Iron Butterfly, Captain Beyond guitarist Larry Reinhardt dies at 63

Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, former guitarist for the pioneering hard rock/heavy metal band Iron Butterfly, passed away Monday (2 January) at the age of 63.

Reinhardt had been battling sclerosis of the liver, and according to his girlfriend, Tracey Hooper, he was taken off life support in accordance with his living will. "He had a love for music, and when he couldn't play guitar he was depressed," said Hooper. "His love of music was everything."

In early 2010, Reinhardt addressed his health problems on his Facebook page, writing, "Doc says don't have sex, don't smoke, don't drink, just lay like a slug until you are well. If I live like she wants me to, then it's certain for me. Please say a kind word for me my friends, this could be the end."

Reinhardt joined Iron Butterfly in 1969, shortly after the release of their groundbreaking, massively popular song, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda. He played on the band's 1970 album Metamorphisis, which hit number 16 in the US.

After Iron Butterfly broke up in 1971, Reinhardt teamed formed Captain Beyond with original Deep Purple singer Rod Evans and Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman. They released three albums, Captain Beyond, Sufficiently Breathless and Dawn Explosion.

In later years, Reinhardt performed with Iron Butterfly at various reunion shows. Early in his career, he played with Dickey Betts and Berry Oakley before the two helped form The Allman Brothers Band.