Former AGGRESSION Drummer Dead At 43

Drummer Gaetan "Gate" Bourassa of the cult Canadian death/thrash band AGGRESSION passed away in Laval, Quebec, Canada at age 43. Autopsy revealed that he suffered a heart attack caused by a heavy intake of a controlled substance.

Commented AGGRESSION guitarist Denis "Sasquatch" Barthe: "Gate was an outstanding drummer. He came from the John Bonham school of drummers, so when we asked him to play faster, he did. However, he kept hitting just as hard as when he played slow. Seeing guys like Gene Hoglan [STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARK ANGEL, DEATH, TESTAMENT] or Reed St. Mark [CELTIC FROST] drooling over his drumming abilities always had Gate puzzled. He would say: 'I don't even know what I'm doing, guys. I don't even have time to think or breathe."

To check out some of Gate's drumming, go to this location.

According to the All Music Guide, AGGRESSION was formed in Quebec in 1985 and recorded its first, four-track demo the following year, eventually being invited to participate on underground metal compilations like Greenworld Records' "Speed Metal Hell, Vol. 2" and the New Renaissance label's "Thrash Metal Attack". Less than one year later, AGGRESSION recorded a debut album — to be titled "Forgotten Skeleton" — for independent Facemelt Records, but following disagreements between band and label, the tapes were shelved, only to see the light of day 20 years later. Luckily, amusingly nicknamed bandmembers Éric "Botcher" Langlois (vocals),Denis "Sasquatch" Barthe (guitar),Bernard "Burn" Caudron (guitar),Yves "Dug" Duguay (bass),and Stephan Prudhomme (drums) soon recorded another album, "The Full Treatment", which found limited release but some enthusiastic reviews in 1987. Unfortunately, by then AGGRESSION had lost serious momentum and were well on their way to breaking up, with Langlois moving on to a long career as bassist for technical death metal act CRYPTOPSY.