Chicago metal scene veteran Shaun Glass has died at age 57, roughly a month after suffering a stroke at his Illinois home. He passed away on July 1.
Over a career spanning four decades, Glass built a reputation as one of Chicago heavy music's most reliable presences, playing bass in a long list of bands including SOIL, BROKEN HOPE, SINDROME, TERMINAL DEATH, DIRGE WITHIN, THE BLOODLINE, and REPENTANCE. He recorded two albums with death metal outfit BROKEN HOPE before joining SOIL in 1998, where he found his greatest commercial success — appearing on three albums with the band, including their breakthrough sophomore release "Scars," home to the radio hit "Halo." After his run with SOIL, Glass went on to form both DIRGE WITHIN and REPENTANCE.
Glass's death comes at a bittersweet moment for his most recent project: REPENTANCE's third album, "Retaliate," had been scheduled for release on July 17 via Noble Demon, but the rollout was delayed following his medical emergency on May 31.
Tributes poured in from across the metal community. MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn remembered Glass as "one of the biggest ball-busters" he'd ever met and "one of the sweetest human beings," a combination that longtime friends say defined his personality both on and off stage. NONPOINT drummer Robb Rivera called him "a newswire for everything heavy," a nod to Glass's deep, encyclopedic knowledge of the scene he helped shape.
Glass is survived by his wife Michelle, whom he married in 2010, and their 13-year-old son Maddux. His death marks a significant loss for the Chicago death metal and hard rock community he helped build over four decades, spanning from BROKEN HOPE's early extremity through SOIL's mainstream rock radio run and into the underground circuits he continued working within REPENTANCE and DIRGE WITHIN.
REPENTANCE and Noble Demon have not yet announced a revised release plan for "Retaliate," though the album's arrival will now carry added weight as one of Glass's final recorded statements.