AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows is mourning the passing of his longtime vocal coach Ron Anderson who died earlier today at the age of 75. No cause of death has been revealed.
M. Shadows shared the news of Anderson‘s passing in a social media post on Sunday. He wrote: “This morning my dear friend and vocal coach, Ron Anderson, passed away.
“In 2004, after ‘Waking The Fallen’ I was having trouble with my vocal folds. I had a surgery to remove blood vessels that were bleeding into the folds and causing stiffness. I heard about Ron‘s students (Axl [Rose], [Chris] Cornell, Janet Jackson) and decided to go meet with him about helping me get through the recovery. What ended up happening was a beautiful friendship with a man I deeply admired. He would do anything for his students. If we were in Europe or Asia and I needed him before a show he would get up at all hours, jump on FaceTime and warm me up. He did this for everyone.
“In 2018, while he was on tour with The Weeknd for Coachella, he came to my house for dinner with his life long business partner and friend Pipe. We had many friends there celebrating life and drinking wine. We got nice and drunk and expressed how much we loved and respected each other. We all hung out until the sun came up and it was a memory I will never forget. I’m glad I have that. He was easily one the most important people in my career and I spent more time in lessons with him then maybe even my own family. He was a master of his craft, and if there is an entity up there, he’s teaching them how to do rolled r’s and scales to improve their voice.
“Rest in power friend.
“Love, M“.
Prior to the making of AVENGED SEVENFOLD‘s 2005 album “City Of Evil”, Shadows turned to Anderson when he was specifically looking to add a more gritty, raspy tone to his voice. Shadows worked with Anderson for several months on this before “City Of Evil” was recorded.
Anderson told Kerrang! magazine in a 2015 interview: “[M. Shadows] had a cyst, and when they removed the cyst, he had lost five notes from his voice. I helped him get those notes back, and we also worked on his technique. He started studying with me every day for five or six months, and the tone started changing as everything was coming back. He had a style in mind that he wanted to achieve for ‘City Of Evil’]. I helped him towards it, but he knew what he wanted, so I simply showed him how to do it. He was incredibly determined, and I’d say he’s one of the best singers in the world right now.”
Two and a half years ago, ALTER BRIDGE sunger Myles Kennedy praised Anderson to Music Radar for teaching him a 300-year-old operatic practice known as the Bel Canto technique, citing the experience as “the best money” he had ever spent.”
Other musicians Anderson has worked with include Kylie Minogue, Alicia Keys, Pink, Mary J. Blige, Adam Levine (MAROON 5), Brandon Boyd (INCUBUS), Richie Sambora (BON JOVI) and Bret Michaels (POISON).
According to Ron‘s official web site, his method had “saved countless voices that have been damaged by incorrect approaches and from what doctors have told them to be irreparable damage.” It had “saved many from undergoing unnecessary vocal cord surgery after an injury from constant abuse.”
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