Slipknot’s Paul Gray Has Died: R.I.P #2 (5/24/2010) →

Features, In Memoriam

Ronnie James Dio; The Godfather Of Heavy Metal; Has Died (5/16/2010)

May 16, 2010 Ken Pierce 37 Comments

I can hardly believe the words myself, but yes, the news is indeed true and the Metal world has lost one of its most inspiring titans as Ronnie James Dio, The Godfather Of Heavy has died at age 67. Back in November of 2009 it was reported that Ronnie had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and he quickly began to get treated for it and according to most reports was on the mend if not a little worse for wear from the treatments. Sadly, the battle that this brave warrior king would fight would not be all that long and he would succumb to the illness and pass from this plane on Sunday morning 5/16/2010.

dio, ronnie james dio, ronnie james dio concert photos, ronald james padavona — Ronnie James Dio: NYC (8/25/2009)

The singer was nothing less than an icon and a man who lived, breathed and pretty much existed Heavy Metal music on a daily basis and while he was born Ronald James Padavona back in 1942, it was the name Dio that resonated like a thunderclap across the music geography of the world.

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Features, In Memoriam

R.I.P.: Type O Negative’s Peter Steele Has Died (4/14/2010)

April 15, 2010 Ken Pierce 37 Comments

It is with incredible sadness that I try to wrap my head around the loss of Type O Negative’s Peter Steele who passed away last night 4/14/2010 at around 6pm. The news broke rather quickly thanks to the likes of Twitter, Facebook & MySpace, but in the early stages of the information there was a strong belief that the rumors of his death were highly exaggerated. This mindset was initially in place based on the fact that the singer had been reported dead back in 2005 but after a few days the world realized that they had been punked. Sadly there would be no sigh of relief this time around and when very reliable sources in his camp confirmed it all to be true we would learn the brutal fact that in the end it was heart failure that took this giant of the Metal scene away from us. He was 48 years old.

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Features, In Memoriam

John Patrick McDonald Jr. aka Midnight (formerly of Crimson Glory) Has Died (1962-2009)

July 10, 2009 Ken Pierce 2 Comments

On July 8th 2009 the Metal Legions learned about the passing of Midnight aka John Patrick McDonald Jr. from liver and kidney failure – the singer was 47 years old. From 1986 through 1991, Midnight was the lead singer for the Progressive Metal powerhouse Crimson Glory and while a member of the band he was always a dramatic and enigmatic presence on top of an incredibly powerful vocalist. During the bands early years, he and his band mates wore unique silver face masks that made them look like some kind of mystical Phantom Of The Opera kind of group. Together with Crimson Glory, Midnight recorded the self-titled debut Crimson Glory, Transcendence, and Strange & Beautiful, the latter release finding the band unmasked and delivering a very different kind of Metal than they first came out gunning with. The album would be the last one featuring Midnight on vocals and he would be replaced by Wade Black who did their Astronomica CD and got the band back into the business of Progressive Metal. Midnight would appear with his former band at a Festival in 2004 for a brief acoustic set, and while plans for a larger scale reunion were planned – outside of one show in Greece in 2006 this would not take and he would again be gone from the lineup in 2007 never to return. This was a shame since many fans were looking forward to this potentially happening.
Continue reading John Patrick McDonald Jr. aka Midnight (formerly of Crimson Glory) Has Died (1962-2009) →

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