AVENGED SEVENFOLD Pays Tribute To VINNIE PAUL: 'Metal Will Never Be The Same' Without You

California metallers AVENGED SEVENFOLD have commented on the passing of Vinnie Paul Abbott. The former PANTERA drummer reportedly died in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas on Friday, June 22.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD wrote in a Facebook post: “[We] remember how excited [original AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer] ‘The Rev’ was when he first met you in Dallas after a show in the early 2000s. You grabbed him around the neck and said he was a kick-ass drummer even though he borrowed some of your chops! We were in shock that Jimmy had met our all-time favorite drummer, so we all ran to the bar to meet you and proceeded to drink the night away. You were warm and engaging. Our friendship lasted for many years and eventually resulted in a killer rendition of ‘Mouth For War’ at the Revolver Golden Gods, a career highlight.

“Vegas will never be the same without you. Dallas will never be the same. Metal will never be the same.

“We have been lucky enough to meet some of our idols and call them friends. You were one of the greatest of all time and a great friend. Today we mourn.”

Back in 2006, AVENGED SEVENFOLD recorded a cover version of PANTERA‘s “Walk” for a special disc called “High Voltage”, which was given away with the 25th-anniversary issue of U.K.’s Kerrang! magazine.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows later told Blender.com about his band’s rendition of “Walk”: “Kerrang! magazine came to us and they asked if we wanted to cover one of our favorite bands’ classic songs. [And we went], ‘Well, we know ‘Walk’. Can we do that?’ So we had Terry Date [PANTERA producer] record it for us and Vinnie Paul give us his blessings on it, so we went and did it. And from then on, we kind of like… you know, playing festivals in Europe with METALLICA and stuff, it kind of brings back…

“Dime, to us, was one of the greatest guitar players ever to live, and to us, it’s like a tribute to him. It kind of lets his spirit live on at Ozzfest.

“PANTERA was, for a few years, tearing it up at Ozzfest, you know, and now they’re not a band anymore, and I think… To us, it’s a song we can play, we know we do it well, and we’re just going out there and letting the spirit live on a little bit.”

I remember how excited ‘The Rev’ was when he first met you in Dallas after a show in the early 2000’s. You grabbed him…

Posted by Avenged Sevenfold on Saturday, June 23, 2018

Fonte: Blabbermouth.net