Word has come down that Jonathan “Jonny Z” Zazula has passed away last night, January, 31st, 2022. He was 69 years old. No cause of death has been revealed as of yet. Jon was the influential co-founder of Megaforce Records, who first signed Metallica and put thrash metal as a genre on the map when he released their 1983 debut album Kill ‘Em All. Over his 40-plus years career in music other bands he and his late wife Marsha were directly responsible for was Zazula signed and worked with other artists including: Disco Biscuits, Warren Haynes, Testament, Tad, Overkill, resurrected Ace Frehley”s (Kiss) Frehley’s Comet, King’s X, Fozzy, Ministry, Anthrax, Raven and many more. Marsha passed away a little more than a year ago on January, 10th 2021. In addition to Megaforce, Jon and Marsha booked and promorted countless early American and European metal tours, managed bands with Crazed Managment, and more. Jon was born in The Bronx, New York in 1952 and released his amazing memoir in 2019, Heavy Tales. RIP.