James Owen Sullivan, the drummer for Huntington Beach rock group Avenged Sevenfold, who was better known by his nickname The Rev, has been found dead in his HB home. He was 28.
For its last two albums, the 2005 breakthrough City of Evil (powered by the single “Bat Country” and certified platinum in August) and 2007’s self-titled effort (featuring the hit “Dear God”), A7X began to model itself more on Guns N’ Roses at its most unhinged to gain some distance from this decade’s screaming metal scene. Hard partying came with the territory, and the band often bragged about its misadventures — so it isn’t unthinkable that Sullivan’s death might have been drug- or alcohol-related. As of now, however, police are attributing his demise to natural causes.
Sullivan dramatically stepped up his game as more than just a drummer along with the sonic advances of those last two records, preceded by the rawer Waking the Fallen, from 2003, and the 2001 debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. His rapid-fire yet exact pounding supplied the backbone of the band’s newly chrome-polished approach, but his backing vocals helped offset frontman M. Shadows‘ shift away from shouting and toward a more full-bodied approach, notably on songs such as “Lost,” “Afterlife” and the Rock Band staple “Almost Easy.” He will not be easily replaced.
That latter track, by the way, became so popular that the USC Trojan Marching Band performed it during this year’s Rose Bowl halftime show. But Sullivan’s contributions extended further than what he brought to that popular song — he’s also acknowledged as chief songwriter on the eight-minute piano-driven epic “A Little Piece of Heaven,” though virtually all A7X songs are credited entirely to the band.
Sullivan also took up the mic as lead vocalist for a more avant-garde side project, Pinkly Smooth, launched with Avenged guitarist Synyster Gates and former members of the band Ballistico. For that outfit’s lone album, Unfortunate Snort (2002), the man whose full unholy moniker was The Reverend Tholomew Plague instead went by the name Rathead. Prior to his time with Avenged, he also served as drummer for O.C. ska-pop favorite Suburban Legends.
Avenged Sevenfold was reportedly busy at work on finishing its fifth album and third for Warner Bros. How the group will proceed from here is unclear, of course. As I write this, the band has not issued an official statement or posted anything on its MySpace page. Surely that is still to come.
Sullivan is survived by his wife, Leana MacFadden, aka Leana Silver.
My heart is broken... his music will forever be missed... This man was an amazing artist.. and had only begun his life...
a true tragedy..
xo
1 comment:
tear....
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