Douglas McMackin Harrington (October 1, 1966 – November 14, 2006) was an American heavy metal guitarist. He was best known for being one of the lead guitarists for the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Defiance throughout their entire recording career.

Biography

Harrington was born October 1, 1966, in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and moved in his early childhood to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, where he was raised. He joined Defiance in 1984, left in 1985 and rejoined again the same year in a turn of events where he and his replacement Jim Adams ended up sharing the lead guitar position. Harrington was an integral member of Defiance as soon as he joined the band, composing the bulk of the band's music on all three of their albums, ''

Product of Society ''Product of Society'' is the debut album by the American thrash metal band Defiance. It was released in 1989 on Roadracer Records. It was the only album by Defiance to feature Ken Elkington on vocals and had cover art by Ed Repka. The first al ...

'', ''

Void Terra Firma ''Void Terra Firma'' is the second album by American thrash metal band Defiance, released in 1990. It was the first album to feature vocalist Steev Esquivel. It was advertised as being recorded "Live and in Your Face!" This is Defiance's best ...

'' and ''

Beyond Recognition ''Beyond Recognition'' is the third full-length album (and final until 2009's ''The Prophecy'') by American thrash metal band Defiance, released in 1992 on Roadrunner Records. It was a bit of a departure from the band's previous work. It can ...

''. Around 1993, Defiance folded and Harrington, along with his former bandmates Jim Adams and bassist

Mike Kaufmann Defiance is an American thrash metal band from Oakland, California. They played a technical style of thrash originally evoking bands like Testament, though they would later move on to playing in their own unique, more progressive thrash style ...

formed a new band, Inner Threshold, with ex- Heathen vocalist Dave White. This band played a more

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...

-oriented traditional metal style. After the departure of Adams and White, Harrington and Kaufmann formed Under, which also eventually folded after an EP. Harrington married his wife Adrianne in May 1996. Their daughter Grace was born on August 25, 2002. No longer a professional musician, Harrington went back to school and went into marketing and sales. He played in a cover band called Fat Freddie's Cat which also featured Dave White, Mike Kaufmann and Jim Adams. Defiance reunited in 2004 with Harrington, Adams, Kaufmann, vocalist Steev Esquivel, and new drummer James Raymond (later replaced by Mark Hernandez), but at the time Harrington was secretly battling

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He spent the last few years of his life recording and writing for the new Defiance album, but died in late 2006. The remaining four members of Defiance have carried on as Harrington requested and their last album was dedicated to him. A park bench at Montclair part in Oakland, California was also dedicated to Harrington. Harrington is survived by his wife, daughter, brother Adam Harrington, sister Reva Kidd, his father Sherwood Harrington and his stepmother, Diane Harrington. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Doug 1966 births 2006 deaths Deaths from cancer in California American heavy metal guitarists 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists Defiance (band) members 20th-century American male musicians