Two months ago, the metal community was shaken to the core when the legendary Vinnie Paul Abbott suddenly passed away in his sleep. Now, as reported by The PRP, the coroner’s office has released Abbott’s official cause of death. According to the Clark County Coroner, Abbott died due to a condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy, which is essentially an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease, which also played a role in his passing.

Abbott was found dead in his Las Vegas home on June 22nd and he was buried in a Kiss Casket next to his brother “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.

During the 90s there was not a more influential band in the metal underground than Pantera, with the group developing a pioneering style of “groove metal” that was anchored by Vinnie Paul’s incredible drumming and Dimebag’s mind-blowing guitar work. The band continued to grow in popularity, with their 1994 release, Far Beyond Driven, hitting number one on the Billboard 200, the heaviest album to ever do so. Eventually, internal tensions with lead singer Philip Anselmo reached a breaking point and the band broke apart in 2003.

The Abbott brothers formed a new band, Damageplan, shortly after the breakup of Pantera, but Dimebag was tragically murdered on stage by a deranged fan in 2004. Vinnie Paul had continued making music in the metal supergroup Hellyeah, and the band was in the stages of recording a new album when he passed.