Vinnie Paul—best known as the drummer for Pantera, Hellyeah, and Damageplan—has died. The news was shared on Pantera’s official Facebook page and confirmed by Billboard from a representative. He was 54 years old. The cause of death is currently unknown.
Vincent Paul Abbott was born in Abilene, Texas. He co-founded Pantera in 1981 with his brother Dimebag Darrell, guitarist Terry Glaze, bassist Tommy D. Bradford, and vocalist Donnie Hart. Paul went on to record 10 albums as Pantera’s drummer, the last being 2000’s Reinventing the Steel. The group went on hiatus the following year and disbanded in 2003.
Paul and his brother then went on to form the heavy metal band Damageplan. They released one record, New Found Power, in February 2004. While touring behind the album, Dimebag Darrell was shot dead onstage in December that same year. Damageplan disbanded shortly after. In 2006, Paul returned to playing music by joining the metal supergroup Hellyeah.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Vinnie Paul was 52 years old at the time of his passing.
