Pantera Drummer Vinnie Paul To Be Interred In KISS Coffin, Just Like Dime, Memorial Planned For Sunday, July 1
It’s been six days since Pantera co-founder and drummer Vinnie Paul passed away. Now details are emerging about his funeral and a memorial for fans.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Paul passed away in his sleep in Las Vegas on June 22. He was 54 years old.
Although no official cause of death has been determined, sources told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he suffered a major heart attack.
TMZ is reporting that the heavy metal legend will be buried — in his own clothing, including flannel and his trademark cowboy hat — in a KISS Kasket since he loved the iconic band so much. The coffin, adorned with the band’s logo and images of the group’s members, will be provided courtesy of KISS’ Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
The Abbott family also chose a KISS Kasket for Vinnie’s brother, the late Dimebag Darrell, when he died on Dec. 8, 2004, after being shot onstage by a crazed gunman while performing with the band Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. He was 38 years old at the time of his passing.
In 2001, when Kiss Kaskets were first launched, the New York Post said that each one cost $3,900.
“You can take that one last ride if you want to eternity with your favorite band,” KISS mogul Simmons told the newspaper.
Paul’s burial is said to be taking place on Saturday in Arlington, Texas. He will be buried next to his brother and mother, Carolyn Abbott, who died in 1999.
The following day, Sunday, July 1, “A Public Celebration of Life,” a memorial and concert for Paul that is open to the public, will take place at Dallas’ Bomb Factory at 3:33 p.m., according to Pantera’s official Facebook page.
Born Vincent Paul Abbott on March 11, 1964, music was already in his blood due to the fact that his father, Jerry Abbott, was a country music songwriter and producer. The Abbott brothers, Vinnie and Darrell, formed Pantera in 1981. The metal group — known for songs like “Cowboys from Hell,” “Walk,” “This Love,” and “Cemetery Gates” — released nine studio albums and earned four Grammy nominations before splitting up in 2003.
The musical siblings then formed the band Damageplan, releasing one record, New Found Power, before folding after Dimebag’s untimely death. Since 2006, Paul had been drumming for Hellyeah, and Blabbermouth said he had already laid down drum tracks for the group’s upcoming sixth album.
Many musicians expressed their sorrow over Paul’s death on social media. Read some of the tributes — from the likes of Sebastian Bach, Bret Michaels, and Slash — in a previously published Inquisitr article.
