The metal community has been sent into mourning this weekend with the sudden passing of former Pantera drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott. A statement was released by the official Pantera Facebook page on Friday stating:
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.
According to a report by TMZ, Vinnie passed away in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. So far, no cause of death has been reported. He was 54 years old at the time of his death.
Vinnie Paul is best known for his work with the legendary thrash metal act Pantera, which he formed with his brother, the late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, in 1981. Although the band originally played a hard rock/glam metal style, their sound changed when they brought on Phil Anselmo as vocalist for their 1986 release, Power Metal.
However, the band’s legacy wouldn’t be cemented until they released their most infamous album, Cowboys From Hell. Which led to the band’s domination in the 1990’s, when most thrash metal acts that rose to popularity in the late-1980’s switched to a more commercial sound. With Vinnie’s thunderous fills and Dimebag’s serious riffs, Pantera allowed more extreme music to enter the mainstream.
After Pantera’s dissolution, the Abbott brothers formed Damageplan. However, Damageplan broke up after the tragic death of Dimebag who was fatally shot at a concert in Ohio in 2004. Vinnie went on to form the band Hellyeah in 2006, which released five full albums, the most recent being Unden!able, which was released in 2016.
