I read this article that had been referenced via Metal Hammer magazine about how Mike Portnoy, the former drummer for Dream Theater (now playing with Avenged Sevenfold), met the family of A7X's late drummer Jimmy "the Rev" Sullivan.

Portnoy was Sullivan's idol growing up in Huntington Beach, California (that's near where I, myself, grew up in Costa Mesa), and the meeting was no doubt emotional, as I had tears in my eyes just reading the article.

Then I think about Avenged's fans, and how rude some of them can be towards others who aren't as rabid about "their" band as they are, and I have to shake my head.

This is not, N-O-T what Avenged is all about. How disappointed would Sullivan be, knowing that some fans say terrible things to the fans of other bands? When I went to Uproar in Tulsa last month, A7X fans saw me in my Disturbed T-shirt, and said some of the most hateful, spiteful, and just plain uninformed things to me about the band that I have been a fan of for ten years. Where do they get off saying stuff like that?

I know that if Disturbed fans acted that same way towards the fans of A7X (or any other band), and the band heard about it, there would be hell to pay. Disturbed just isn't like that, and my fellow Disturbed fans would agree.

All in all, whether you're an Avenged fan or not, this is something you should be reading. The article is at Beliefnet: Mike Portnoy, Meet the Sullivans .

If you really think about it... heaven must have needed another drummer. Rest in Peace, Jimmy.

(This originally appeared as a note on my Facebook account, and reposted to my blog )