Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul dead at 54

Vinnie Paul, one of the biggest legends in the music industry when it came to the Heavy Metal genre, passed away at the age of 54.

Born Vincent Paul Abbott, the drummer drew his last breath on Friday, June 22, 2018, but so far no cause of death has been provided. His passing was revealed by his Pantera bandmates.

The group took to their Facebook page to share the devastating news with their friends and followers and asked everyone to respect the musician's family's privacy.

Paul was one of the founding members of Pantera, having created the band with Darrell Abbott, his brother, and Rex Brown in 1981. During their first ten years of existence, they focused mainly on following the New Wave of British Metal and combining elements from other genres.

Phil Anselmo joined Pantera in 1987 to be the band's lead singer. At they had already recorded three albums with Donnie Hart and Terry Glaze, which earned them quite a lot of recognition.

But despite their success, Pantera only reached their true potential in the 90s, when they recorded Cowboys From Hell. Vulgar Display of Power came right after and to this day the album is considered to be one the best in Heavy Metal history, being featured on Rolling Stone's Greatest Metal Albums list.

Pantera was able to top their previous album each time and Far Beyond Driven, released in 1994, wasn't an exception. The band achieved tremendous success and a powerful financial status but eventually split up the 2000s.

Following the feud with Anselmo, the Abbott brothers formed Damageplan, but the band didn't last very long because Darrell was shot by a deranged fan during a performance in 2004.

Paul took a 2-year hiatus and joined Hellyeah, alongside Chad Gray, Greg Tribbett and Tom Maxwell. According to Rolling Stone, the band released five albums since then, including Unden!able in 2016.

Paul was an inspiration to many artists and bands, such as Lamb of God and Slipknot; in fact, Ivan Moody, from Five Finger Death Punch, claimed that his 'soul lit up' and 'eyes turned red' when he heard Cowboys From Hell for the first time.

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