‘Best friend and brother’

When Spirit Stallings worked at the Rock and Roll Emporium in Huntington Beach a few years ago, he knew Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan and his bandmates as local stars — and he could see them becoming superstars.

The owner of Stallings U.S.A. Custom Shop Guitars in Costa Mesa stocked T-shirts of the band Avenged Sevenfold, and the shirts sold so quickly it was hard to keep them on the shelves. The band popped in occasionally to say hello, but their appearances tended to be brief, and Stallings, a veteran of the rock scene, could understand why.

“With most of the band guys, when you’re playing live music in front of people, you kind of stay shy out of the public’s eye, because you get kind of inundated with people,” he said. “Those guys could hardly go anywhere without guys surrounding them, so they had to be low-key.”

Avenged Sevenfold, for which Sullivan played the drums, shot quickly from underground fandom to the Billboard top five and the MTV Video Music Awards.

But that momentum ended abruptly for Sullivan, who was found dead Monday at 28.

Sullivan was found unresponsive in his Huntington Beach home, authorities said. The cause of death is still unknown after the autopsy, and more tests are needed, which could take up to 16 weeks, officials said.

Fans instantly took to the Internet to send out condolences and express shock at Sullivan’s death, and the remaining members of Avenged Sevenfold issued a statement on their website.

“It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan,” the statement read. “Jimmy was not only one of the world’s best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother.”

More than 6,000 fans commented on the band’s MySpace announcement in less than a day.

Huntington Beach resident Damion Grimm, 18, said Avenged Sevenfold is his favorite band and that he was “completely devastated” by the news.

“He was one of the best drummers I’ve ever seen in my life,” Grimm said.

Speculation has already begun over whether Sullivan died of natural causes at such a young age.

Huntington Beach resident Josh Thompson wondered if drug use had been involved, but said he was “blown away” by the news.

“It’s no good. He was way too young to die,” Thompson said.

Whatever the autopsy turns up, Sullivan’s death will change the band — it will never be able to find as good a drummer, said Huntington Beach fan Danny McKinley, 18.

“He’s actually what made the band pop,” McKinley said.

Many fans said they don’t want this to be the end of Avenged Sevenfold.

“I hope that the tough times they’re going through will all work out and they will keep playing music,” Grimm said.