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This Sucks

RICHARD WRIGHT, PINK FLOYD KEYBOARDIST, IS DEAD AT 65

 Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 6:41pm by

It’s with great sadness today that I report that Pink Floyd keyboardist and co-founder Richard Wright died today of cancer at his home in Britain at the age of 65. [NYTimes.com]

If there was no Pink Floyd, there’d be no metal. I firmly belief that. And for me personally, if Pink Floyd hadn’t sustained me musically through the nu-metal years, I may well have completely lost interest in progressive music or anything good. Who knows. So if you don’t think Pink Floyd news belongs on a metal site, you’re wrong. And besides, it’s my website. So fuck off and start your own.

If you need further convincing (or just wanna jam to some timeless tunes), check out a post I wrote a few months back with some mp3s of metal bands covering “Welcome to the Machine.”

More of my thoughts on Rick Wright after the jump…

Richard Wright’s contribution to the band was significant in the beginning but tailed off over time. His slicing, searing keyboard leads and atmospherics were an integral sonic part of Floyd’s early and mid-era albums (and their influence can be heard in, oh, just about every Scandinavian metal band with a keyboard player). But by the time Roger Waters had taken control of the Pink Floyd steamship during The Wall recordings, Wright’s contributions were deemed unimportant and he was relegated to the role of a session musician. He would later rejoin the David Gilmour-led unit after Waters left the band and Gilmour won legal ownership of the Pink Floyd name.

So smoke a doob and listen to some Floyd tonight. You’ll hear their (and Wright’s) influence on metal all throughout. Crank “The Great Gig in the Sky” for a sample of Wright at his best. Actually, fuck that — listen to all of Dark Side of the Moon; it set the standard for concept albums that holds to this day. Listen to his solos on Wish You Were Here and Animals. Enjoy great music. Appreciate a legend.

-VN

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  • http://sirjorge.com/blogx sir jorge

    dang, dang

  • tyoung865

    truly a sad day. i love pink floyd and Wright. if you don’t own it… go out and buy David Gilmour’s dvd “Remember That Night” … he and Wright tear it up

  • Stixnstond in L.A.

    Truly sad. Pink Floyd is one of my favorite artists. No-one does it like them. All this RadioHead, Coldplay Bull$hit is gum stuck to the bottom of the shoes.
    True stoners can appreciate Floyd’s trip to insanity every time you drop acid or some mushrooms…

    I think i will go home and fry my brains out on some Floyd, Live in Pompei – Sickest DVD, period!

    The lunatic is on the grass – hahahahahahahahaha……..

  • Shanetera

    ….don’t care. Pink Floyd sucked. Get over it.

  • http://hookssobig.blogspot.com Wayne

    Goddammit.
    RIP Richard

  • tetsuo669

    Damn…sad news indeed.

  • seveword

    I belief it too, Vince.
    I belief it too.

  • Name Not Applicable

    …No wonder I was in a bad mood today…

  • Malacoda

    RIP
    Btw- the covers of Welcome to the Machine don’t work.

  • HazyAlchemist

    Shine On You Crazy Diamond!

  • jono

    Tragic… Pink Floyd will always be among my absolute favorite bands ever.

    Anyone who thinks Pink Floyd “sucks” has no taste in music.

  • http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/82/image1llrk5.jpg Revrant

    I’d argue against them being responsible for Metal, considering most of the founding bands came into creation when they did.

    Sad all the same though, never been a huge Pink Floyd fan myself, but I wish his family the best.

  • Matt

    Sad news, Pink Floyd is my favourite non metal band and Rick was one of my favourite members, I loved his voice.

    R.I.P Rick.

    And to the dipshit above who says Floyd sucks, go fuck yourself with a knife.

  • dalmkwint

    Today was a shitty day. R.I.P.

  • http://kjkljslkjsljlsj@kjsl.com contempt.media

    I’m sorry that I’m the first to say this on this particular post, but fuck this dude, fuck this post. Pink Floyd is and has always been horseshit, and I lose respect for every shitty hippy throwback metal band that covers “welcome to the machine.” Delete my IP if you need to, but I check this site damn near everyday, and I’m 100% not feeling this post AT ALL.

    The way I see it, just another one down. I’ll drink heavily for each following one to drop.

    FUCK FLOYD.

  • http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/82/image1llrk5.jpg Revrant

    Wow.

  • Nick

    Respect?

  • John

    Pink Floyd has had nothing to do with metal ever in its history…I firmly belief that… moron

  • Jeremy

    “Nile Song” enough said, if you want proof of their near metal leanings. R.I.P. Rick Wright.

  • Eric

    Pink Floyd didn’t lay the initial groundwork for metal, but I’ll have to agree as far as keyboard/piano work goes, they did set a standard that I think a lot of metal bands emulate, whether consciously or not. As far as quality, Floyd had some bad records, but their good ones far outshine them (Animals, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish you Were Here, parts of the Wall, etc.). R.I.P. Richard Wright.

    Oh, and to those of you drinking to dying artists and being happy that Richard is dead, how about showing a little respect? Just because you don’t like someone’s musical output doesn’t mean you need to insult them and show so much contempt.

  • Eric

    Almost forgot, Floyd, and other ambient/psychedelic bands like them have had a huge influence on black metal in the past five years or so, just take a look at bands like Vehementor Nos, Deathspell Omega, Wolves in the Throne Room, or Nachtmystium. Not everyone’s cup of tea, sure, but it’s there.

  • Damotello

    Sorry to hear this, Richard Wright was very talented, despite being overshadowed somewhat by Gilmour and Waters.

  • iolanach

    Pink Floyd. Not metal, but still one of the greatest bands of all time.

    PS: contempt.media is a faggot.

  • Gravy

    If Pink Floyd was so good, then why does the radio only play the same 4 to 5 boring songs…………………!
    I hate Pink Floyd’s radio play.

  • steef

    @ Gravy: that’s because they only released a couple of singles in their career. They mostly wanted to sell whole albums.

  • Filipino Metal Fan

    I am a late bloomer Pink Floyd Fan I have to admit. Back in the late 80′s and early 90′s I was into the whole Thrash, Grunge, ALternative, Death ERA of music and for me everything other than, Slayer, Sepultura, Napalm Death, metallica, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden etc..sucked. Then in 1995 some of my friends forced me to go with them to watch The Division Bell Tour in El Paso, TX. I owe my friends forcing my ass and that great Pink Floyd Concert a lot in changing my attitute towards music as a whole. As Roger Waters would say some of us are on the other side of the wall who do not fully understand. Well they did break down my wall. RIP Richard Wright