Guitarist Shaun Glass, a fixture of the Chicago metal scene through SOiL, Broken Hope and his latest band Repentance, has died from complications of a stroke.
His former bandmates in SOiL were among the first to publicly acknowledge his death on July 1, sharing the following:
“We’d like to take a moment to say goodbye to our former guitarist Shaun Glass who passed away earlier today. Although we have been estranged and not on good terms since his departure in 2007, he was still an integral part of SOiL in the early years. And for a long time he was a good friend and comrade. We had many laughs and many good times back in the day. We will look back at those times with fond memories and smiles. It’s sad to hear of his passing and we would like to send his family our condolences during this time of grief.”
Nonpoint drummer Robb Rivera, a close friend of Glass, shared a lengthy and emotional remembrance:
“Today we lost one of the biggest metal lifers I’ve ever known… my metal brother, Shaun Glass“
“For the last 12–15 years, we talked damn near every single day. Most mornings started with a text around 6:30 a.m., and before I’d even had my coffee we were already deep into conversations about metal, thrash, hardcore, rock, the music business, our families, our kids, and whatever insane story was happening in our world that day.”
“Shaun was my newswire for everything heavy. He was always the first to send me a new band I needed to hear, a record I had to check out, or some breaking news from the metal world. Hell, he’s the guy who texted me at 6:30 in the morning that Metallica was playing the Metro, and because of him I was able to get tickets. That’s who he was. He lived this music every single day.”
“What I’ll miss the most isn’t just the conversations about riffs, drummers, records, or debates over albums. I’ll miss my friend. I’ll miss those early morning texts. I’ll miss hearing how proud he was of Maddux and talking about family. I’ll miss having my metal brother on the other end of the phone.”
“Shaun had friends everywhere because he was one of the genuine ones. His passion for heavy music was contagious, and I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone who loved metal more than he did.”
“My heart goes out to Michelle, Maddux, his entire family, his friends, his bandmates, and the countless fans whose lives he touched around the world.”
“Metal didn’t just lose an incredible musician. We lost a truly great human being.
I f**king love you, Shaun.”
“Rest easy, my metal brother. Until we meet again”
As word spread, more tributes from friends, family and fellow musicians began filling social media.
Later the same day, Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn added his own tribute, revealing that Glass had died from complications tied to a stroke he suffered several weeks earlier. Flynn wrote:
“My world lost a legend today.”
“A lot of people reading this won’t know who Shaun Glass was, but to everyone who did, Shaun was a f**king legend. A star who burned so goddamn bright, it was impossible not to love him.”
“I’m honestly just shocked and numb that I’m writing these words.”
“I met Shaun when I was 19 years old. He was standing outside The Stone in San Francisco on Broadway waiting to get into a thrash show. He’d flown out just to be there. I can’t even remember which show it was anymore – it’s possible it was my old band Vio-Lence – but from that day on he became a constant in my life. Always at the Chicago and Milwaukee shows, always down for the hang”
“For decades there wasn’t a week that went by without an email, text, or phone call from him. A new band I needed to hear. Industry gossip. Pictures of him proudly wearing Machine Head or Killers & Kings merch. Riffs he’d written. Songs he’d just finished. Photos of him on vacation with his son Maddux, who he absolutely adored.”
“The dude lived and f**king breathed metal, punk, hardcore and hard rock. Since our birthdays were only two weeks apart, we shared the same love for ’80s and ’90s thrash.”
“My nickname for him was ‘Gla**hole’, which was nickname Borivoj gave him that was so goddamned funny it stuck. Shaun never got bent out of shape about it – in fact, I think he secretly liked it!”
“Dude was a LIFER. He never stopped creating. New songs. New bands. New records. No matter what life threw at him, he just making music.”
“He was hilarious. One of the biggest ball-busters I’ve ever known. And underneath all of that, one of the sweetest human beings I’ve ever had the privilege of calling my friend.”
“Like any friendship that lasts nearly 40 years, we had a wobble somewhere in the middle. I honestly can’t even remember what I was upset about anymore. Something involving some demos 12 years ago. Shaun was the one who reached out to smooth it out. He was the bigger man. I’m grateful he did, because in the last decade we grew closer than we’d ever been.”
“When you’re young, you think you have all the time in the world to repair relationships. The older you get, you realize time can take that opportunity away in the blink of an eye.”
“I found out from Dino that Shaun had suffered a stroke on the first day of our U.S. tour in Pittsburgh. The fact that four weeks later I’m sitting here writing a tribute to him makes me physically sick with grief.”
“You were truly one in a million.”
“I’m going to miss you terribly, brother.”
“My deepest condolences to Michelle, Maddux, his Repentance bandmates, his family, and the countless friends whose lives were made better by knowing him.”
“Love you forever, Shaun.”
Glass spent more than four decades as a cornerstone of the Chicago metal scene. He got his start with death metal outfit Terminal Death before joining Sindrome in the mid-1980s, then went on to play bass in Broken Hope, appearing on the band’s records Repulsive Conception and Loathing. His biggest commercial run came with SOiL, whose album Scars and its hit single “Halo” broke the band through to a wider audience. He later founded Dirge Within, rejoined Broken Hope for Omen Of Disease, and most recently poured his energy into Repentance, a band he’d led since 2018.
Our thoughts are with Shaun Glass‘ family, friends, bandmates and the many fans who followed his work over the years.
