Former drummer for Scorpions and Kingdom Come, American musician James Kottak has died. He was 61 years old.
This Tuesday, January 9, we learned via Metal Sludge of the death of American musician James Kottak. The causes of his death have not been officially revealed. He was 61 years old.
Although he has participated in numerous projects during his career, he is nevertheless known for having been the drummer of Scorpions for 20 years, from 1996 to 2016. He has thus recorded all the albums of the German hard rock groupEye II Eye (1999) to Return to Forever (2015). It was then The group has not yet published a comment about it. In announcing his departure and his replacement by Mikkey Dee (ex-Motörhead, Scorpions declared “We would like to thank James for his long participation in the group and our friendship. We understand and respect the time he needs to heal. »
Several musicians paid tribute to him after learning of his death. Among them, we find in particular Rikki Rocketdrummer of Poison and Mark Kendallguitarist of Great White.
In addition to his years with Scorpions, James Kottak was also known for being a member of the German band Kingdom Come. Present during their formation in 1987, he left them in 1989, before returning in 2018. He participated in the recording of their first album. He also recorded with the bands Montrose and Warrant and even appeared on a Dio tour, replacing Vinnie Appice. He also had a solo project, in which he was a guitarist and singer, with which he released three albums between 2006 and 2011. He also gave two concerts in France that same year, as the opening act for the German heavy metal group Edguy.
Known for his showmanship, his drum solos were an essential point of Scorpions concerts, benefiting from great energy and a certain sense of staging.
