Late Loudness drummer Muneteka Higuchi
Before we dive fistfirst into 2009 and the hidden treasures that await, let’s pause for a few minutes to remember some of our metal brethren that died in 2008.
Joey Hopkins (a.k.a. Nihil), 26, vocalist and programmer for Italian black metal project Alien Syndrome 777, died on December 31 of undisclosed causes. Hopkins also recorded with Joey Hopkins Midget Factory and Blackdrone Inc.
Metal publicist and journalist Adrian Bromley, 37, died in his sleep on December 7 of complications from pneumonia. Bromley worked for The End Records and later formed Ixmati Media. He also founded the underground extreme metal mag Unrestrained! In addition, his writing appeared regularly in Chart and M.E.A.T. magazines, and online at Chronicles of Chaos and Canoe.ca.
Longtime Twisted Sister bodyguard Salvatore Valvo, 53, died on December 1 of complications from leukemia and diabetes.
Munetaka Higuchi, drummer for longtime Japanese metal band Loudness, died November 30 following a seven-month battle with liver cancer. He was 49.
Michael Lee, who played drums for Robert Plant, Lenny Kravitz, Thin Lizzy, The Cult and The Quireboys, died on November 24. He was 39.
Michael A. Baker, singer for progressive power metal band Shadow Gallery, died on October 29 after a heart attack. He was 45.
Ex-Grip Inc. singer, Gus Chambers, allegedly took his own life on October 13 He was 52.
Graeme Crallan, the British drummer who played on Tank’s 1985 album Honour and Blood and Spirit’s 1980 debut, died July 27 in Hampstead after hitting his head on the pavement following a seizure. He was 50.
Frankie Venom, 51, vocalist for Hamilton, Ontario punk band Teenage Head, died of natural causes on October 15.
The original drummer of German thrash veterans, Sodom, Chris Dudek (a.k.a. Witchhunter) died from vital organ failure on September 8.
Michelle Meldrum, ex-Phantom Blue guitarist, died on May 21 from a cystic growth that restricted the flow of oxygen and blood to her brain. She was 39.
Ex-Bonham vocalist, Daniel MacMaster, 39, died of complications from pneumonia after suffering a Strep A infection.
Keith Baxter, who played drums for 3 Colours Red in the ‘90s and later performed with Therapy? And Skyclad, died of liver failure on January 4. He was 36.
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