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Metallica, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, GNR & many more remember Vinnie Paul

Legendary drummer Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Damageplan, and Hellyeah passed away at the young age of 54 yesterday — in his sleep in his Las Vegas home according to TMZ who spoke to family members — and the metal world is especially feeling the loss.

Randy Blythe of Lamb of God wrote this lengthy tribute on Instagram:

Very sad news this evening. This man always treated me & the guys in my band like family, from the very first time we ever met him with his brother at a Damageplan gig in Texas– whether backstage at a show, on his crazy tour bus, at his club, at his house, he was always a gracious host to us. He just wanted people around him to be happy. I didn’t see Vinnie much the last time we played a gig together because I heard he was in a very foul mood– this was highly unusual for him. Why was he in a foul mood? Because we were playing a big festival in Chicago, he had bought a TON OF FOOD to grill in the parking lot for everyone (as usual), & the fire marshall came and shut him down before he could start the bar-b-que. That’s the type of dude he was– he just wanted to make sure people were having a good time, & he took steps to make that happen. He also did me a very solid favor when I was in some very serious legal trouble a while back by writing a detailed letter to a judge explaining what had happened to his brother & the need for good stage security– that wasn’t an easy thing for him to do, but he did it anyway because he was a true friend and knew I needed some help– I’ll never forget that, & I made sure he knew I appreciated it. He also never minded when I got in his face with my camera– I took this photo with a 50mm fixed lens at a festival we were playing with Hellyeah in Iowa in 2016– that means I was basically inside his drum kit. When he saw me poking my head in there, he just turned, flashed me this grin, & kept on rocking. I love this photo– Big Vin smiling and doing what he did best. Rest In Peace, Vinnie Paul. You’ll be missed. BIG LOVE.

That photo and many more tributes, below:

R.I.P To our brother Vinnie Paul. You will be missed. Can’t believe it. All our love.

Posted by Anthrax on Friday, June 22, 2018

https://twitter.com/genesimmons/status/1010376988983521280

https://twitter.com/codeorangekids/status/1010396195984953349

No words…

Posted by Johnny Kelly on Friday, June 22, 2018

https://twitter.com/DaveNavarro/status/1010374205412540416

https://twitter.com/MrGregDulli/status/1010590735056269312
https://twitter.com/WAVVES/status/1010576384308101120

Very saddened to hear of Vinnie Paul's passing. My deepest condolences go out to the Abbott family, his band & crew and…

Posted by Hank 3 on Saturday, June 23, 2018

From Don: My friend Vinnie Paul passed away last night. I will always have fond memories of hanging with Vinnie and Dime…

Posted by Dokken on Saturday, June 23, 2018

RIP Vinnie Paul. Brothers together again…Cowboys Raisin’ Hell in Heaven!

Posted by Obituary on Friday, June 22, 2018