Canadian Guitarist CORY MANAHAN Passes At Age 27 - "Such A Talented Musician Gone Too Early"

February 9, 2021, 3 years ago

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Canadian Guitarist CORY MANAHAN Passes At Age 27 - "Such A Talented Musician Gone Too Early"

BraveWords has received the sad news that Keswick, Ontario-based guitarist / vocalist Cory Manahan has passed away at only 27 years-old. Cause of death has not been made public. BraveWords sends our heartfelt condolences to Cory's family and friends.

Cory was an independent artist that caught the attention of BraveWords back in January 2011 and has been featured on the site on-and-off ever since. His catalogue features numerous covers and original compositions, and he was considered a formidable guitarist by many people in the industry. He released his Commence album in 2010, working under the Manahan name as a three-piece band. It is available via Spotify here.

Check out Cory's official YouTube channel at this location.

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Cory conducted in April 2011 by BraveWords scribe Carl Begai.

“I got my first guitar for Christmas when I was 10 or 11, and I started with playing early Zeppelin and Sabbath. When I was about 14 I started getting into the more extreme metal, and I’ve been listening to everything since. And playing and practicing. The first couple years that’s all I did, 12 hours a day. I’m such a nerd (laughs).”

That nerd has no problem with putting himself in the path of public scrutiny, either, being very much at home on stage. Along with low key club gigs in and around Toronto, Cory can also lay claim to shows supporting God Forbid, Kittie, and self-proclaimed über-nerd Devin Townsend.

“He’s the nicest guy I’ve ever met in my life,” says Manahan, having supported the Devin Townsend Project in Toronto last November. “Devin is the funniest dude, too. I’m a huge Strapping Young Lad fan, and the place was packed to the rafters. It was an awesome show.”

“I’ve been playing gigs since I was about 13-years-old,” he continues. “I was in a cover band until I was about 15, and then I started writing my own music. I’ve always been really diverse in my playing, and when I started writing the music was based on what I heard. If I heard a Slipknot song, I wanted to write a Slipknot song. When I heard Opeth live I wanted to be like them (laughs). After a while I tried to be more original and incorporate all my favourite bands in my writing, but still keep it as my own sound.”

Manahan’s list of guitar influences is long and loaded, as expected, with metal royalty…

“Zakk Wylde, Dimebag, Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, Slash… I’ve been listening to them since I was 13 and it hasn’t changed. The first people you hear are the ones that’ll influence you. James Hetfield is the master of rhythm playing. Downpick that shit and try to sing it; it’s impossible (laughs). When I was 14 I tried to play ‘Blackened’ as fast as possible – all downpicking – and sing it at the same time. Forget it (laughs).”

He credits parental support for keeping the band moving toward bigger and better things. That, and his own efforts to stay on top of the industry game.

“My parents are amazing; my dad does everything for me (laughs). He’s the co-manager of the band and he’s helped me out ever since it started. He does work everyday for the band, so we’re always working together. We’ve been teaching each other things, actually. I’ve been learning about publishing, how much money you can make with your music, how much money some labels might take from you. It’s kind of confusing but I have to learn it for the future. I’ve really been studying the music business over the last year, so people don’t think I know what I know about it (laughs). You’ve got to have the whole package nowadays.”

“It’s funny, my dad is more metal than I am,” he adds. “I’ll put on Aerosmith in the car, he’ll take it out and put on Lamb Of God (laughs).”

Below is one of Manahan's final recordings - a cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" - uploaded to YouTube on January 27th, 2021.

Photo taken from Cory Manahan's Facebook page.



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