As we all try to make sense of what happened on the night of December 9, 2004, we must remember Dimebag Darrel for the person and musician that he was. During a performance at Columbus Ohio's Alrosa Villa nightclub, one of metal's most influenticial guitarists Dimebag Darrel (born Darrel Abbott August 20th, 1966, Dallas, Texas) who was on tour with his current band Damageplan, was shot and killed by a deranged audience member for at the time of this writing, reasons unknown. A very sad day in metal history.

But at this point, lets look back upon the life of one of the last popular guitar heroes standing (at least in America). Dimebag, along with his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott had come to great fame over the last decade with their group Pantera, who even in the world of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, released a third album, 1993's Far Beyond Driven, that debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, continuing to have success with not only the metal crowd, but the alternative rock crowd as well, some even thought in the nineties, that they might have been the heir to the Metallica throne.

Dimebag, along with his brother Vinnie, grew up in Texas and eventually formed Pantera, whose original lineup dressed in, yes, spandex and makeup, but after an aggressive lead singer, Phil Anselmo joined the band, the band left their "hair metal" days behind them and quickly moved on to a more raunchy, but yet melodic sound.

With the signing to Atlantic's Atco division (later dissolving into Elektra), the band released Cowboys From Hell, which along with the follow up Vulgar Display of Power, created more than just a buzz in the metal world, they would become full fucking blown rock stars and still remain sacred to the metal shroud, where no cries of "sell out" were present among the headbanging world. During their career they would spawn hits such as "Cemetery Gates" (featured on the Tales from the Crypt: Demon Night Soundtrack), "Walk," the Sabbath cover of "Planet Caravan," and cult favorites such as "Fucking Hostile" among countless others. Follow up records such as Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill would go multi-platinum, and Elektra/Rhino Records would release a greatest hits compilation that included a DVD of their video collection.

But besides Pantera marveling in successful album sales, touring, and staying above all the mainstream mumbo Jumbo, Dimebag was recognized as one of the top guitarists throughout the years, appearing on the cover of numerous guitar magazines. But the most intriguing thing about him, besides his playing, is that his axe, a Dean "Flying V meets Explorer," became synonymous with his persona, and although Washburn would make a line of guitars that would bear the design and name for a few years, Dimebag had recently returned to Dean for another endorsement deal less than a month ago. Dimebag's buzzsaw sound was also heard coming out of Randall amplification over the years, only furthering his shred mantra.

Originally known as "Diamond Darrel" in the earlier days of Pantera, he changed his stage name due to, well, we all know what it means. After Pantera disbanded due to conflicts within the band, both the Abbott Brothers would form Damageplan, a more modern nu-metal-ish sounding band that distanced themselves from the past, however, Dimebag's guitar prowess was still in complete surge at this point, he still had a future that could have been ahead of him, but some deranged asshole had other plans.

As a "hooded" hoodlum gunman took the stage, reports say that two bouncers followed the gunman named Nathan Gale, who opened fire also killing one of the bouncers and two other audience members, as well as injuring others before being shot to death by police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who had been patrolling the area at the time. At this time no motive has been given, but grudges and beliefs that Gale knew the band has not been ruled out according to C-News. Reports and opinions show that the club was located in a rough area of Columbus, but regardless it was often crowded according to a local Columbus City Search guide.

Dimebag, 38, joins a long list of musicians who have died in such a meaningless way, it's wasn't drug or illness related, no car accident, and no self-destruction, just some insane piece of shit who wants to fuck everything up.

Although Dimebag had great success, he was known as a "down-to-earth" guy, was extremely nice, was cool to hang around with, and left the uppity attitude of many so-called "rock stars" behind, he will be forever missed within the metal community.

On one last note, I need to ask everybody, fans, booking agents, club owners, to please not to freak out about this, which in other words means, don't be afraid to go see or support live music, don't let that shitass Gale fuck it up for us. Keep the fire burning strong for metal and continue to show your support for metal and live music, after all that's what Dimebag would have wanted. Our prayers, condolences, and thoughts are with the close friends of Dimebag and the Abbott family.

Sources: Associated Press, C-news, CMJ, MTV News
Picture: Courtesy of www.damageplan.com

Written by Hashman
Friday, December 10, 2004