A couple of photos of Vinnie Paul Abbott 's soon-to-be-installed headstone can be found below. (Note: The headstone **has not yet been installed** at Vinnie Paul 's gravesite.)
A message engraved on the headstone reads: "Don't ever think it's not a good time, if you do think it's not a good time. A good time is a good time, a bad time is a bad time, and a wonderful time is irreplaceable. Hellyeah!"
The PANTERA and HELLYEAH drummer was buried on June 30, 2018 next to his brother, PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott , and their mother, Carolyn , at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas. He was laid to rest in a custom "Kiss Kasket" provided by KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley . The casket was offered as a gift at Vinnie 's family's request. Vinnie was also buried in some of his trademark clothes, including his hat, shoes and flannel.
Speakers at the service included former GRIM REAPER guitarist Nick Bowcott and SiriusXM DJ Jose Mangin . Also appearing at the event were original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley , DISTURBED 's David Draiman , NICKELBACK 's Chad Kroeger , ANTHRAX 's Charlie Benante , FOZZY 's Chris Jericho and ROUGH CUTT 's Paul Shortino .
Vinnie 's brother was buried in the original Kiss Kasket prototype in 2004 after his untimely death. The coffin featured the faces of the four founding members of KISS , the KISS logo and the words "Kiss Forever." Both Abbotts were huge fans, especially Darrell , who was shot dead by a gunman in December 2004.
A public memorial for Vinnie Paul was held on July 1, 2018 at Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas.
Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.
Not long before his death, Vinnie laid down the drum tracks for HELLYEAH 's sixth album, "Welcome Home" , which will be released in September.
