In a new interview with Hellyeah’s Tom Maxwell, the guitarist revealed Vinnie Paul often worried about dying young. According to Maxwell, the iconic drummer would get concerned after a fellow rock star died prematurely, causing Paul to regularly check his blood pressure.

Vinnie Paul was a lifelong musician, crushing the kit for 20 years with Pantera and his brother Dimebag Darrell. Following the dissolution of the Cowboys From Hell, Paul drummed for Damageplan until Dime’s death, eventually moving on to Hellyeah for another decade.

Paul died suddenly in 2018 from dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease, sending the entire metal community into a state of mourning. Hellyeah have since continued with Stone Sour’s Roy Mayorga on drums.

"Every time there was a death from one of our peers — the Cornells and everybody — he was always pretty taken aback by it; he was always worried that it was gonna happen to him," Maxwell told Midwest Beatdown. "And he was always constantly checking his blood pressure. I just wish he would have went to the doctor sooner. Maybe they would have caught something. I don't know. 'Cause he was always really afraid that this kind of a thing was gonna happen, and it did. It's bizarre."

Maxwell addressed how Hellyeah brought Vinnie joy after the tragic shooting death of Dimebag Darrell: "[Vinnie] was on a downward spiral — he was on a mission to join his brother. And we came along and kind of… He used to say we saved his life. And so I think if we were just to be weak and go, 'We can't do this anymore,' he would be pretty disappointed in us. Because he did it. And he was happy.”

Hellyeah’s newest album, Welcome Home, will be released Sept. 27. The album will feature Vinnie Paul’s final drum tracks.