METALLICA Project Manager Was Killed In Paris Concert Terrorist Attack

November 18, 2015

Mercury Records international product manager Thomas Ayad, who has worked with METALLICA, was among the victims in Friday's (November 13) gun and bomb attacks in Paris, when 129 people were killed.

Said METALLICA in a statement: "We had great fortune to work with Thomas Ayad at Universal Music France for the past eight years and while Thomas had the official title of being our 'project manager,' we knew him as a member of our METALLICA family, a fan, a friend… and a warm, helpful, supportive familiar face each time we visited France. Friday we lost Thomas, at the Bataclan theatre, in a way that none of us can begin to comprehend. Our thoughts are with Thomas' friends, family, co-workers and all Parisians during these very difficult times."

The photo of METALLICA frontman James Hetfield and Ayad below was taken on November 9, 2011 at the "Taratata" TV show.

Throughout his career, Ayad worked with dozens of musicians all over the world, including pop superstar Justin Bieber and THE ROLLING STONES legend Keith Richards, both of whom paid tribute to Ayad in messages, remembering him and thanking him for the work he did.

"Still thinking about Paris and my friend Thomas that we lost in the tragedy," Bieber wrote Monday night. "He was part of the team for years and I wish I would've taken the time to thank him."

Richards uploaded a photo of him and Ayad and offered "heartfelt condolences."

According to Entertainment Weekly, Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge confirmed Ayad's death in a statement on Saturday. He said: "This is an unspeakably appalling tragedy. On behalf of everyone here at UMG, we extend our most profound sympathies to his parents and all of his friends and family."

Ayad was part of the team working at the EAGLES OF DEATH METAL show at Paris venue Bataclan, where 89 people were killed when gunmen fired inside the venue and took concertgoers hostage. All of the bandmembers were confirmed safe after the attacks, but members of their crew were not so lucky. Merchandising manager Nick Alexander lost his life, as did Bataclan stage and lighting manager Nathalie Jardin.

We had great fortune to work with Thomas Ayad at Universal Music France for the past eight years and while Thomas had...

Posted by Metallica on Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Find more on Metallica
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).