R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio, Paul Gray, Gary Coleman & Dennis Hopper

If you ask me, there have been too many recent celebrity deaths. First, Ronnie James Dio and Paul Gray were pronounced dead last week. Now, both Gary Coleman and Dennis Hopper were pronounced dead over the weekend.

On May 16th, one of heavy metal's most loved and respected vocalists, Ronnie James Dio, passed away due to complications with stomach cancer. Dio was the lead singer of bands such as Elf, Rainbows, Heaven & Hell, and Dio. He was also the lead singer of Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne was asked to leave the band in 1979. More importantly, Dio popularized the "devil horns" hand gesture; a symbol widely applied to heavy metal genres. R.I.P. Dio!

Last Monday, it was announced that Slipknot bass player, Paul Gray, was found dead in his hotel room. No word yet on the cause of death, as officials are still awaiting a toxicology report. Drugs were most likely a factor Gray's passing. Last week, Slipknot held a press conference with Gray's wife to provide an official statement on their loss, and to mourn the death of their friend. R.I.P Paul!

Gary Coleman suffered a brain hemorrhage last Wednesday at his home in Utah. After spending Thursday morning awake, Coleman slipped into unconsciousness as the day progressed. He was put on life support on Thursday, and removed from life support on Friday. He died peacefully and quickly surrounded by his wife and family. Maybe now he will finally find out what Willis was talking about for all of those years. R.I.P. Gary!

Dennis Hopper also died this weekend after complications resulting from his prostate cancer. For those who don't know, Dennis Hopper directed and starred in Easy Rider in 1969. Easy Rider's use of music, instead of dialogue, for storytelling was truly unique. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out. Although it might seem outdated now, the film's subject matter provides fantastic commentary on the counterculture phenomenon of the 1960s, and how it slowly came to an end when the 1970s began. R.I.P. Dennis!

It's been a rough year for influential musicians and celebrities!

R.I.P. Peter Steele

This week, one of metal's best front men passed away; Peter Steele of Type O Negative.
From a statement posted on the Type O Negative website by Josh, Kenny and Johnny, suspected cause of death is heart failure (many sites out there, including Wikipedia and IMDB were listing this as actual cause of death, even before his death was confirmed by the remaining members of Type O Negative).

From typeonegative.net:
"The official cause of death has yet to be determined pending autopsy results."


Peter's haunting and melodic voice will be sorely missed.

R.I.P. Peter, you've left us with some killer tunes.

'Satan Takes a Holiday' hit by CRTC (censorship) complaints

Help keep metal on the airwaves! Send a rebuttal to the CRTC (equivalent of the FCC in Canada) complaint received by 'Satan Takes a Holiday' and metal radio hostess, Miss Barbrafisch.



From Miss Barbrafisch:
"This generic letter is basically a support letter of the radio station in general for the public hearing regarding our license renewal. This one has to arrive by today; Monday, April 12, so please just copy, paste, sign and send to: cklnhearing@gmail.com . If you could include your mailing address too, that would be helpful, but not necessary."


SAMPLE LETTER:
To Whom It May Concern:

I believe CKLN is a valuable resource for information and music not readily available through mainstream media channels. I especially appreciate the coverage of underground metal music and community news provided by "Satan Takes A Holiday", hosted by Miss Barbrafisch weekly on Saturday nights.

I look forward to the continuation of this adventurous programming for years to come.

Sincerely,

[your name!]



You can hear Satan Takes a Holiday Sat night/Sun morn 3-7am CKLN 88.1 fm Toronto
Listen live on the web: http://www.ckln.fm or Rogers cable 947
Requests 416-979-5251 x0
Playlists: Satan Takes a Holiday Playlists

Toronto Metal

Are you a metalhead from Toronto? If so, there's a show coming that you'd better not miss!

BURNING CASKET'S first official Toronto performance!
Burning Caskets will perform alongside with Protokult, Necrodios, Spewgore and the much-talked about Crucifixxx Sodomy at Duffy's Tavern; 1238 Bloor St W, Toronto ON; 416-538-1998

Saturday, February 27th
Doors at 7pm
Cover is only $5


Burning Caskets features former ROTTING vocalist Korey, with a lineup of seasoned musicians eager to blast your eardrums.. Rider of Assailant on drums, JP Denomme; formerly of Necrocarcass, Mitch of Unscathed and Deni Guenard; whom once was potential to join Rotting and jammed with Rotting for a few sessions before starting other projects.


Are you going? If so, add yourself to the Facebook page!