The Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper is reporting that Pantera drummer and co-founder Vinnie Paul died from a "major heart attack," citing "sources who knew" the musician. Yesterday, June 24, TMZ reported that, according to his family, Paul "died in his sleep" at his Las Vegas home.

TMZ added that the body had  been presented to a medical examiner in order to determine an official cause of death, and that he would be flown back to his home state of Texas to be buried with his mother and brother, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

Loudwire reached out to management about the TMZ report, who responded with the following statement:

We have no knowledge of who spoke with TMZ.
Whoever spoke to them did so on their own and not
based on any factual information or authorization
from Vinnie’s family or Pantera management.

Our official statement remains:
Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul passed away on Friday, June 22.
Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands
Pantera and Hellyeah.
No further details are currently available.
When they are, an updated official statement will be released.
The family requests you please respect their privacy during this time.
Thank you for your query.

News broke Friday night (June 22) that the Pantera and Hellyeah drummer had died at the age of 54. His death was confirmed by Pantera's official Facebook account in a social media post.

There has been an outpouring of love for Paul from the metal community and beyond. To see additional tributes from the rock, metal and entertainment industry, head over to this post, and here to see what Hellyeah guitarist Tom Maxwell said on behalf of the band.

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