Long time Helix drummer Greg 'Fritz' Hinz dead at 68

Helix drummer Greg ‘Fritz’ Hinz is seen in this undated image. (Source: Brian Vollmer)

The Canadian music industry is mourning the loss of one of the country’s best-known heavy metal drummers.

Long time Helix drummer Greg ‘Fritz’ Hinz passed away Thursday after a battle with cancer.

Hinz joined the group in 1982 and stayed until 1996. He rejoined Helix 13 years later.

Hinz played with the band up until spring of 2023 when he began treatment for cancer.

Hinz played on Helix’s biggest album, 1984’s Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge, which spawned the international hit ‘Rock You.’

Helix frontman Brian Vollmer called his friend one of the greatest metal drummers Canada has ever produced.

“We played with some of the greatest names in the business,” Vollmer told CTV News.

“We played a couple tours with Motörhead, all sorts of bands. He was well loved by the musical community. And he was a great drummer. He was very underestimated, I would say, in the annuls of Canadian rock.”

Greg ‘Fritz’ Hinz was 68.