Pinkish Black singer and keyboardist Daron Beck has died.
His band’s label, Relapse Records, confirmed the news yesterday (August 24) in a post on social media. Multiple reports claim Beck was 48 at the time of the death, which is due to an undisclosed illness.
“Daron was a kind, incredibly funny and gentle soul who made some of the most creative and compelling music ever released on Relapse Records,” the label said. “Our hearts go out to his partner Lisa, his mother Debbie, his bandmate Jon and everyone who was lucky enough to cross paths with him.”
Pinkish Black was formed in 2010 by Beck and drummer Jon Teague in Fort Worth, Texas. Their unique style of synth-driven doom metal, accented by an experimental and freewheeling approach to other genres such as gothic rock and vaporwave, attracted the attention of Century Media Records.
The label released their second album ‘Razed to the Ground’, alongside Relapse, who signed the band in 2014 and released their last two albums, the latest of which was 2019’s ‘Concept Unification’. In 2020, the duo collaborated with psych-jazz group Yells at Eels for the album ‘Vanishing Light in the Tunnel of Dreams’.
Aside from Pinkish Black, Beck was also a member of Zombi & Friends, a collective brainchild of his Relapse colleagues, along with Information_Age, a synth-pop duo he formed with Joe Rowland of doom metal band Pallbearer.
In 2018, Beck suffered a heart attack, with a GoFundMe campaign set up in his name to help pay for medical bills. In an interview with Fort Worth Weekly, he revealed that he had actually suffered two heart attacks: “My dad had his first attack at 44 (…) I’ve been smoking about two packs a day since I started smoking when I was 11. And I was eating a lot of beef,” he admitted, adding that he then planned to quit smoking and drinking, and lead a healthier lifestyle.
Pallbearer issued a statement honoring Beck, whom the band “considered part of our extended Pallbearer family.”
“We shared the stage with his band on numerous occasions over the years, as well as a musical collaboration through a project between [Beck] y [Rowland]”We will always cherish the moments we spent together, the latest of which was a much-anticipated catch-up following our recent performance in Dallas. Farewell and rest in peace, dear friend.”
