Allen Blickle, Baroness drummer, dead at 42

Allen Blickle, the drummer best known as a founding member of the heavy metal band Baroness, has died at 42.

The unfortunate news was announced through Baroness frontman John Baizely, per Louder Sound.

“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,” Baizely said in his announcement. “I’m still in shock that he’s gone.”

“We ask for understanding as his family and this band process his passing and grieve his loss,” he continued. “Allen, I love you and miss you. I treasure every moment we shared.”

The two bandmates were part of the original Baroness group when the band formed in 2003, together with the other founding members, Tim Loose and Summer Welch.

After its debut with 2007’s “Red Album,” the group went on to have a successful career in the heavy metal community. The group received a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for its smash hit, “Shock Me.”

Blickle left the group after a serious bus accident in 2012, which left most of the band with injuries that spanned from broken bones to fractured vertebrae.

“The accident was much more to me than just a near-death experience,” Blickle explained to The Fader in 2013. “It made me rethink a lot in my life and has been the most difficult time I’ve been through thus far. It was a horrible memory, but I’m trying not to let it define me or stop me from doing what I love. Let it be and keep moving.”

So far, no cause of death has been confirmed, although an Instagram post by Laura Pleasants, guitarist with Georgia psychedelic sludge metal band Kylesa, suggests that Blickle had been battling health issues.

“We all thought you had this thing beat,” she wrote. “[expletive], we were supposed to hang out when I got back from tour. Gone too soon, my friend. I’m glad you are at peace and no longer in pain. Much love to you.”