VINNIE PAUL Reportedly Suffered Major Heart Attack

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, sources who knew Vinnie Paul Abbott said the former PANTERA drummer had suffered “a major heart attack” when he died in his sleep on Friday, June 22 at his home in Las Vegas. He was 54 years old.

Vinnie Paul Abbott‘s family has told TMZ that the legendary drummer died in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. His body has been turned over to the medical examiner to determine a cause of death, and after that, he will be flown back to his home state of Texas to be buried between his mother and brother.

Vinnie Paul and his brother “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. He was 38 years old.

Since his brother’s murder, Vinnie Paul released several Dimebag-related items through his Big Vin Records label, including DVDs and the paperback book “He Came to Rock”Vinnie later said that the Dimebag-related releases weren’t an attempt to cash in on his brother’s tragic end but rather a way to keep Dimebag‘s legacy alive and well.