Dag Stokke
April 1, 1967 – April 27, 2011
Dag Stokke was the touring keyboardist for popular Norwegian metal band, TNT. Formed in 1982, the band benefited from heavy video play on MTV in 1985. Stokke came on board in 1987 and performed at the band’s live shows until 1992 and then again from 1996 until the time of his death. Although he wasn’t an official member of TNT, Stokke played on all of their albums between 1992 and 2010. In January of 2011, Stokke learned he was suffering from cancer, and played his final gig with the band that following March 5th. Dag Stokke was 44 when he died of cancer on April 27, 2011.
Scott Columbus is best remembered as a two-time drummer for popular American metal band, Manowar. Formed in 1980, the band eventually built a worldwide following for their raw and heavy sound that has been likened to that of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Hawkwind. Their songs have tended to be aggressive and thematically violent, with the band dawning animal skins in concert to add to their primal image. The band was once recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for putting on the loudest concert, and for performing the longest metal concert which clocked in at just over five hours. Columbus joined the band in 1983 but was forced to leave in 1990 to care for his ill son. He rejoined the group in 1996 and stayed on board until 2008. He made occasional concert appearances with them in recent years. Scott Columbus was 56 when he passed away on April 4, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Frankie Sparcello was the recent bassist for the re-formed New Orleans groove metal band, Exhorder. Originally formed in 1985, Although pioneers of a sound that would later include the likes of Machine Head, White Zombie, and Pantera, Exhorder never quite reached the level of success found by those bands. After the group’s original bassist left in 1990, Sparcello signed on to replace him. Exhorder soon disbanded, but would later reunite with Sparcello coming back into the fold in 2010. Frankie Sparcello passed away on March 22, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Armando Acosta was the founding drummer for doom metal band, Saint Vitus. Formed in Los Angeles in 1979, Saint Vitus was one of the genre’s earliest and most influential bands. They called it quits in 1996 but reformed briefly in 2003 and then again in 2008. Over the years, they released seven albums, four of which on the great SST Records. Acosta left the band in 2009. Armando Acosta was 58 when he passed away on November 25, 2010. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Stella Salamone was a popular Cleveland, Ohio metal disc jockey who, for over 20 years was known as the “Thrash Queen” at non-commercial station, WRUW-FM. She was most recently, the co-host of the station’s popular, Domestic Decay program. For many years, Salamone was an integral part of Cleveland’s punk, metal and thrash scenes. She was even credited for being the first area DJ to play grindcore. While still in her teens, Salamone first appeared as a guest DJ on WUJC’s Metal on Metal, and never looked back. Stella Salamone was 44 when she passed away after being taken off life support at an area hospital. Reports indicate that she had been found unconscience in her home a few days prior and that she had suffered a bad reaction to pain medications.
Born in Denmark, Ole Beich was an aspiring bassist who moved to Los Angeles during the early ’80s to find a career in music. In 1983, he was hired by Tracii Guns to play in his glam metal band, L.A. Guns who would also eventually include Axl Rose on lead vocals. The band soon morphed into Guns ‘N Roses with Beich serving as bassist for a short period. After playing just one show with G ‘N R in 1985, he quit the group and was replaced with Duff McKagen. On October 16, 1991, Ole Beich drowned to death in a Copenhagen lake. The circumstances were reportedly suspicious leading some to speculate that Beich committed suicide.
Steve Lee was the founding lead singer of Swiss metal band, Gotthard. Formed in 1992, the band has sold over two million albums and has seen 11 of their releases reach #1 on the Swiss charts. By most accounts, they are one of the most successful rock bands in Switzerland’s history, the other of course, being Krokus. Gotthard’s sound has been compared to that of Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, and Deep Purple, while Lee’s voice was as strong as any ’80s and ’90s power balladeer. While on a holiday motorcycle tour of the United States, Lee and his group pulled off a Nevada highway to change into rain gear. Shortly thereafter, in what was ruled an accident by local authorities, a truck driver lost control of his vehicle which then crashed into one of the parked bikes, sending it direclty into Lee. Steve Lee died from injuries sustained in the accident. He was 47.
Denis D’Amour was the guitarist for Canadian thrash metal band, Voivod who were one of the first Canadian thrash bands to gain popularity outside of Canada. They, along with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax were ushered in the thrash metal movement of the mid ’80s. Trained in classical violin, D’Amour later switched to guitar, later adding more of a King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Rush approach to his unique guitar playing. D’Amour was diagnosed with colon cancer in the summer of 2005. Having progressed at an alarming rate, surgery was not an option, so D’Amour died as a result of the cancer on August 26, 2005 at the age of 45.
The Music's Over 