Originally Posted by: R. ShackleferdNah, I see your point, but I think he was already hugely respected as a player (and as a person). For instance his Riffer Madness series of articles was easily the most popular for Guitar World, and his fans loved his open welcoming personality. The reverence given him since, has only been due to missing his overwhelming presence while he was here. Also I don't think the incident even got that much coverage, except the immediate news story. Most out of the guitar or metal community prolly still don't know his name. So yeah, I think his status was fully earned beforehand, while his legacy has generally only been observed with those who appreciated him in life, me obviously being one of them!

its upsetting how many people have no idea who he is...and not to mention that he was such a young face for the metal revival scene. its just one less frontman in the metal militia, which is upsetting in itself, but for someone so influential to die like that...its the equivilant of tu pac, except for dime wasnt exactly asking to get shot, whereas that whole biggie-tu pac garbage was over insulting one another. there is no justice in this world.