Chris Tsangarides, the famed rock and metal producer best known for his work with Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, and countless other bands, has died. He passed away on January 7th, after battling pneumonia and heart failure, according to a statement from his daughter, Anastasia Tsangarides. He was 61.
Tsangarides began his career in the music industry in 1974, working as a tape operator at London's Morgan Studios in London, U.K., before progressing to sound engineer and producer gigs two years later. His work on Judas Priest's second album, Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), earned him his major sound engineer credit. Tsangarides' emergent reputation as one of heavy rock's most in-demand producers blossomed in the Eighties and Nineties on classic albums like Anvil's Metal on Metal (1982), Thin Lizzy's Thunder and Lightning (1984), Black Sabbath's The Eternal Idol, Bruce Dickinson's Tattooed Millionaire (1990), and many more. Outside of the rock world, he manned the boards for the likes of the Tragically Hip, Concrete Blonde, and Tom Jones, among others.
Numerous artists posted tributes to Tsangarides on social media in light of the sad news:
