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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.
128x128atmasphere
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albertporter
4,927 posts
 
Ralph, my deepest sympathy for the loss of your long time friend Earl.

You no doubt remember, I always walked into your room at CES and yelled, "Root of All Evil" at Earl and he would laugh. After talking and teasing with him for awhile I would leave with a pile of LP's.

He was a great guy, a guy I looked forward to seeing. I've missed him long before he was taken from us since he's been absent at the shows.

There's got to be great music in heaven, and if kindness, honesty and a loving spirit lands you in heaven Earl will be there waiting to see if the rest of us make it.
trelja
3,215 posts
 
I'm truly sorry to hear of the passing of Earl. It's obvious that we lost the kind of person who really lived his life making a positive impact on things.

Thank you for this thread, Ralph. You did a fantastic job in laying out the persona of Earl.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I received Aesma Daeva's "Eros of Frigid Beauty" yesterday. It was purchased directly from Root of All Evil, Earl Root's company, and had Earl Root's return address stamp on the envelope. Having never heard of Earl until Atmasphere's post, I was surprised to find myself hit with a wave of sadness.

"Eros of Frigid Beauty" is a terrific symphonic metal recording, and I thank Ralph for showing the way Earl and this CD.
mroverkill
1 posts
 
Earl was my friend and i miss his unique sense of humor! There is a Benefit in his honor this Friday at First Avenue the night club in Mpls. I encourage anyone in Mpls to attend if they can!
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Wow this ia sad news............God speed.
erfeller
7 posts
 
I'm sorry to hear about the passing of Earl. Although I wasn't friends with him on a personal level, I did get a number of chances to speak to him about music and records while visiting his record shop.

I'd said the Root Cellar was the coolest record store in the Twin Cities. His selection of LPs was amazing. I would always find a rare LP I was looking for when I'd stop in. I also enjoyed listening to "The Root of All Evil" on KFAI early in the morning while coming home from a night out with my friends back in my younger years.
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