The death of legendary drummer Vinnie Paul was felt throughout the music industry this past week, and during a chat with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan took a few moments to reflect on the Pantera icon.

"I knew Pantera quite well. I used to go see them all the time and hung with them, drank with them. Dimebag gave me a guitar and gave James [Iha] a guitar too," Corgan revealed, adding, "They had an influence on our record Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness."

He continued, "They were one of the greatest bands ever and the fact that both the [Abbott] brothers are gone [is so sad]. Vinnie was an incredibly sweet guy. He loved music. Obviously the tragedy of his brother's death and what he went through that night, it's something that all musicians [can relate to]. If you knew Vinnie and you loved Vinnie, you couldn't help but understand what he was going through because we've all been in that position where you're looking out in the crowd and you don't know what's out there. So the tragedy of the [Abbott] brothers and what Vinnie went through, I don't know. I can't even find the words."

Turning back to Paul, Corgan concluded, "It's so sad. Obviously, we still have the music but there was something special with those [Abbott] brothers that was very special and very, very, very rare in rock and roll. They brought a lot of love and passion to fans and it's just so sad."

Paul died at the age of 54 this past Friday (June 22).

Smashing Pumpkins will kick off their "Bright and Oh So Shiny" summer tour on July 12 in Glendale, Ariz., but they have a surprise show this evening (June 27), playing a rare club gig, at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, Calif. To see all of the band's dates, head here.

