MASTODON And GOJIRA Pay Tribute To Manager NICK JOHN

MASTODON and GOJIRA have paid tribute to their manager, who died this past weekend.

Nick John of The Rick Sales Entertainment Group passed away in his sleep on Saturday morning (September 8)) after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

In its first statement, MASTODON called Nick "a kind and gentle soul and an overall amazing human who touched countless lives." The Atlanta progressive metallers later posted a picture of them with John where they also thanked him for his "unconditional love and friendship."

They wrote: "Thank you for your guidance, your wisdom, your never-ending hard work and dedication to MASTODON — always pushing and reaching, turning over every stone to make sure we were always protected and always had every opportunity any of us could dream of.

"Thank you for making yourself available morning, noon and night to handle every crisis or situation that ever came up. Thank you for being so passionate and believing in us with such enthusiasm that we considered you part of the band.

"Thank you for your calm demeanour, your level head and your sharp sense of humor. Thank you for showing all of us how to work our phones and computers with incredible patience via NJ solutions.

"Thank you for your smile and your infectious laugh — but most of all, thank you for your unconditional love and friendship. We love you very much and are going to miss you more than we know. We love you Nick John. RIP."

GOJIRA also paid tribute to John, who began managing the French progressive metal band in 2012.

They wrote: "We lost an exceptional human being this morning. Our manager and dear friend Nick John. We carry him in our hearts. Our thoughts go to Colleen John, his wife and to all who loved him."

John, who began his record business career in the early '90s as a valued intern at Rick Rubin's Def American Recordings, is survived by his wife, mother and sister.