Ronnie James Dio. I remember how I was all dissappointed when he died sice I was hoping to see him on tour. I was 13 at the time, that was before I was really into metal that much.

Although now days I wish Chuck Schuldiner was still around. Death is my all-time favorite band, I really wish I was around to see them live.

Brian Petrowski [Iniquity]. He is a huge influence for me and Serenadium is one of my favorite albums of all-time.

Quorthon. That was an end to an era right there.

Nippleus Erectus, you fool: hydrochloric acid doesn't get you high!

Paul Gray, Mike Alexander, and recently Mitch Lucker have all effected me in terms of genuine musicians that have been taken way before their time. I don't really know the best way to describe it but the likes of DIO reached the peak of their potential in terms of music many years ago and because they had a good life filled with potential it's less of a burden rather than thinking "what if" had they otherwise died at a younger age than many others.

Lucker died of his own irresponsibility and stupidity.

The death of Dio didn't effect me much, becouse, although I respect his influence on the development of metal in general I'm not a huge fan of his (I do love Black Sabbath tho).
With this being said, I am surprised, nobody has mentioned David Gold's death, allready more than a year ago. Becouse of all the emotions his music has evoked in me, I felt even more sad, when I heard about his death. Plus the emotions I get from the songs such as "By the Time You Read This (I will already be dead)" and "Kiss My Ashes Goodbye", after his death are even stronger, so I guess his death effected me the most.

The manner in which Dimebag Darrell died really bothered me. It wasn't because I was that much of a Pantera fan (I was at one point but had lost interest long ago) but just being shot on stage in front of his brother by a deranged fan was really bothersome. The internet reaction was also equally ridiculous, with people blaming Phil Anselmo, others acting like Dimebag was the most important guitar player in the history of music, to people laughing about it because they thought Pantera sucked. I don't think I've ever quite seen a reaction to a death quite like it.

I got into Woods shortly after Gold's passing (and didn't know about it until many months later). For some reason I find that his death really resonates with his discography, and brings a bit more weight to his occasionally overly-sappy music. As dumb as it sounds, listening to his music has me really suspicious...as if his own death was something he had been anticipating, despite the success of his last album.

Probably Dio. I had seen him perform with Heaven & Hell a couple years prior and I Last in Line was one of my first-ever metal albums which I became really attached to, so his death shook me up a bit when it finally happened.

Also, hearing about the death of Tony Tailor (Twisted Tower Dire, Isen Toree, etc etc) was a serious "aw, fuck" moment because he was a true vocal talent, and knowing that he would never grace another album and forever halt Isen Torr as a killer all-star group really bummed me out.

Chuck Schuldiner from death effected me the most.

This is pretty close to exactly what I was going to say. I mean, I heard about Ronnie James Dio when I was at work, and seriously had to just put my wrench down and collect myself for a few minutes before carrying on to work, which had never happened before. But Dimebag was just this entirely surreal experience. I was an absolutely massive Pantera fan at the time (and I still am, MA has certainly helped shape my taste but it hasn't made me dislike what I liked growing up), and I used to wake up to the sound of the local hard rock/nu metal radio station. The first words I heard were "...Vinnie is okay but Dimebag is dead", and I was just like... wait, what? It was so bizarre, I mean, I never liked Damageplan so I, oblivious to the exact amount of tension between the original members, was always really hoping for a Pantera reunion, and then just like that, it was never going to happen. And it was such a needless way to go as well. Murdered. Right on stage in front of fans and his own brother. Regardless of whether or not you liked him or his playing or his bands, you can never convince me that that isn't one of the worst experiences in the world for everybody who witnessed that.

And yes, the internet reaction was fucking awful. I have friends who celebrate "Nathan Gale Day" every December 8th to commemorate his murder. What kind of sick fucks? Great, you don't like his music, good for you, but anybody with an ounce of human empathy can understand why his fans have a right to feel like he was stolen from everybody. It's just simple respect. I didn't like Amy Winehouse but you didn't see me celebrating her death.

Also, needless shit like this:


Can stay right the hell out of this thread. That added fuck all and just reeks of trying too hard. You know who else died due to irresponsibility and stupidity? Phil Lynott. But we all like him so you won't see any flamebait comments like that around here. Seriously, don't be useless.

Agreed, Bastard. Subrick, if you don't have anything interesting to add, just be quiet, please.

I have to say Jon Nödtveidt. It still bothers me to this day, in a way. He was totally brainwashed by this Vlad idiot and the MLO bullshit.

This encapsulates the kind of reaction that I think of in response to this thread's OP; most - perhaps all - of the deaths mentioned here saddened me to some extent and made me regret the loss of talent or just simply life (whether they were recent or long ago), but very few forced me to stop and catch my breath like that. In that regard, the figure who springs to mind immediately is Peter Steele; honestly, though, Frog expressed this so well that I can't add much to his post (though, unfortunately, I didn't see them on their last tour). I remember that the first thing I thought was that it was a truly awful time of day to die - those early, lonely hours of the morning, home to those who felt that strange, comic sorrow only he could ever really capture; hours his music got me through, when the things that you get over by laughing at seem capable of overwhelming you after all.

The other death - the only other one that really hit me in the gut - that I'd mention is that of Christian Loos, of Funeral. That year was one of the most tumultuous of my life so far, and those events made me explore metal to a greater extent than before. I became interested in doom for the first time, and Funeral was one of those bands that truly stood out for me. I didn't actually hear of Loos' death until I listened to 'From These Wounds' and looked up the band online; for some reason, finding news of his death just as I was discovering this record that I truly loved really hit me. I was listening to 'Pendulum' for the first time, and it was just this awful serendipity - the music getting more and more fucked up, hitting that fantastically crazy climax, just as I was reading the first article I found. There's still something eerie about that album, and that song; I don't know if it's just due to what I associate with it, but on some nights when I'm feeling sentimental and pretentious and a bit superstitious, it just seems like there's some kind of acquaintance with death - for lack of a better expression - in those guitars that goes deeper than your average gloomy doom atmosphere. This could be complete claptrap, of course. And it probably is. I do ramble sometimes.

Chuck and Cliff for sure, but the biggest metal death for me personally was Quorthon, hands down.

Yeah, Quorthon was a fucking genius and probably had a great amount of music to be created.

It was implied that a satanist (of his kind) would kill himself in his prime, but considering the failure that Dissection's comeback was, I think there was another reason. If the lifeless, gutless album they put out reflected his intellectual and emotional life at the time to any extent, I'd wager he killed himself because he felt completely hollow inside. Disturbing indeed; I suppose prison can do that to a person.

Dio beyond a shadow of a doubt. He was one of the finest vocalists to ever walk this earth and his contributions to the genre of metal were innumerable. I still remember the day I heard he passed, I was floored. Music hasn't been the same sense and I do still feel a little something every time I hear him sing but what can I say, he's one of my favorites.

I just copied this from an earlier thread -

Like a few others I would say Valfar and Quorthon, these guys rarely failed to deliver the goods. For some strange reason when Valfar passed it felt to me like someone I knew personally had passed, it was a strange feeling...

I really got absorbed by the music and atmosphere these guys created and that has not changed to this day. Gone but not forgotten....

I wasn't really that sad when Gold died, or should I say it didn't really affect me, even though I enjoyed the band. But the more I listen to Woods 5, the more upset I feel. It really is quite strange and unnerving hearing someone who has died talking about death in such a way. I know Woods get a lot of stick on here, but some of these songs are wonderful and beautiful, and do resonate more because of his death.

I think the opposite. Agreeing with the beliefs or not, I think the album has a lot of feeling and passion other than the shitty drumming of Tomas. It almost is like Jon only tolerated those years in prison because he felt he had to make this album happen and once that was done, he was finished. As for the real reason.......... that is up for speculation. Unfortunately, his girlfriend and father haven't revealed the contents of the letters he left behind. I wonder if he really was so caught up in the MLO shit that he felt he needed to kill himself to transcend or if there was just a more human explanation. Looking back at old lyrics (pre-Reinkaos, therefore lyrics that make sense and have some meaning) the lure of death was always represented so he may have been similar to Dead in feeling not part of this world and yearning for death.

Edited the OP because I'm a

Reinkaos was a fine album; if people wanted another Storm or Somberlain, too fucking bad. He went with what he was feeling and while not all-encompassing black metal it was damn good.

Lord Magus Obliterator, from the black metal band Gnostic. He was a close personal friend of mine.

Ronnie James Dio for me. The guy still sounded great for his age and it would be interesting to hear what he could came up with if it wasn't for his death. It's really too bad.

@Philosophical Frog: You made me tear up man, and I can't say I'm not really familiar with Peter Steele's music.

There really hasn't been a metal death that has had a big impact on me, I consider myself being into metal since about 2009, so I haven't really been in it long, but I remember being told Dio died and I instantly turned and said "What?!". Dio's death is most certainly a bummer. I've never really sat down and listened to Dio as I'm more into extreme metal rather than trad or power, but I can't say I've ever heard a Dio song that I didn't like to some extent. His voice is awesome and his personality seemed to fit his voice.

@Subrick: Sure, Lucker was responsible for his own death and the fallout that has, and is most likely, still affecting his family; however, he wasn't even 30 years old, and he touched a lot of people in his short time in a positive way.