PANTERA – Drummer Vinnie Paul Dead At 54

The following statement has been posted on PANTERA’s Facebook page:

“Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away. Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands Pantera and Hellyeah. No further details are available at this time. The family requests you please respect their privacy during this time.”

Vinnie and his brother, Dimebag Darrell Abbott, founded PANTERA in Arlington, Texas back in the early eighties, playing all the local Dallas/Fort Worth clubs like Joe’s Garage, and eventually hitting the big time, becoming one of the biggest metal bands of all time. He will be sorely missed. TMD sends out condolences to Vinnie’s family and friends.

The preeminent metal band of the early to mid-’90s, Pantera put to rest any and all remnants of the ’80s metal scene, almost single-handedly demolishing any notion that hair metal, speed metal, power metal, et al., were anything but passé. Loathe to admit it, the Texas band had in fact been one of those ’80s metal bands, releasing fairly unsuccessful (and later disowned) glam-inspired music throughout much of the decade. The about-face came with the addition of vocalist Phil Anselmo, and the key turning point was the band’s major-label debut, Cowboys from Hell (1990). Pantera’s mainstream breakthrough came next with Vulgar Display of Power (1992), their second major-label album, which thrust the band to the forefront of the metal scene, alongside such veteran bands as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, as well as fellow up-and-comers Sepultura and White Zombie. By the time Pantera unleashed Far Beyond Driven (1994), after two long years of touring, they were the most popular metal band in the land: the new album debuted atop the Billboard Top 200 as its lead single, “I’m Broken,” was getting massive airplay.

http://pantera.com