{"id":130073,"date":"2025-09-09T01:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T01:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/130073\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T01:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T01:18:15","slug":"allen-blickle-original-baroness-drummer-dead-at-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/130073\/","title":{"rendered":"Allen Blickle, Original Baroness Drummer, Dead at 42"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAllen Blickle, the original drummer for the Grammy-nominated sludge metal band Baroness<\/a>, has died at the age of 42.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt 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,\u201d Baroness frontman John Baizley said in a statement. \u201cI\u2019m still in shock that he\u2019s gone. We ask for understanding as his family and this band process his passing and grieve his loss. Allen, I love you and miss you. I treasure every moment we shared.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThough the cause of death has not been revealed, Laura Pleasants, of the Georgia metal band Kylesa, wrote in her Instagram<\/a> tribute that \u201cwe all thought you had this thing beat. Fuck, we were supposed to hang out when i got back from tour\u2026Gone too soon my friend. I\u2019m glad you are at peace and no longer in pain. Much love to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBlickle co-founded Baroness in Savannah, Georgia in 2003, alongside Baizley, bassist Summer Welch, and guitarist Tim Loose. He released three albums with the band: their 2007 debut Red Album, 2009\u2019s Blue Record, and 2012\u2019s Yellow & Green<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing the band\u2019s tour bus crash<\/a> in the U.K. in August 2012 \u2014 in which the vehicle plunged 30 feet off a viaduct near Bath, England, in heavy rain \u2014 Blickle was hospitalized<\/a> for two weeks<\/a> with fractured vertebrae. He left the band<\/a> the following year, alongside bassist Matt Maggioni. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe accident was much more to me than just a near-death experience,\u201d Blickle told The Fader<\/a> in 2013. \u201cIt made me rethink a lot in my life and has been the most difficult time I\u2019ve been through thus far. It was a horrible memory, but I\u2019m trying not to let it define me or stop me from doing what I love. Let it be and keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe also spoke about his relationship with his bandmates following his departure. \u201cAfter the accident, there was space put between us that I regret to say was mostly my fault,\u201d he said. \u201cI was in some way pushing myself in another direction. I didn\u2019t know how to handle the horrible situation we all went through, but who does? It\u2019s not easy and continues to be somewhat difficult. I do miss playing with them and I have relayed to them that when the time is right, I would like to be on the road again. It\u2019s not up to me at this point. I just don\u2019t want any resentment to build between any of us. We are old friends and have worked really hard together for years. Friends first \u2014 that\u2019s the most important thing to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tBaroness has since released three more LPs (2015\u2019s Purple<\/a>, 2019\u2019s Gold & Grey<\/a>, and 2023\u2019s Stone), while Blickle went on to work with bands like Romantic Dividends, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Alpaca. When Pharoah Sanders died<\/a> in 2022, Blickle wrote on Instagram <\/a>that he helped record an interview with the legendary saxophonist for The New Yorker.<\/p>\n

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\n\tIn recent years, Blickle worked in film and TV as a composer and in sound design, including Netflix\u2019s 2020 series We Are the Champions and Best of Stand-Up (2020 and 2022).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFollow your gut,\u201d Blickle told The Fader. \u201cTake chances. Make sure to keep your friends close, even if things come between you. The music business is not an easy industry and people turn their backs on you really fast.\u201d<\/p>\n