Members Of Metallica, Testamen

Paul Baloff was perhaps one of the unlikeliest frontmen in thrash metal. Looking like a cross between the Tazmanian Devil and those little troglodyte dolls with the big hair, Paul was definitely an original.

His influence on Thrash cannot be disputed. As Lead Throat for Metal Pioneers Exodus, he recorded one the genre's seminal albums, Bonded By Blood. And even though Exodus went on without him, that record and lineup were still the ones the fans clamored for years after his departure from the band.

Over the years, his Legend only grew, and the fans were treated to a reunion of the classic Bonded By Blood lineup, resulting in a live disc and world tour.

In the last couple years, Exodus and Paul have played together sporadically, including the memorable Thrash of the Titans Benefit for Chuck Billy of Testament. More recently, the band had begun to gear up a little, booking some west coast dates and talking about recording a new disc. There was also talk of Paul & co. doing a new theme song for one of Paul's favorite Pro Wrestling Tag-Teams --The Road Warriors of the fledgling XWF.

Alas, 'twas not to be.

One of Rock's true wildmen was felled by a stroke while riding his bike in Oakland. Despite the best efforts of all concerned, he slipped away from this mortal coil this past Sat. Feb 2nd.
He is missed by the band, his friends and the fans for his Showmanship, sense of humor, love of life and general zaniness. It was never a dull moment with Paul around...

A Public Memorial is being held on February 12th at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, courtesy of friend and DNA club manager Alexis Olson. There is a minimum of a $5 donation requested for Paul's Memorial Fund. Music provided by the Master of Metal himself, DJ Ron Quintana of KUSF 90.3 Rampage Radio fame. (note: it's age 21 and up to be admitted). Doors open at 8pm and eulogy starts at 9:30pm

In addition, a new ESP guitar autographed by the remaining members of Exodus will be auctioned off during The Bone Metal Zone with host Billy Steel at 107.7 FM, Friday night at 7pm. The winner will be presented with the guitar during the memorial.
For those of you who cannot attend the memorial please remember that donations can be sent to:

The Mechanics Bank
c/o The Paul Baloff Memorial Fund
9996 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530

Any money remaining after the funeral expenses will be donated to the Wolf Recovery Foundation: www.forwolves.org

You can check out a great memorial page for Paul at http://www.paulbaloff.com/

“We were sitting around in his car drinking vodka saying how much we loved each other and how great it was to have a band. Someone whipped out a razor blade and we started cutting up our hands. We all rubbed the blood together and we were all bonded by blood…” – Kirk Hammett

RIP Paul Baloff 1960-2002



* * *



Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who also formed Exodus with Paul, issued the following message via their official websites http://www.metclub.com/ and www.metallica.com as a tribute to his former bandmate Paul Baloff. You can watch a video of this speech at either site.

Kirk Hammett:
Well, when I was about 18 years old I was looking to form a band based on all my favorite hard rock bands, 'cuz back then heavy metal was something that wasn't exactly heavy metal. Back then it was called hard rock, 'cuz there weren't really many bands collection bands who were known as heavy metal bands, back then they were known as hard rock bands. I was looking to form a band based on my favorite band UFO, and I was trying to find musicians who were into the same stuff I was UFO, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Venom. So one night I was at a party in Berkeley and I saw this guy, and he had an Iron Maiden button on, and I came up to him and I said, 'Hey man! Are you into Iron Maiden?' He goes, 'Oh they rule!' I go, 'What's your name?' He goes, 'My name's Paul Baloff.' I go, 'Ever heard of UFO?' He goes, 'Yeah, I've heard of UFO,' and started singing 'Rock Bottom' to me. And 'Rock Bottom' was one of the songs I was interested in covering in my band.

So I said, 'Well hey man, give me your number and we'll jam.' And so he gave me his number and the next day he came down and he sang with the early version of Exodus, and yes, sang 'Rock Bottom'. And you know, he didn't have the best voice in the world but he had tons of charisma, was the funniest guy in the world, he knew the music and he knew what we were shooting for… and that was good enough for me.

“The great thing about Paul was when we played our first show, a Metal Monday at the Old Waldorf, it was actually the first time we had played with Metallica, too. I was just so blown away by how well he worked the stage, I mean, for someone who had very little band or stage experience, he really knew what he was doing and felt very comfortable on stage. He was just a great frontman, and like I said, you know, for all the short-comings he had in the vocal department, he made up for it in pure charisma. He said the funniest things on stage and was just one of the funniest guys I knew.

I think one of the best memories I have of Paul was one night when we were sitting around in his car drinking vodka, straight from the bottle, listening to Venom and Mercyful Fate and we were drunk and we were just saying how much we loved each other and how great it was to finally have a band playing the type of music we wanted to play. And we all of a sudden decided that we should just immortalize it, and so someone whipped out a razor blade and we started cutting up our hands. In fact, there's my scar right there if you can see it (points to scar -ed). Can you see that scar? Anyway, I cut my hand, Gary Holt cut his hand, Tom Hunting cut his hand and Paul Baloff cut his hand and we all rubbed the blood together and we were all bonded by blood…and shortly after that came the song “Bonded By Blood.”

But yeah, that scar right there is in memory of Paul Baloff now. He was just a great guy, a great person, and he was one of the most extreme frontmen I knew, or I should say he grew to be one of the most extreme frontmen in metal, I think. If you weren't totally metal you would be ostracized by Paul from the stage. He would point people out and say, 'You're a fag, get the hell out of here,' or 'That guy's not banging. Kick his ass.' He kind of fostered that whole attitude of being just really extreme and he lived for metal.

Last Friday I got a call from my brother in law saying that he was in the hospital, so I called the hospital. Actually I got a hold of Rick Hunolt, who was the other guitar player in Exodus along with Gary (Holt) and he told me that Paul just went for a bike ride, came back, his girlfriend went down to lock up the bikes and by the time she came back up he was already in the throws of a seizure. So they called 911, they brought him to the hospital and he was already deep in it and by the time I spoke to Rick he said there was no brain activity. So I pretty much knew that when that happens there's no turning back, there's only one way to go.

And you know it's a big loss, at least in my life it is, because Paul set me on my way to a certain extent. He was the one missing link in my first metal band and when I had found him, I thought to myself, 'All we can go is up from here.' He was just an amazingly funny guy, very intelligent, very loyal, he would do anything for his friends.

It's just a shame and I'll miss him, but at least we have the first Exodus album, thank God for that!

One of my favorite Paul Baloff lines was, when he was introducing an Exodus song on their last live album the line went 'This song is older than shit, heavier than time.' I thought that was such a great line.

That's the way I like to think of him…heavier than time.

See ya, Paul.

Members of other bands that knew Paul along his journey in heavy metal have also shared some of their thoughts on Paul’s life and death:

Chuck Billy (Testament):
I would like to say that I will miss Paul Baloff and think of him always as a great frontier in the Metal Music family. I have many fond memories of Paul that I will always cherish. Paul lived, breathed, and ate Metal 100%. He loved the music and all the people, and was always ready for a good time. The world has suffered a great loss of a wonderful man. R.I.P., Paul.

Eric Peterson (Testament):
“Pioneers of the Bay Area Thrash Metal genre, Paul Baloff and Exodus have influenced the metal community worldwide with their debut release Bonded by Blood. It is and will always be a favorite of mine. My sympathies go out to his family, friends, and bandmates, as we all feel his untimely loss. I/we will miss Paul greatly, especially his stories and hearing him say: 'That's so heavy!' Paul was genuinely kind to everyone he met and always made me feel special. So go now to the metal kingdom in the sky and rest easy... I will forever remember you!

James Murphy (formerly of Testament/Death):
“I still remember the day I bought Bonded by Blood on vinyl. It was the day it came out and I had heard about this band whose demo was or pre-release of the album was supposedly just awesome. So, I went out of my way to get it. When I dropped the needle on the disk for the first time I knew what all the hype was about. That album was awesome and I still love it to this day. I remember thinking that the vocals were the sickest, most twisted, and uniquely killer voice I'd heard to that point. I loved them. I still have my original copy to this day, at my sister's house where it stayed safe even though I lost everything that I had taken to California. I met Paul Baloff a few times during my stay in the Bay Area, and he was always nice. I never told him how much I liked his vocals, and I regret that now. He didn't deserve to go out like that.

Scott Ian (Anthrax):
We received some bad news before the [Tampa show at Jannus Landing]. Our friend Paul Baloff from Exodus died. We've known Paul since 1984 when we played The Kabuki in [San Francisco] and [Exodus] opened the show. We should've opened for them that night. We had a ball, they trashed our dressing room. Huge food fight. The last time I saw Paul was at the Thrash Of The Titans benefit in SF [for Testament vocalist Chuck Billy] back in August. What a fucking bummer. We had a 'moment of noise' for Paul during our show as the usual moment of silence just didn't seem right. I hope Paul is in a place where thrash rules and he's the king.”

Corey Taylor (Slipknot):
I just can't believe he's dead. What's this world coming to?

docmagowan - 11/28/2007 11:34:28 PM
Paul miss ya bro "doc from vacaville"

talltoad - 10/26/2006 3:15:35 PM
I knew Paul in the early 90's, but when I met him, I only knew him as Paul, not as the singer. My wife, (at the time) met Paul at a party at the Piranha house in Concord CA. I got to know Paul as a nice but sometimes (in his own way)kinda out-there guy, but he was always cool to me. I got the chance one night to see him on stage, singing his heart out, jumping around the stage, being Paul Baloff. To be honest, I couldn't understand all the lyrics, lots of screaming and such, but damn, that dude was having the time of his life and I could see that he belonged on the stage. I remember sitting in my car with Paul and my ex after the gig, he was still hyped out, sweating and couldn't stop talking. I told him he was at home on the stage, and he got the biggest smile on his face, that is a moment in my life that I will always remember and enjoy. When I knew Paul, there were times that he was shy and quiet, and times that he was an animal. After Piranha broke up,(or at least not playing gigs), I recon Paul was a bit down on his luck. After I got to know Paul a bit, my wife (at the time) said that Paul needed a place to stay for a while. At the time, I didn't really know who or what he was, but he was cool, so he stayed with us for about a year or so, and man alive, that was quite an interesting time of my life- from Paul peeing in my frontyard at night, to his Mackenzie wolf pulling him on his roller blades. One time with Paul that I remember so well, is when I was building a bicycle, I asked Paul if he knew where to get a 3 gear pedal shaft. And later that day, he said, here it is. And I never asked him where he got it, didn't want to know. He was never selfish with anything that he had, be it his friendship, or anything thing else he happened to bring in to the house ha ha. One time that was great was when I was working for a cable company as an installer, and Paul asked me to hook up his cable at his house. So there I was, about 11 at night, dangling between the not tall enough ladder and the cable strand trying not to fall into the bamboo below, splicing into a paying customer's cable, and of course, there was Paul below on the ground laughing and drinking a beer. From that moment on, I would spend a lot of time in the Piranha house with Paul and his roomies. Paul had this thing about inventing games that would put a bruise on you if you weren't looking, so I learned fast, that at Paul's house, stay alert, and believe me with the parties there, that wasn't hard at all. Everyday that I was there seemed like a party. But anyone could see that the gleam in Paul's eyes was getting back on stage where he blonged. A couple of years ago, my daughter called me, (my daughter and son were lucky enough to know him, but only as Paul the friend). My daughter told me that Paul had passed away. That was a real drag hearing that, but my memories of Paul are of him smiling, laughing and having a good time. But the real Paul, the Paul that was deep down inside was constantly trying to get out. But that Paul could only be seen while he was at home on stage. Yeah, Paul was cool, just a nice guy.

oldskool666 - 1/11/2006 2:46:53 AM
paul is a metal icon.rest in peace and lift away your worries bro....

Brian_Montana - 4/11/2003 1:20:42 AM
Wow! I was one of the original guitarists in the thrash/death metal band Possessed. As such, I played many opening gigs for Exodus in those early days...especially at Ruthie's inn (in Berkeley California). Those were the days and Baloff was the finest. From the first gig we played with Exodus I was a fan. The blistering riffs combined with Baloff's vocals were forever etched upon my mind; absolutely perfect. In addition, Baloff was always cool to me. He was probably not thought of as a people-person, but he was to me; an all around awesome guy. I left possessed because they wanted to be slayer clones with the upside down crucifix etcetera, but they really weren't really able to cope with that. They spread all sorts of rumors and claimed that they had in fact fired me. They were too young to have developed any sense of dignity at that time. Be that as it may... Now I'm in my thirties, employed as a senior software engineer, and I'm still an Exodus fan!!! I only came upon this website by chance. I was searching the internet for some Bonded by Blood mp3 files and happened upon these pages. Gary (Holt), I don't know if you'll see this, but if you do, I'm sure you will remember me. Let me say that I was always an Exodus fan and I still am. And that Bonded by Blood with Paul Baloff is the #1 metal album of all time. Where can I get the mp3 files? Thanks, Brian Montana brian_montana@sbcglobal.net

mikepsycho - 3/24/2002 3:38:01 AM
Once again you sorry ass hair primping,earring polishing bastards refused to show up in the pit once again tonite in Whittier just as you preening faggots did at the Shack in Anaheim .Continue sending y'alls flimsy RIP's towards the band to make yourselves feel significant.Realize that all of y'alls written thoughts & prayers remain hallow without proper representation.I'm just to polite ,my bad.Guess i'll just have to wisk by you worthless wannabee's on the way in 5/01/02 for the almighty SLAYER.Why you faggots keep showing up beats me ? But maybe thats your thing ,the beat thing, yeah thats your thing.-COLTMAN-

strmtrpr6 - 2/16/2002 7:49:11 AM
I was lucky enough to see Exodus numerous times in the 80's down in LA, from Fenders ballroom to the Santa Monica Civic when they opened for Venom. Paul was the ultimate frontman, and I still enjoy watching the Ultimate Revenge video. He will be missed!! RIP brother.

the_looney - 2/13/2002 6:33:08 PM
FUCKED UP. IS ALL I GOTTA SAY.LIFE SUCKS SOMETIMES.

mobbsy2 - 2/12/2002 5:02:49 PM
Sorry to see Pual go, great front man, Even though I'm a Brit and Exodus played over here the only place I saw em was Miami. You'll be much missed peace mate!

metalking - 2/12/2002 5:57:56 AM
I was saddened to hear about this, shit, this really is terrible. I hope everyone that knew him is doing as well as they can right now. This has to stop though. I mean, how many of our heros can die in the span of a year?

SaintBastard - 2/11/2002 9:44:46 PM
Im speechless. I hope his friends and family members are doing as well as can be expected. Damn. what a shame.

SheerEvil - 2/11/2002 5:41:55 PM
RIP, but I bet he ain't resting, he's tearing it the fuck up, wherever he's at.

DOMINION332 - 2/11/2002 4:36:26 PM
I AM LEAVING MY MESSAGE TO THE THRASHMEN IT IS WHERE MY HEART LIES IVE BEEN TRYING TO GET TO SANFRANCISCO ALL MY LIFE PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME.RIP TO THE GREAT HEROES OF MINE.STATICHATE@yahoo.com

OktoberX - 2/11/2002 3:34:50 PM
What a loss. And just at a time when the real Exodus was on the come back trail, such a loss. Paul you'll be missed. I have many a fond memory of the 80's, just hanging out with friends doing things that we shouldn't have been doing ;) and Bonded by Blood was always on the turn table. I hope the remaining members fordge on... PAUL RIP.

grendelson - 2/11/2002 9:38:07 AM
I think the_metal_man13 is really Kirk. Kirk, I'm sorry. I know you're just a puppet of the tennis bitch and drunk boy, but the time is ripe for you to free yourself from their harsh restraints. If you quit Metallica, you could get those hair implants you've needed for years now. You could actually play real HEAVY METAL once again. Hell, you and Jason could start a thrash band and play all those songs you wrote that James and Lars wouldn't let you play. Just think of the freedom. You know Paul would want you to do it. Of course, Paul stayed heavy and never forgot where he came from. He was never too good to help anyone in the old school. Paul never played shit just to keep his seven figure checks coming. PAUL WAS TRUE METAL!!!!

GHOSTRIDER2001 - 2/11/2002 8:36:05 AM
Paul and Chuck RIP, true geniuses of metal. Does anyone know if Thrash of The Titans will be released on video or DVD? I'd love to own that footage of so many great bands, specially Exodus. Piranha,ha,ha, ha.......

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