VINNIE PAUL's KISS Casket Was Made By NASHVILLE CASKET SALES

Nashville Casket Sales owner Joe Stacey has told Fox 17 that his company made the KISS casket that Vinnie Paul Abbott will be buried in later today (Saturday, June 30) in Arlington, Texas.

"For whatever reason, the original company lost the license to make a KISS casket," Stacey said. "Now, we're the only ones with the license."

The KISS casket costs $3,000 and was provided to the Abbott family by KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. The casket was offered as a gift at Vinnie's family's request. The PANTERA and HELLYEAH drummer will also be laid to rest in some of his trademark clothes, including his hat, shoes and flannel.

Vinnie's brother, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, was buried in the original Kiss Kasket prototype in 2004 after his untimely death. The coffin featured the faces of the four founding members of KISS, the KISS logo and the words "Kiss Forever." Both Abbotts were huge fans, especially Darrell, who was shot dead by a gunman in December 2004.

Vinnie's favorite rock 'n' roll memory involved KISS, as he told The Washington Times. He recalled: "PANTERA was the opening band on the KISS reunion tour in 1997... We did three nights in Mexico City, then we had a flight on my birthday, which is March 11, and we were on a flight from Mexico City to Santiago, Chile. KISS was in first class, and we were in business class. Halfway through the flight, all four of the original members of KISS came back to me and sang 'Happy Birthday' in four-part harmony. They gave me a 'Kisstory' book. I felt like a 14-year-old kid. I had tears coming out of my eyes."

Vinnie Paul will be buried next to his brother, and his mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington.

A public memorial for Vinnie Paul will be held this Sunday, July 1, at Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas. Fans interested in attending "Vinnie Paul: A Public Celebration Of Life" must receive a wristband to enter the Bomb Factory. The line for wristbands will begin at noon outside the venue prior to the 3:33 p.m. memorial. The event announcement notes: "There are no advance tickets, lines or lists."

PANTERA fans will know 3:33 p.m. as "Dime Time," in honor of Dimebag.

Vinnie Paul explained in a 2006 interview: "[Dimebag's] number was three, you know. And every day, 3:33 will appear on the clock, and I don't even mean to look at it, and it just reminds me of him every day. It doesn't matter if it's at night or during the day. I'll be doing something. I'll be right in the middle of something, busy, busy, busy, and I'll look over, and by gosh it's 3:33."

Vinnie passed away on June 22 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. The drummer's death "did not appear suspicious," according to the official report of the event recorded by Metropolitan Police officers. Sources close to Vinnie told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he suffered a "major heart attack," but that information has not been corroborated yet by an official source.

Vinnie had reportedly finished laying down drum tracks for the next HELLYEAH album, although there is no word yet on when that LP will see the light of day.