Hiroshi Morie (森江 博) a.k.a. Heath, the longtime bassist of X-Japan, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 55. The news was confirmed in an article by Yahoo Japan today, November 7th, 2023. Heath joined X-Japan in1992 and remained a vital meme we of the band until their breakup in 1997. He reunited with the group in 2007, performed at Coachella in 2018, and participated in their comeback single “Angel’ last July. Rest in peace, Heath.
Photo used with permission from the private collection of Michael Anthony Alago. https://www.instagram.com/michaelanthonyalago/
Although we cherish and honor the legacy of Metallica’s iconic classic lineup bassist Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986), we also remember today as the day he passed away 37 years ago in the now infamous bus crash in Sweden. Cliff has left an indelible mark, not only on the greatest metal band ever, but its fans worldwide. As former Ghost Cult Senior Editor Metal Mark wrote in an article in 2017 “…we will never know the full greatness that he could have achieved with the band.” In the meantime, his legacy lives on with Cliff Burton Day held this year in his hometown of Castro Valley, California, while Metallica continues to pay tribute to the music they made together, ticking off anniversaries of Cliff’s albums, and even though Cliff’s father Ray Burton has passed away, Cliff’s family continues donating Cliff’s royalties to charity. Check out these tributes to Cliff and appreciate this once in a lifetime person and talent.
Sad news as Tom Davies, the longtime bassist for Psychedelic Stoner-Rock legends Nebula, has died. He was 48 years old. Davis lost a difficult battle with Leukemia. The news was shared by the band with a note from his family, on their socials, which you can read below. Davies joined Nebnula in 2023 and played on many EPs live albums, splits, and compilations, including four stand-out full-lengths: Apollo (2006), Heavy Psych (2009), Holy Shit (2010), and Transmission From Mothership Earth (2022). The band has been touring heavily all year and is slated to play the Heavy Chicago Festival this fall.
Steve Harwell, the singer and frontman of chart-topping Pop Rock Band Smash Mouth has died. He was 56. Just a day after his team announced he had days to live due to a long battle with illness brought on from drug and alcohol abuse. This plays, in contrast, catchy and sunnier retro rock nature of the band that rocketed to fame on the back of their cover of The Monkees’ biggest hit “I’m A Believer” from the movie Shrek. The band paid tribute to their fallen friend on their socials and urged fans to remember the rags-to-riches story of an unlikely star and not how he passed at the end. RIP.
Blues Rock guitar hero Robbie Robertson, who rose to fame as a member of The Band, has died. He was 80. Best known for his work with The Band, first as Bob Dylan’s backing band in the late 1960s and then cemented into history by Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Waltz. The news was broken by published reports and no cause of death has been revealed so far. He died today, August 8th, 2023, in Los Angeles surrounded by family, according to his manager. “In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Six Nations of the Grand River to support the building of their new cultural center.” In addition to the band, Robertson produced other bands and did further soundtrack work for Scorsese, including the acclaimed soundtrack to The Irishman. RIP.
UPDATE: Saliva founding guitarist Wayne Swinny has died. He was just 59 years old. This news came after he suffered a brain hemorrhage while on tour. We send our condolences out to Wayne’s family, friends, and family. RIP.Continue reading
Mamaleek Drummer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Livingston, who spent many years in the underground metal scene in The Bay Area, has died. He was just 38 years old. The band has confirmed his passing in a post to Facebook. He joined the band in 2015, playing drums on the album Via Dolorosa, 2020’s Come & See, and 2022’s Diner Coffee (The Flenser label). Livingston also created artwork for bands like Mr. Bungle and Dead Cross, as well as art for Mamaleek. The band has confirmed memorial performances at Roadburn and Oblivion Access, but future plans beyond that are unclear. RIP.
Sebastian Marino, former guitarist of both Overkill and Anvil has died. No cause of death has been revealed. According to a post from Sebastian’s friend and business partner Bruce Pilato, Marino died suddenly early on January 1st, after being rushed to a hospital while doing a sound job on New Year’s Eve in Florida. Since leaving the performing, recording, and touring world; Sebastian owned and operated Audio Images, and sound tech, and visuals, and crew services company. Sebastian played on Anvil’s 1991 album Worth The Weight, and was featured on three 1990s-era Overkill LPs in the 1990s:The Killing Kind (1996), From The Underground And Below (1997) and Necroshine (1999). Pilato, Overkill, and Anvil frontman Steve “Lips” Kudlow posted about his passing. RIP Sebastian. Continue reading
Today marks the 18th anniversary of the murder of Dimebag Darrell Lance Abbott of Pantera and Damageplan while on stage at the former Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio. That venue has now been demolished. As we do every year on this date, we prefer to honor how he lived. Almost 20 years later no one can deny his impact as a player, songwriter, and major personality in metal. The current Pantera tour is a tribute to Darrell and his late brother Vinnie Paul. Jam out to some classic Dimebag and Pantera tracks and raise a glass or smoke (or both) to the legend of legends on guitar! Getcha pull!
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Sad news as legendary Heavy Metal singer Steve Grimmet, singer for Grim Reaper has died. He was 62 years old. News of his passing was broken on Facebook, by Steve’s brother Mark and his son, Russ. Although in poor health in recent years from diabetes, Steve had returned to touring as recently as the last few years and had plans for future releases. Grimmett’s passing comes five years after he had his right leg partially amputated in January 2017 when an infected wound on his foot spread to the bones in his leg partway through the group’s five-week tour of South America. Fans raised over $14,000 to help with his medical bills, raising awareness that touring Metal musicians are insurance deficient worldwide. Grimmet with his piercing falsetto vocals was best known for the album Rock You To Hell (1987), as well as the MTV hit video for “See You In Hell.” RIP.