KISS’ third and shortest-lived guitarist, Mark St. John, passed away on April 5 from a brain hemorrhage. Replacing Vinnie Vincent in the band on their album Animalize, St. John was forced to retire from guitar playing due to Reiter’s Syndrome, which is a form of arthritis that causes swelling in the hands and arms. Bruce Kulick replaced him in KISS. He did improve for a period of time, and was in a band called White Tiger with ex-Black Sabbath singer David Donato. He also teamed up with Peter Criss in the Mark St. John Project, which resulted in a limited release demo. He also released an instrumental CD in 2001.

After leaving the recording end of the music business, he returned to his pre-KISS life of guitar instruction in the Southern California area.

St. John was 51 years old.