Allen Blickle, original drummer of the Savannah, Georgia-based heavy metal band Baroness, has died.
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The band announced Blickle’s death in an Instagram post on Sept. 8.
“It breaks my heart to have to share the news that my dear friend, creative partner, and former bandmate Allen Blickle passed away a few days ago,” the caption began alongside a candid shot of the band’s earlier days.
“I’m still in shock that he’s gone,” the post continued. “We ask for understanding as his family and this band process his passing and grieve his loss. Allen, I love you and miss you. I treasure every moment we shared.”
A cause of death was not revealed. Blickle was 42 years old.
Kylesa musician Laura Pleasants also paid tribute to the drummer on Instagram on September 7.
“I was so heartbroken when talking w Joe and Summer the other day,” she wrote in the lengthy post. “Finding out how the past month was. I am just gutted, dude. We all thought you had this thing beat.”
“Gone too soon, my friend. I’m glad you are at peace and no longer in pain.”
Allen Blickle Co-Founded Heavy Metal Band Baroness Back in 2003
Blickle formed the band Baroness in 2003 with frontman John Baizley, bassist Summer Welch, and guitarist Tim Loose, according to Rolling Stone. He played on their first three albums: 2007’s Red Album, 2009’s Blue Record, and the 2012 double LP Yellow & Green. In 2017, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for their song “Shock Me.”
In 2012, Baroness’s tour bus crashed in Bath, England, after plunging off a viaduct during heavy rain. Blickle spent two weeks in the hospital with fractured vertebrae. The band canceled the rest of their tour, and Blickle left the group in early 2013.
According to his Instagram, Blickle worked as a composer and sound designer. Per IMDb, he contributed to projects like the film Halfway to Amarillo and the TV series We Are the Champions and The Comedy Store.