Dimebag Darrell Abbott:
The Man Who Saved Metal
by Dr. Abner Mality
If you're reading this, you of course already know a lot about the man
they called Dimebag. You know that he played lead guitar for Pantera.
You know that he formed Damageplan after the acrimonious break-up of
Pantera. And you know all too well that on December 8th, 2004, his life
was brutally and senselessly taken away at a club in Columbus, Ohio.
There will be tributes aplenty for Dimebag and I feel no shame in
adding Wormwood's thoughts and meditations on Mr. Abbott to the list.
His accomplishments as a guitarist really need little repeating but let
me say again that Dimebag's greatest feat was helping to keep metal
alive in the early 90's. At a time when the entire genre of heavy metal
was teetering on the verge of complete extinction. Darrell and the rest
of Pantera sucked it up, dug in their heels and decided to fight. They
chose the more difficult road, the path of true heaviness, of
down-and-dirty punch you in the nuts Texas metal. And it is to the
everlasting happiness of metal fans worldwide that they succeeded
wildly. No record proved that the public still had a hunger for rough
metal more than "Far Beyond Driven", which made the efforts of
Metallica, Megadeth and even Slayer seem watered down.
That was the Pantera and the Dimebag we all came to know. That's not
the way things started out. You see, I remember back as early as 1984,
when I first heard rumblings in the late, lamented "Metal Forces"
magazine of a popular Texas band called Pantera. Back then, they were
not the scruffy thrashers of the 90's, but more in the commercial vein
of a Motley Crue or the lighter Judas Priest. Darrell apparently favored
precious gems over marijuana at that point, calling himself "Diamond
Darrell". Along with his brother Vinnie Paul on drums, hilariously named
Rex Rocker on bass and high pitched screamer Terrence Lee on vocals,
Pantera released three records with some of the worst cover art in
history. Despite that drawback, the band became a cult sensation and
there was a buzz in underground circles about the frizzy haired Texan
with such a unique style of playing.
Around 1988 or so, Terrence Lee left Pantera. Enter leather lunged Phil
Anselmo and enter also a severe upgrade in the heaviness of the band.
"Power Metal" saw them toughening themselves up quite a bit but nobody
could have predicted the outburst of power that was "Cowboys From Hell".
On a major label, no less. The Pantera renaissance was on... and heavy
metal started to claw its way back up out of the abyss.
I won't bother to give the blow by blow on the band and on the newly
christened Dimebag from that point. It's all in the heavy metal history
books. But for sure, Dimebag injected a good dose of the old "guitar
hero" ethic back into hard music. He was the latest in a line of flashy
guitar screamers that included Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. A
guitar solo wasn't a dirty word to Mr. Abbott. No, indeed, the rowdy
Texan thrived on coaxing an incredible variety of squeals, growls and
fiery licks from his axe.
I never met Dimebag in person. I saw him numerous times, the last time
with Damageplan in Davis Park. The crowd reacted well to Damageplan's
material, but when Dimebag cut loose with the opening bars of "Walk",
you could tell that Pantera would never be far from the heart of this
American original. From all accounts, he was a kind and jovial man. No
saint, I'm sure, and with a passion for strong drink, pretty women and
the herb that inspired his nickname, but a guy who loved his fans and
never failed to talk with them.
Now, thanks to the brainless antics of Nathan Gale, not only has the
metal world lost a shining light, but Vinnie is missing a brother, Rita a
husband, the other members of Damageplan their guiding star and a hell
of a lot of people a good friend. No, I never met Darrell Abbott but he
was still a friend of mine, one I could always count on when the going
got rough and heavy metal was needed to pull me through.
God Bless You, Dimebag...may you shred forever in that big ol' titty
bar in the sky...
Dimebag Darrell Abbott:
8/20/66 - 12/8/04 Requiem for a Hero...
by Thrash-head
Words cannot describe the loss that I feel. I was informed via instant
message of what had happened. Thinking it to be to impossible to be
true, I filed it away as bullshit but still decided to go ahead and
look into it by hitting all my favorite metal news sites and even the
band’s official pages and so on. Finally I hit the one jackpot I wish
I’d never hit, and I found the story that I was actively seeking and yet
hoping not to find.
On the evening of December 8th, 2004, while performing with most recent
band, Damage Plan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, Dime
was gunned down by a coward who reportedly could not hack it that
Pantera had broken up. The man reportedly ran past security posts and
while being chased by venue and band security, made his way up until the
stage, and proceeded to put 5-6 shots into the guitarist.
After killing 3 more (among them Damageplan’s head of security, a venue
employee, and an audience member), and wounding two others, the man held
another would-be victim hostage in a headlock while a lone police
officer entered from the rear and engaged him. Dime’s assailant was
struck down just as he had done to his sought-out victim.
Upon reading what must have been hundreds of different articles on it,
I’m still incredibly saddened and angry, but I am also still left with
many questions. I keep thinking that I am going to flip on the news and
they will show footage of Dime’s funeral with him leaping out of the
casket going “Ha ha, got you fuckers!!!” It just doesn’t seem genuine to
me. It's like trying to imagine your own father dead or something. You
know he’s gotta go sometime, but all the while you still see him as this
invincible embodiment of strength and good heart. What an appropriate
way to start describing Darrell.
I also keep going over in my head about what the coward’s mindset must
have been. I want to look into the deepest pits of hell while they are
ripping his soul asunder, and reach down to slap the asshole and just
ask him if he even bothered to think about it. It is said that he
committed this action out of anger for Pantera’s breakup, and what I
keep thinking of is how many bands have reunited in the last year alone.
I can’t even count them all. They say time heals all wounds, and if
what we’ve seen from any of these other recent reunions is true, then my
best estimate is that given 5-7
years, we would have had a new Pantera album out; I’m sure of it. I
mean, we all had hope that Pantera would reunite eventually, and here
everything was shattered by a coward who basically didn’t have the
faith in the band that the rest of us did. He was selfish and impatient
and for these minor character faults, we all now have to suffer this
unimaginable loss.
Thinking about all that Dime has accomplished and could have
accomplished, it makes it all the more hurtful. Forming Pantera in 1982
at the age of 16 with his brother, Vincent Paul Abbott, and with
bassist Rex Brown, they poured their inspiration into a hair-metal dream
that fizzled/frizzled as the ‘90s loomed. Then with the addition of
vocalist Phillip Anselmo, the band really hit their stride. In 1990,
Pantera released “Cowboys from Hell” and by all accounts, metal was
shaken to its foundations. Here you had something that was desperately
needed as the age of grunge was in the
near-future. You had an unrelenting thrash metal band with the angst
and attitude of punk, streamlined into a well-oiled metallic machine
that as the years and albums (including 1992’s “Vulgar Display of
Power”) would go by, would only get better and better. Reaching #1 on
the Billboard charts in 1994 with “Far Beyond Driven,” Pantera stumped
us all. How could this band survive in such a non-metal friendly
environment? The next release, 1996’s "The Great Southern Trendkill,”
was pretty much the final stake in the heart of alternative music as we
knew it.
The following releases, a ’97 live effort entitled “Official Live: 101
Proof,” and 2000’s much-anticipated "Reinventing the Steel” only served
the add fuel to the fire burning within every heavy music fan. While
many never saw the 2003 breakup of Pantera coming, there were hints of
tension in the air between the brothers Abbott and the singer,
Anselmo.(It was a lot more than a hint when I saw them on the Extreme
Steel tour with Slayer in Chicago. In another drunken blathering,
Anselmo said "you won't be seeing Pantera for a long time""while Dime
looked none too pleased.--Dr. Mality) While Phil went on to form a
half-ass supergroup with Superjoint Ritual, Dime and Vinny hooked up
with bassist Bob Zilla and former Halford guitarist Patrick Lachman (on
vocals) to form Damageplan.
Throughout this span, metal died off quite fairly. The underground
scene was still there, but due to over-saturation and lack of
imagination, many bands were dying off as quickly as they were born, and
many fans were being left disillusioned with the lack of activity from
bands like Metallica and Slayer, and the questionable amount of
substance in new material by Megadeth and Anthrax. The only real
constant in the 1990s, were these four dudes from Texas.
Many can argue over what really drove Pantera’s music into the hearts
and minds of countless heavy music fans, whether it was the intelligent
and piss-injected vocals of Phil Anselmo, or the tightest rhythm section
on the planet in the form of Rex Brown and Vinny Paul. Truth is, none
of this would have even mattered without the incredible and immeasurable
genius of guitarist Diamond/Dimebag Darrell. When you honestly think
about it, an expert, logical argument can be formed to support the
statement that Dimebag Darrell just about single-handedly saved metal
music! Name a band who had a larger impact on the metal scene in the
90s. Ask 99% of the bands that were formed between 1991 and present day,
and at least someone in the band will tell you that Pantera was an
immense influence on them.
To paraphrase Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, he was second only to Eddie
Van Halen in the realm of reinventing rock and metal guitar. On a
personal level, I remember the first time I heard “I’m Broken” on an
episode of "Beavis and Butthead,’ and my jaw hit the damn floor before
that intro riff had even been played the second time. The tone of his
guitar hit like a brick in the face, and speaking as an accomplished
guitarist myself who has heard countless other guitarists on thousands
of other CDs, I’m telling you I can’t think of a single one as downright
fluid on the fretboard as Dimebag was. When he played, it literally
sounded like water running down the neck of the instrument with how well
everything meshed together and flowed. His solos were expertly
constructed, with enough tricks in there that it kept me glued to the
headphones since 1996, and after hearing a million other guys, I myself
can’t think of anyone who had more of an impact on my own playing than
Dime did. He was in a league by himself.
Finally, speaking as a fan, I have never actually seen anyone be so
friendly to his fans and his musician peers as he was. In a day and age
where just because your album sells more than 20,000 copies you think
you are a bona fide hit-maker, Dimebag went multi-platinum and it never
went to his head, nor did it blacken his big heart. His craziness and
whackiness wasn’t limited to his guitar antics and the stuff he’d do at
after-show parties is the stuff of legend. All in the name of fun and
metal.
We will all miss you.
I will miss you, Dimebag.
- Arnold “Thrash-head” Hablewitz
DIMEBAG:A Tribute by Joe Who?
Nov. 8th 2004 - Will be remembered as one of the saddest days in metal
history. The death of a metal legend - Darrel "Dimebag" Abbott.
When I heard the news the next day, I was in complete shock. The first
thoughts that raced through my mind were; "Oh My God", and "Why did
This Happen?"
I became aware of Dimebag's amazing talent as a guitarist back in the
early '90s. There was this metal program I listened to called
G-Force. (That's still around to this day, now called "Rebel Radio").
Pantera played a show at a small club back then, that one of their dj's
went to. Somehow he managed to get a tape at the show with a few songs
on it. He brought the tape back to the station, and they started playing
it on the air. As you can probably guess, the requests for more Pantera
were overwhelming.
This is where I remember hearing "Cowboys From Hell" for the first
time. I remember being completely blown away.This band was extremely
tight, and heavy as hell. Dimebag's guitar playing sounded awesome!
Metal Thrashing Madness, with insane riffs, and blazing guitar solo's. I
became a fan, and knew this band would be something special.
When they released their next album, "Vulgar Display Of Power", their
popularity and fan base continued to grow, eventually making them one
of the biggest metal bands of the decade. Pantera made such a impact,
that by the time they released their third album "Far Beyond Driven", it
went all the way to #1. That was a major victory for us metalheads, in a
time when "Alternative" ruled the airwaves. Pantera proved that metal
wasn't dead, they stuck to their guns, and didn't follow any trends.
I had the pleasure of seeing Dimebag play with Pantera four times. Two
of them being on the Ozzfest, ('97 and 2000) and the other two times
were their own headline shows. My favorite being the "Extreme Steel"
tour. (with Slayer and Morbid Angel) Dimebag always looked like he was
having a great time up there, shredding away on his beloved guitar, and
head banging away while downing a shot of "Black Tooth" that one of the
road crew would provide him with while playing!
I loved Dimebag's sense of humor. It seemed like everytime I saw
Pantera play they would do the intro for "Cemetery Gates", and maybe the
first verse. When you thought you would finally get to see them play it
all the way through, They would be like nope, not this time! Sometimes
he would drop "Sweet Home Alabama", or "Cat Scratch Fever" into a song,
which gave me a chuckle. If you have seen the Pantera home video's, you
probably know what I'm talking about, lots of hijinx, that always put a
smile on my face.
I would say my best memory of Dimebag, will be that final tour he did
with Damageplan. I was able to meet him after the show, for which I
felt real fortunate. (Little did I know that two weeks later, he would
no longer be with us.) I found him to be a real down to earth person,
that loved to have a good time, and really cared about his fans.
The metal community has lost another great legend, from the fans, to
the many musician friends that Dimebag knew, to his family - we will all miss him.
Dimebag - You were an inspiration to us all, and we will never forget
you
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