This week we lost a giant of the metal community. Bassist Frank Watkins was, for 20 years, a member of Tampa, Florida death metal pioneers Obituary. He had split from the band on bad terms in 2010, and more recently was a member of another groundbreaking band, Norwegian black metal titans Gorgoroth.

The 47-year-old Watkins had been battling cancer in recent years, but remained active musically right up to his passing. For a more lengthy look at his career, check out this article by our friends over at Blabbermouth.

Our massive Metal Monday Track for this week is the title track of Obituary’s second album, Cause of Death, which was released in 1990 and was Watkins’ first recording with the band. So, help us in celebrating the life of one of death metal’s founding fathers by blasting “Cause of Death.”

Rest in peace, our metal brother.

RIP – Frank Watkins
February 19, 1968 – October 18, 2015

When I was growing up in rural Indiana in the early ’80s, there was very limited access to heavy music. These were the days before MTV blew up with the whole hair metal, Headbangers Ball phenomenon. But on Sunday nights, there was a two-hour radio show that came from WOXY, just across the state line in Oxford, Ohio (home of Miami University of Ohio). It was called Massive Metal for the Masses, and I would wait all week for it to air. It was through this show that I was introduced to bands like Venom, Bathory, WASP, Michael Schenker Group, Slayer, and countless others. This Monday weekly column is my tip of the hat to that show. I call it Massive Metal Monday. Every week, I pay tribute to defining moments by the artists that laid the groundwork for heavy metal to become the worldwide cultural bond for all of us metal heads.