Earl Root, the Root of All Evil, RIP

The King of Metal, Root of All Evil, guitarist and record maven Earl J. Root passed away on Saturday May 24th 2008 at his home in Minneapolis. He died of complications from his 10-year struggle with cancer.

Earl formed the trash/metal band Disturbed in the 80's. They played and toured with acts such as Sepultura, Tool and others.

Earl contributed greatly to the Midwest metal community. He helped form the first Milwaukee Metal Fest, and for 25 years he ran a popular radio show, The Root of All Evil, at KFAI.org, where he promoted and interviewed many new underground acts.

Earl was a huge vinyl fan. In 1990 he opened Root Cellar Records, a premier vinyl store. He also sold vinyl at CES and T.H.E. Show; many of you will remember him as the record guy showing with Atma-Sphere.

In 2001 Earl joined Aesma Daeva, collaborating on the vision and arrangements with the band's founder, whom Earl had 'discovered'. He continued to play guitar with the band throughout his chemo therapy, radiation and stem cell treatments. In 2007, only 6 months before his death, Earl completed a full U.S. and Canadian tour with Aesma Daeva (myspace.com/aesmadaeva).

Earl's unique demeanor and indomitable sense of humor will be missed.