Manowar drummer dead at age 54
One-time Manowar drummer Scott Columbus has died at the age of 54. So far, no cause for this tragedy has been made public.
Columbus was with the band from 1983 to 1991. He returned four years later, but finally left in 2008.
Columbus has recently been working on a new project called Instrumetal.
Last year – Columbus spoke to ClassicRockMagazine.com about his reasons for leaving Manowar.
Over the past two years Manowar have been threatening to release a new full-length platter as a follow up to their 2007 effort Gods Of War. They have gone so far as to release an EP, Thunder In The Sky, with the song Father in fifteen different languages (Kings Of Linguistics?). Recent live appearances have seen original skinsman Donnie Hamzik temporarily filling in for the absent Scott Columbus. Recently Scott announced some dates with ex-Manowarrior Ross The Boss and oddly enough these dates conflict with his day gig in Manowar. Classic Rock sat down with Scott to see what is going on in the Manowar camp only to find out that he left the band some time ago. It seems the Kings Of Metal will not be confused as the Kings Of Media anytime soon…
- Scott Columbus.
Blabbermouth is reporting that former Manowar drummer Scott Columbus has passed away at the age of 54. The information was first posted by former Manowar guitarist Ross ‘The Boss’ Friedman on his own Facebook page, and later verified by Columbus’ girlfriend Nancy. According to the posts available at the time of this writing, Columbus died early in the evening of Monday – April 4, 2011. Cause of death is not known at this time.
Scott Columbus joined Manowar in 1983, and played with the band on many of their well-known and now classic albums such as ‘Kings of Metal’ and ‘Louder than Hell’. He left the band in 2008, reportedly over disagreements with band members: though by all indications the disagreement seemed amiable and insiders say it was simply time for Columbus to move on.
According to Blabbermouth, the drummer had been working on a solo project called Instrumental. Columbus had been keeping in contact with his former bandmates and friends in Manowar. And there were indications and rumors that some of the members of the loudest band in the world (it’s true, they broke the Guinness World Record) would be collaborating and contributing to specific tracks on his solo project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCx-Ev5AFv4
According to a posting on former Manowar guitarist Ross ‘The Boss’ Friedman’s Facebook page, ex-Manowar drummer Scott Columbus died earlier today (Monday, April 4) at the age of 54. This information was corroborated by Scott’s girlfriend of almost four years, Nancy, who wrote on the drummer’s Facebook page: “For all you to know, this is Scott Columbus’s girlfriend of over 3 1/3 years… and I cannot get the words out, but he died today… Please send your thoughts and prayers. I can’t believe he is gone. He was the absolute love of my life.”
In a May 2010 interview with Classic Rock magazine, Columbus revealed that his departure from Manowar occurred around April 2008 when he and the band’s bassist/leader, Joey DeMaio: “agreed to disagree on a few points of interest.” He added: “I had a long and wonderful career with Manowar; I have no regrets, it’s just life moves on.”
When asked for a comment on Manowar’s claim that Columbus was still a member of the band but that he was taking time off for “personal tragedies” – Scott replied, “I’m in the best shape of my life. I mean I’m 112 years old (laughs) but I’m in the best shape of my entire life.”
On the topic of whether he had had any contact with any of the Manowar members since his departure in April of 2008, Scott said: “Yes, I speak quite often with the singer [Eric Adams] who is a dear, dear friend of mine. He and I hung out on the road all the time for many years, so I speak to Eric all the time. Joey and I speak to periodically. Some of the ancillary people I speak with because we’ve always had a great relationship, so why let something professional interrupt something personal?! I tend to make friends for life. Once people get to know me they realize I wear my heart on my sleeve, there’s no bullshit about me. I can do a lot of things very well but one thing I really suck at is lying.”