METALLICA, ANTHRAX, TESLA, DREAM THEATER Members Comment On Passing Of GEORGE MARINO

Several hard rock and heavy metal musicians have commented on the passing of legendary Sterling Sound mastering engineer George Marino, who died yesterday (Monday, June 4) after a year-long battle with lung cancer.

METALLICA: "We were very sad today to hear that we have lost a member of our family as mastering engineer extraordinaire George Marino passed away following a year-long battle with lung cancer.

"While some of you may not instantly recognize George's name, he was an invaluable member of our extended METALLI-family and was absolutely crucial with his skills and guidance as he spent countless days and hours tweaking every nuance and sound on The Black Album, 'Load', 'Reload', 'Garage, Inc.', and 'S&M'.

"George was the unsung hero behind the scenes on hundreds of classic albums working in all genres of music, including STEVIE WONDER's 'Innervisions', AC/DC's 'Back In Black', GUNS N' ROSES' 'Appetite For Destruction', BON JOVI's 'Slippery When Wet', JOURNEY's 'Frontiers', and CYNDI LAUPER's 'She's So Unusual', just to name a few... he has worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, IRON MAIDEN, DEEP PURPLE, KISS, THE OFFSPRING, THE CARS, COLDPLAY and countless others. In his nearly 40 years at Sterling Sound, he won three Grammy awards, most recently in 2011 for ARCADE FIRE's 'The Suburbs', which won 'Album Of The Year.' His talent, professionalism, attention to detail, and above all, true dedication to music, along with the mere fact that George was simply one of the nicest people we have ever met in anywhere in the music business, makes today a very sad one for everyone in the METALLICA family and he will be missed by all."

ANTHRAX: "R.I.P. George Marino. Any decent collection of heavy metal and hard rock will be full of records he mastered. He mastered 'I'm The Man', 'Volume 8', 'Return Of The Killer A's', 'We've Come For You All', and 'Anthrology'. It's also fun to say he mastered 'Master Of Puppets'."

Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX): "Where do I even begin when it comes to George Marino? I've sat with George on so many ANTHRAX records and watched and learned how a record is mastered. He made the long hours up at Sterling interesting and fun. I would leave there thinking we just did something great. With George, it was all for the music, He had a great set of ears! We lost a master craftsmen and a great man. I will miss him a lot!"

John Petrucci (DREAM THEATER): "So sad to hear about the passing of the great George Marino today. We have surely lost one of the last titans in the mastering world. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Keith Caputo (LIFE OF AGONY): "Peace and blessings to his family and thank you George for believing in me and my musical efforts! You will never be forgotten! Your contribution to music is incredible and out of this world! R.I.P. George!"

Josh Silver (TYPE O NEGATIVE): "One must always admire the skill and craftsmanship of someone who is at the top of their field. Even more admirable is when that person accomplishes this while maintaining an immeasurable amount of warmth and class. It was my privilege to be a part of the musical history that was George Marino. I'm certain he will be missed by all who knew him. The loss is ours."

Monte Conner (Senior VP A&R at Roadrunner Records): "I had the pleasure of working with George Marino on many of Roadrunner's all-time classic albums, such as SEPULTURA's 'Chaos A.D.' and 'Roots', TYPE O NEGATIVE's 'Bloody Kisses' and 'October Rust', LIFE OF AGONY's 'River Runs Red', SOUFLY"s debut and 'Primitive', and dozens of others. Not only was he an incredibly talented mastering engineer, but he was the nicest, kindest, most patient man you could ever meet. He put tremendous care into each and every record and is a guy who loved his job and took pride in his work. George was truly one of a kind. An irreplaceable talent and human being."

Brian Wheat (TESLA): "He was TESLA's guy. The fucking best there was and a great human. So so so sad."

KALEDON: "Today we lost one of the biggest legends in the mastering world — George Marino. He's not only a legend with an epic discography BUT one of the calmest and sweetest men on this planet."