Allen Blickle, the original drummer for the Grammy-nominated sludge metal band Baroness, has died at the age of 42.
“It breaks my heart to have to share the news that my dear friend, creative partner and former bandmate Allen Blickle passed away a few days ago,” Baroness frontman John Baizley said in a statement. “I’m still in shock that he’s gone. We ask for understanding as his family and this band process his passing and grieve his loss. Allen, I love you and miss you. I treasure every moment we shared.”
Though the cause of death has not been revealed, Laura Pleasants, of the Georgia metal band Kylesa, wrote in her Instagram tribute that “we all thought you had this thing beat. Fuck, we were supposed to hang out when i got back from tour…Gone too soon my friend. I’m glad you are at peace and no longer in pain. Much love to you.”
Blickle co-founded Baroness in Savannah, Georgia in 2003, alongside Baizley, bassist Summer Welch, and guitarist Tim Loose. He released three albums with the band: their 2007 debut Red Album, 2009’s Blue Record, and 2012’s Yellow & Green.
Following the band’s tour bus crash in the U.K. in August 2012 — in which the vehicle plunged 30 feet off a viaduct near Bath, England, in heavy rain — Blickle was hospitalized for two weeks with fractured vertebrae. He left the band the following year, alongside bassist Matt Maggioni.
“The accident was much more to me than just a near-death experience,” Blickle told The Fader in 2013. “It made me rethink a lot in my life and has been the most difficult time I’ve been through thus far. It was a horrible memory, but I’m trying not to let it define me or stop me from doing what I love. Let it be and keep moving.”
He also spoke about his relationship with his bandmates following his departure. “After the accident, there was space put between us that I regret to say was mostly my fault,” he said. “I was in some way pushing myself in another direction. I didn’t know how to handle the horrible situation we all went through, but who does? It’s not easy and continues to be somewhat difficult. I do miss playing with them and I have relayed to them that when the time is right, I would like to be on the road again. It’s not up to me at this point. I just don’t want any resentment to build between any of us. We are old friends and have worked really hard together for years. Friends first — that’s the most important thing to remember.”
Baroness has since released three more LPs (2015’s Purple, 2019’s Gold & Grey, and 2023’s Stone), while Blickle went on to work with bands like Romantic Dividends, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Alpaca. When Pharoah Sanders died in 2022, Blickle wrote on Instagram that he helped record an interview with the legendary saxophonist for The New Yorker.
In recent years, Blickle worked in film and TV as a composer and in sound design, including Netflix’s 2020 series We Are the Champions and Best of Stand-Up (2020 and 2022).
“Follow your gut,” Blickle told The Fader. “Take chances. Make sure to keep your friends close, even if things come between you. The music business is not an easy industry and people turn their backs on you really fast.”