MANOWAR Bassist: 'SCOTT COLUMBUS Was Our Brother And Your Brother In Metal'

Video footage of MANOWAR bassist/leader Joey DeMaio's onstage speech filmed during the band's April 8, 2011 headlining concert at Rodahal in Kerkrade, Netherlands in which he addresses the recent passing of MANOWAR's former drummer Scott Columbus can be viewed below.

"I'm sure by now all of you have heard that we lost Scott Columbus this week; he passed away just a few days ago," Joey said. "I can only tell you there's a lot of rumors on the Internet flying around [referring to Internet chatter and speculation that Scott took his own life because he was battling addiction and depression after splitting with MANOWAR in 2008. — Ed.] because people have nothing better to do with their fucking boring lives than to stir up shit and create rumors 'cause their lives have no fucking meaning. But I can tell you the truth, and the truth is this: Scott Columbus was our brother and your brother in metal. He was a father, and he was a friend. And he was a great musician, and he was a great guy. And he had a heart of gold. And he liked to drink beer, and he certainly liked this country a hell of a lot.

"Scott Columbus will never be forgotten — his memory will live on — because he was one of those rare people. And heavy metal will never die as long as we all stick together.

"So, Scott, here's to you for all the times we played this great country of Holland; I know you're looking down on all of us. He's up there with Ronnie Dio and Gary Moore and all the other greats.

"So we're gonna play one of Scott's favorite songs for you, and this is for him. This is called 'Gates Of Valhalla'."

Columbus died on April 4 at the age of 54.

In a May 2010 interview with Classic Rock magazine, Columbus revealed that his departure from MANOWAR occurred around April 2008 when he and Joey DeMaio "agreed to disagree on a few points of interest." He added, "I had a long and wonderful career with MANOWAR; I have no regrets, it's just life moves on."

When asked for a comment on MANOWAR's claim that Columbus was still a member of the band but that he was taking time off for "personal tragedies," Scott replied, "I'm in the best shape of my life. I mean I'm 112 years old (laughs) but I'm in the best shape of my entire life."

On the topic of whether he had had any contact with any of the MANOWAR members since his departure in April of 2008, Scott said, "Yes, I speak quite often with the singer [Eric Adams] who is a dear, dear friend of mine. He and I hung out on the road all the time for many years, so I speak to Eric all the time. Joey and I speak to periodically. Some of the ancillary people I speak with because we've always had a great relationship, so why let something professional interrupt something personal?! I tend to make friends for life. Once people get to know me they realize I wear my heart on my sleeve, there's no bullshit about me. I can do a lot of things very well but one thing I really suck at is lying."

During the Classic Rock chat, Columbus revealed that he had been working on a solo project called INSTRUMETAL, who he promised would "be released to the world very soon." He added, "It doesn't have vocals on it and I'd like to keep it that way. I could possibly see a bonus track or two with vocals. Right now I've got 13 tracks and it's nearly complete. Soon I plan on releasing one song for the world to hear and get an idea what I've been up to for the past several years. The song is called 'Lightning In A Bottle'; it's a little ditty between myself and the guitar player I wrote the album with, Patrick Macdougall. It's very heavy, very rhythmically driven. I call it heavy metal elevator music; you pop the CD in your car and before you know it, you're driving 125 miles an hour! I'm really excited about it. I produced and engineered the whole thing myself. So if it sucks, I suck and if it's good, well… yeah! [laughs]"

Joey's speech from Kerkrade, Netherlands:

MANOWAR performing "Gates Of Valhalla" in Scott Columbus' memory on April 10, 2011 in Madrid, Spain: