R.I.P. Jonathan Athon

Jonathan Athon

R.I.P. Jonathan Athon

Jonathan Athon

This one hurts. Jonathan Athon, bassist for the great Savannah, Georgia sludge-metal power trio Black Tusk, has died. Athon was in a motorcycle accident on Friday, and he passed away yesterday. He was only 32.

Black Tusk formed in 2005 in Savannah, after its three members had played in punk bands around town. They released their first album The Fallen Kingdom in 2007. That was the first of four full-lengths; their last one, the crushing Set The Dial, was an Album Of The Week in 2011. The band’s last release was their Vulture’s Eye EP, which came out earlier this year. If you were ever lucky enough to see Black Tusk live, you saw a seriously locked-in unit who loved every second of being onstage. Athon, with his massive beard flying in every direction, had a ridiculous level of charisma.

Baroness frontman John Dyer Baizley has posted a moving tribute to Athon on Facebook. Below, see Athon in action in the band’s “Truth Untold” video.

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