Warlord co-founder and guitarist William J. Tsamis passed away on 13 May 2021 at the age of 60. No cause of death has been announced.
Warlord was co-founded in 1980 by Tsamis and drummer Mark Zonder, and their ’83 six-song EP ‘Deliver Us’ saw the band marked as pioneers in Power Metal.
Greek artist Ioannis, who has also made artwork for Deep Purple, Fates Warning, Uriah Heep and Dream Theater, said “To all my friends, I just found out today the sad news of the passing of William (Vasilis) Tsamis, founder, gifted lead guitarist and composer of early pioneers of power metal band, Warlord.
“Around the time I did the art for Fates Warning in 1986, Brian Slagel asked me if I would like to do the art for their album ‘Thy Kingdom Come’.
I really liked what I had heard and happily agreed.
“My heart bleeds for my fallen Greek brother, R.I.P.”