Griffyguy at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

The guitarist and songwriter who founded Death in 1983 and is widely credited with shaping death metal as a genre, remaining the band's only constant member for nearly two decades. He took over lead vocals in 1985 and kept writing and recording until his death from a brain tumor at 34. Guitar World and Joel McIver's The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists both later ranked him among metal's most significant players; Kerrang! called him one of the genre's defining figures.