The Rev

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The Rev

James Owen "Jimmy" Sullivan (born February 9, 1981 in Huntington Beach , California , † December 28, 2009 ibid), better known by his stage name The Rev (short for The Reverend Tholomew Plague ), was an American musician and songwriter . He was best known as a drummer and founding member of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold .

Career

Sullivan grew up in Orange County , California. At the age of four he got his first pair of drumsticks and at the age of ten he had his first drum kit. In high school he played in several bands. Before joining Avenged Sevenfold, he was the drummer for the third wave ska band Suburban Legends. His first influences are Frank Zappa and King Crimson . In an interview with the modern drummer he said: " I was raised on that stuff as much as rock and metal " ("I grew up with this stuff as I did with rock and metal")

He later named Vinnie Paul , Mike Portnoy , Dave Lombardo , Lars Ulrich and Terry Bozzio as his greatest influences. One of his trademarks is a drum technique that he himself describes as "The double-ride thing". In this technique, which can be heard in Almost Easy , Critical Acclaim , Crossroads and Dancing Dead , he plays double bass and ride cymbals at high speed . The Rev was also the singer, songwriter, and pianist for Avenged Sevenfold. His piano playing can be heard in the songs Seize the Day , Fiction , Save Me and Warmness on the Soul . His vocal passages are featured in several of the band's songs, especially Waking the Fallen . He also wrote the songs Almost Easy , A Little Piece of Heaven , Afterlife , Fiction , Welcome to the Family , the piano part of Save Me and Demons .

The Rev also had a side project called Rathead with Avengend Sevenfold's guitarist and best friend Synyster Gates , Pinkly Smooth , where he was singer and pianist.

The Rev won Best Drummer at the second Revolver Golden God Awards . His family and Avengend Sevenfold accepted the award on his behalf.

The Rev ranked 8th in Ultimate Guitar's Top Ten Greatest Drummers of All Time online poll , ahead of Bill Ward ( Black Sabbath ) and just behind Keith Moon ( The Who ).

Death & estate

The Rev was found dead at his Huntington Beach home on December 28, 2009. The police excluded third-party negligence. An autopsy on December 30, 2009 was inconclusive. It was only through a toxicological study that it became known that he died of an overdose of oxycodone , oxymorphone (a metabolite of oxycodone), diazepam (Valium), nordazepam (a metabolite of diazepam), and alcohol . He also suffered from cardiomegaly (enlargement of the heart), which may have played a crucial role in his death.

A private funeral for Sullivan was held on January 6, 2010, after which he was buried in Huntington Beach. The fifth studio album by Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare, released shortly after his death , and especially individual songs are dedicated to him; including the song 'So Far Away', which was written by his bandmate and best friend Synyster Gates. The song 'Fiction' written by The Rev, which also appeared on Nightmare , is seen by some fans as his suicide note. This is due to text passages like “In the end I gave my life” or “I hope you'll find your own way, when I'm not with you”.

His drums can be seen at the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas . The drum kit for the Taste of Chaos tour is in the Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg , Tennessee .

equipment

After signing with Warner Bros. Records in 2004, he signed a deal with DW Drums and Sabian cymbals. He originally used a Pacific Drum Percussion (PDP) 805 drum kit, which he owned Custom Signature Kit , but later, in 2008, he used a full DW Collectors Series drum kit, which he equipped with two bass drums and a third only for the show added. He used a variety of Sabian cymbals, as well as Evans heads and Pro-Mark sticks.

Discography

With Suburban Legends

  • Origin Edition (1999)

With Pinkly Smooth

  • Unfortunate Snort (2001)

With Brian Haner

  • Cougar Bait (2008)
  • Fistfight at the Wafflehouse (2010)

With Avenged Sevenfold

  • Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)
  • Waking the Fallen (2003)
  • City of Evil (2005)
  • Avenged Sevenfold (2007)
  • Diamonds In The Rough (2008)
  • Nightmare (2010)

Web links