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A Look Back on Those We Lost in 2010
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So few understand why such tough, misogynist ragers like us get very emotional when talking about the passing of Ronnie James Dio from stomach cancer this year. Not only was he a legend, he was the very institution of heavy metal music. At 67, he was still the granddaddy of these whippersnappers today, schooling us every step of the way. And now he’s gone - just taken from us. We’re left to feel the loss, but thankfully we have so many memories of him to keep us satiated through such grief. Mr. Dio was special to anyone who understands heavy metal music not just as an aggressive release through power chords, but as an art form cultured and carefully crafted by hands more skilled than some of our own. He was a legend before metal music even stamped its brand on the music world, and in his passing we can only hope that he knows just how loved and respected he was in life and death.
The other day my friend Keith and I were walking up Broadway on our way to a record store in Chicago. Out of nowhere I asked him if he thinks about death more now that he’s 40 and I’m near 40. He calmly just said, “Dude, the only thing I think about is how I really won’t leave a mark, you know? I mean, in a few years, when all the people that know me have gone, my memory and name will just fade away for the rest of time.” It really sobered me for a minute; it’s so true for most of us, I guess. Once the initial “surrounding sector” has joined us wherever we end up, what do we really have left to live on? A marker in the ground somewhere? Pieces of torn, weathered paper with names and dates? Photographs? It truly does make you think about where we’ve been, where we are, and where we may end up. Truthfully, it scares me sometimes; not so much the act of dying per se, but the art of not being alive anymore. Thankfully, the list above has more than enough lineage to outlast us all and then some.

Rest well, ye lady and gentlemen! Thank you for all you’ve given to us, selflessly and completely.
Armando Acosta, the legendary drummer of Saint Vitus, died November 25, 2010 at the age of 58.
Trevor Fleming of the band Sweet Savage passed away on Oct. 2, 2010.
Wolfgang Teske of Defeated
Sanity, lost his fight with cancer.
Jan. 2, 1953 - Sept. 12, 2010.
Graphic Cover Artist
February 9, 1928 - May 10, 2010
Ronnie James Dio
July 10, 1942 - May 16, 2010
Frank Frazetta
Timothy Kennelly & Leon Villalba
Wolfgang Teske
Trevor Fleming
Jay Jay Winter
It’s pretty funny to think about all of the great metal music we’ve had thrown at us this year, then come to the stark realization that we’ve lost quite a few from our extended family this year. Once you purchase your music, attend the concerts, support the bands, spread the word, invest your time you’re a part of something special. We metalheads have a special connection to one another; we’re all a part of the very sojourn that has been a mainstay for most of us since childhood. There was immediate camaraderie when we used to see each other in the malls, on the streets, what have you, in our SLAYER shirts. I’d always get the obligatory head nod of ‘hello’, even when I was the dreaded freshman back in ’86 and the metalhead upper classmen would walk by. It was special, a unity that very few understood and still don’t to this day.
CHRIS
Peter Steele also left us this year from heart failure. The Carnivore/Type O Negative front man was a brooding, charismatic giant of a man, and much like Mr. Dio he has left a huge hole in many hearts with such untimely passing. After battling his own trials and tribulations in his personal existence, Mr. Steele found the path he needed and made a strong showing these last years. His subtle genius is never lost on the metal contingency; the depressive gothic slant to his music inspired and cultivated many a wayward teen looking to belong. He provided a dark, sinister persona that made us realize it’s quite fine to crow about being alone in a world of misfits  no  one  sees  but
Peter Steele
January 4, 1962 - April 14, 2010
us. He was a true embodiment of the anti-human, the anti-establishment if you will, and we’re forever grateful for him showing us the dimly-lit path now taken.
Makh Daniels
January 30, 1982 - August 2, 2010
hotel room in Des Moines, Iowa. It was said to be an accidental overdose, but serious heart disease was also present in his autopsy. A fan favorite, Mister Gray helped push Slipknot to the front of the nu-metal foray here in the U.S., providing a serious backbone to the already-caustic sound the     band      employs.
He was 38.
Mahk Daniels, vocalist for the Bay Area death metal band Early Graves died on August 1 after a van accident in Oregon while on tour. An up-and-coming band, Early Graves was scouring the upper west coast when the driver of the van fell asleep and the accident occurred. A well-respected and loved human being, Mister Daniels’ legacy, though sadly short, will be felt for some time in the vast underground of death metal. He was 28. 
While these two gentlemen are the scene’s mainstays that have left too early, the outer fringe has also felt the sting of death this year. The sad recap follows:
Slipknot founder/bassist Paul Gray passed away on May 24 after being found dead  in  a
Paul Gray
April 8, 1972 - May 24, 2010
Steve Lee
August 5, 1963 - October 5, 2010
Joe Ptacek
May 1, 1972 - January 20, 2010
My hometown felt the sting of the passing of Joe Ptacek, vocalist and founder of Chicago’s Broken Hope, on January 20. Mister Ptacek was a local legend around the Chicago death metal scene for many years, stamping the Midwest firmly on the map of underground death metal. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just as the band was discussing plans to reunite after disbanding in 2002. He was 37.
Steve Lee, vocalist for Swiss metallers Gotthard, died on October 5 after a motorcycle accident involving a truck in Nevada. A strong hard rock vocalist, Mister Lee’s contribution to the Ayreon 01011001 album in 2008 was as important for that release as any of the ‘marquee’ names he sang beside. His work with Gotthard was equally important and impressive for straight-ahead hard rock with a definitive edge. He was 47.
Last, but certainly not least, we lost Ms. Debbie Abono, who left us on May 26 at the young age of 80. Ms. Abono began managing thrash/death metal bands in the Bay area in her fifties and was one of the main reasons bands like Possessed, Vio-lence and Forbidden got bookings around town back in the day. While her connections to metal were small, she was instrumental in the scene, managing Possessed after her daughter began dating guitarist Larry LaLonde. After being upset by the band’s lyrical content, she stayed on to manage the band but insisted that LaLonde and vocalist Jeff Becerra finish high school. She was a legend in her own right and will be absolutely cherished and missed by those of us that knew her or her name clear across the country.
Debbie Abono
August 31, 1929 - May 16, 2010
TO THE TOP
Armando Acosta
Members of the band After Death, Leon Villalba (left) and Timothy Kennelly (right), drowned on Atalaia Beach in Brazil on Jan. 21, 2010.
The original Waylander bassist died February 22, 2010 at the age of  34.
Jason Barriskill
Jay Jay Winter of the band
Asomvel, was killed in a car crash
on Oct 18, 2010 at the age of 43.
December 24, 2010