Warrel Dane (/ˈwɒrəl/; born Warrel George Baker; March 7, 1961 – December 13, 2017)[1] was an American musician and the lead singer for the heavy metal bands Sanctuary and Nevermore. He was a natural baritone;[2] though he was initially known for his high-pitched vocals with Serpent's Knight and on the first two Sanctuary albums. Later in his career, Dane became more recognized for his distinctively deep, dramatic voice.
Dane trained as an opera singer for five years and developed a broad vocal range, spanning from notes as low as G♯ below low C, or G♯1, to notes as high as the B♭ below soprano C, or B♭5. While his high head voice vocals were more prominent in the earlier Sanctuary albums, he occasionally employed them in his work with Nevermore as well. Sanctuary's 2014 comeback album, The Year the Sun Died, features these higher passages on three songs.
Dane provided the voice of Candynose Twinskins in the musical comedy Metalocalypse on Adult Swim.
Dane's first solo album, Praises to the War Machine, was released on May 13, 2008, by Century Media Records. At the time of his death, he was working on a second album,[3] which he stated would differ from his first solo effort: "Some of it is just brutally heavy", Dane said.[4] In March 2016, the title of the album was revealed to be Shadow Work.[5] The recording session was initially scheduled for October 2016.[6]
On December 13, 2017, it was reported that Dane had died of a heart attack in São Paulo, Brazil, at the age of 56.[1] He had been working there on his second solo album, Shadow Work. Johnny Moraes, the guitarist in Dane's solo band, stated, "He died in the night. He had a heart attack. He was in the apartment where he stayed during the recording of the album when it happened. I gave him cardiac massage, and we called the Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU), who came very fast, but when they arrived, he was already dead." Moraes mentioned that Dane had been dealing with numerous health issues, including a history of alcohol abuse and type 2 diabetes.[9]
Legacy
On January 14, 2018, one month after Dane's death, Brazilian movie director Daney Carvalho released his debut short film, O Ano em que o Sol Morreu (a reference to the title of the Sanctuary album The Year the Sun Died), a drama and tribute to Dane, on YouTube.[10] The movie was originally released in May 2016 as part of a Brazilian festival,[11] but Carvalho decided to make it publicly available after Dane's death. Dane met Carvalho that year, when the independent director interviewed him for a local Brazilian TV program during college.[12] According to Carvalho, Dane was given a private screening of the movie after post-production was completed and described it as "great" and "terrifying".[13]
Discography
Serpent's Knight
Released from the Crypt (1983)
Silent Knight... of Myth and Destiny (2010) – disc one vocals
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