Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows Mourns Death of ‘Dear Friend’

Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows is mourning the loss of his “dear friend” Ron Anderson. Anderson, a vocal coach whose storied career includes work with a number of famous singers, including Axl Rose, Ozzy Osbourne and Adele, among others, passed away on Sunday, Dec. 19 at the age of 75. Shadows broke the news of Anderson’s death on social media, where he penned an emotional tribute to Anderson.

In Shadows’ Sunday post, which was shared to Twitter, he reflected on his work with Andersen, which he said began shortly after the release of Avenged Sevenfold’s 2003 album Waking the Fallen. At the time, Shadows said he was “having trouble with my vocal folds,” and he sought the help of Anderson after hearing about his many famed students. The two went on to form “a beautiful friendship,” with Shadows calling Anderson “a man I deeply admired. He would do anything for his students. If we were in Europe or Asia and I needed him before a show he would get up at all hours, jump on FaceTime and warm me up. He did this for everyone.”


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Shadows went on to reflect on a time in 2018 when Anderson was on tour with The Weeknd for Coachella. According to the musician, Anderson ended up coming over to his house for dinner with his business partner and friend. Shadows said they had “many friends there celebrating life and drinking wine. We got nice and drunk and expressed how much we loved and respected each other.” According to Shadows, they “all hung out until the sun came up and it was a memory I’ll never forget. I’m glad I have that.”

“He was easily one the most important people in my career and I spent more time in lessons with him then maybe even my own family. He was a master of his craft, and if there is an entity up there, he’s teaching them how to do rolled r’s and scales to improve their voice,” Shadows concluded his post. “Rest in power friend.”

At this time, Anderson’s cause of death has not been released. In addition to working with Shadows, the vocalist also worked with singers including Chris Cornell, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lenny Kravitz, Neil Diamond, Janet Jackson and Avril Lavigne, according to US Day News. Amid news of his passing, many of Anderson’s students have joined Shadows in taking to social media to pay their respects.