Friday evening, word began to spread that Ed Barnard, founder of Doommantia.com and a chief supporter of the doom and sludge scenes over the course of the last decade had died, and the tributes began almost immediately pouring in from around the world. Wanting to pay my respects to someone whose work I’ve admired for years and someone whom I consider an inspiring figure, I put up a post in this space paying tribute to Ed’s legacy with Doommantia and those whose lives he touched, expressing condolences at his lost. This is what I said:

There will be others I’m sure more qualified to speak to his life and legacy than me, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t stop to note the passing of Doommantia.com founder Ed Barnard, who has reportedly died following a long decline in health over the last several years. The circumstances of his death are unknown at this point — I don’t know if official word will come or when one might expect it — but it’s been publicly known that Ed has been sick for some time, and while recent updates listed him as “a dying man,” the shock of his passing is sure to send waves through the heavy underground and doom communities across the globe.

Confirmation has come through now that in fact Ed Barnard has not died, and while the news is BEYOND welcome, I feel the need to try and help spread the correction as much as the wrong info. I do not know who first said Ed had passed, but there’s no sign that it was something done with malicious intent. If anything, the outpouring of love and respect has only confirmed the special contributions Ed has made to the heavy underground over the years.

The fundraiser for his medical bills, which was also listed as a memorial fund over the weekend, is ongoing and brings official word that he’s still alive: https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/dxd5

Thank you for all the kind and thoughtful words posted about Ed the past few days. I don’t have a Facebook personally but I have read a lot of messages and it was very touching. Obviously the rumours were thankfully not true and we have no idea how they started. Sadly Ed did suffered another major heart attack but he is now stable and hanging in there. Please respect Ed’s privacy and keep spread this news in a respectable and civilized manner. We don’t want another mass rumor doing the rounds. Thanks as always to everyone who has donated to the fundraiser. We will be wrapping this up soon so if you haven’t donated, please do so. The road ahead will only get worse and more expensive from here. Thanks for reading.

Long live Ed Barnard.

Doommantia.com

Tags: Doommantia, Ed Barnard, Sad shit

