The surviving members of HELLYEAH have released a two-minute video tribute to the band's fallen drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott. The clip, which can be seen below, opens with a message of gratitude from the man himself. "I just wanna personally thank everybody out there that's always supported me in every band I've ever been in [and] everything I've ever done," Vinnie Paul said. "It's amazing to be able to have a career that's lasted this long. To me, it's amazing to be able to have another career after what happened to my brother and him being taken away from us. So I just wanna give you guys the big love right back at you. Thank you for all your support." Last month, HELLYEAH frontman Chad Gray released a statement on the death of Vinnie Paul, saying that dealing with his passing "has been one of the toughest things I've ever had to face in my life. I'm so confused, sad and as helpless as I've ever been," he said. "I'm at a loss and completely devastated. But I'm trying. It's the equivalent of an emotional riot in my head and in my heart as I write this. But I'm trying to focus on anything good. I know Vinnie would want that. And the good things are my memories of him. His smile, his infectious laugh and his personality that beamed light." Gray added: "I just want to say, thank you, Vinnie Paul! For saving my life, for your music, for your endless generosity, for accepting me into your life, for creating our music that touched people, for being proud to be in HELLYEAH and for always treating me like a brother and more importantly for treating me like a friend... I will always love you and go to the end of the earth to carry the torch for you and Dime's legacy." Abbott's brother, guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, was shot to death in December 2004 while performing onstage. The Abbotts founded the bands PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN together. After Dimebag's death, Abbott joined Gray and other members of MUDVAYNE and NOTHINGFACE in HELLYEAH, which has released five albums. HELLYEAH's fifth album, "Unden!able", came out in 2016. Not long before his death, Vinnie laid down the drum tracks for HELLYEAH's sixth album. It is not presently clear when those recordings will see the light of day.
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