The Cranberries Vocalist Dolores O’Riordan Dead at 46 Years Old

The Limerick Leader is reporting that Cranberries’ vocalist Dolores O’Riordan has died at just 46 years of age. The cause of death has not been publicly released.

The Limerick native was in London for a recording session at the time of her death. Officers were called to her hotel room around 9am this morning and pronounced her dead at the scene.

A spokesperson for the group relayed the following message:

“Irish and international singer Dolores O’Riordan has died suddenly in London today. She was 46 years old. The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries, was in London for a short recording session. No further details are available at this time.”

It should go without saying that the Cranberries aren’t a metal band, but if you came of age in the ’90s — as the editors of this site did, and no doubt as did many of you — they were a very important rock band, their heavy, fuzzed-out guitars one of many gateways that would lead from alternative rock to metal in the minds of malleable listeners. O’Riordan’s voice was arguably the most distinctive and important part of their sound.

More information as available at the Limerick Reader. Our thoughts go out to O’Riordan’s family, friends and bandmates.