In Memoriam: Joe Payne

Sad news to report today: bassist Joe Payne has passed away from undisclosed causes. He was 35 years old. The news was shared by guitarist Dino Cazares on the Divine Heresy Facebook page.

“Our Metal brother Joseph Payne has passed away. Another one gone way to young, he was 35 years old,” he wrote. “Joe was a very outgoing funny guy with a very friendly personality. He was loved by many and he loved all his fans and road friends. He never complained when times got tough on the road. He always helped everyone and worked his ass off when he was in DH and I admired him for being that way.”

Payne was born in Tampa, Florida and became known for his technical ability in the death metal scene. He joined Nile in 2005 when he was 19 years old. Nile guitarist Karl Sanders wrote, “Just being able to play those difficult Nile songs on bass while doing [Jon Vesano]’s vocal parts was a herculean task, let alone pulling it all off convincingly in less than a week.” After two years in Nile, he went on to join Cazares in Divine Heresy, where he would play until 2011.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Joe Payne.