"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott
Early Years
At a very young age Darrell won a series of local guitar competitions where he won his first Dean (later known as the ML styled guitar.) Incidentally, his father, Jerry Abbott, had bought him a cherryburst finished Dean (ML) standard the morning before the competition, so he only had a few hours of playing time on it. These and another contest prize, his first Randall Amplifier, are the two staples of his style and sound. By the age of 16 he had already won all the guitar contests in the area of Texas and was barred from entering any further competitions (as he had already won them all), but was asked to return as a judge.
Pantera
Pantera was formed in 1982 with Dimebag's brother Vinnie Paul on drums. The band officially split in 2003 due to conflicts between members. Phil Anselmo, in the throes of a heroin addiction, started lashing out at other members. Anselmo left the band for other projects, such as Superjoint Ritual and Down. After a year, brothers Vinnie and Dimebag eventually went on to form Damageplan, and Rebel Meets Rebel with country legend David Allen Coe.
Three of Dimebag's solos from Pantera songs ranked among Guitar World magazine's top 100 of all-time: "Walk" (#57), "Cemetery Gates" (#35), and "Floods" (#15).
Other projects
Shortly before singer Phil Anselmo joined Pantera, Dimebag Darrell was invited to join Dave Mustaine's Megadeth. According to both Darrell and Mustaine's telling, Darrell was willing to join, but on the condition that Mustaine also hired his brother Vinnie. Mustaine replied that he had already hired Nick Menza, so Darrell turned down his offer and stayed with Pantera.
On and off between 1996 and the formation of Damageplan, the Abbott brothers and Pantera Bassist Rex Brown teamed up with country singer David Allan Coe for a project called Rebel Meets Rebel. Vinnie's favorite recorded Dimebag solo is on this album, part of the track "Get Out Of My Life". The album was released May 2, 2006 on Vinnie's "Big Vin Records" label.
Dimebag played guest guitar solos on several Anthrax songs from their John Bush era: "King Size" & "Riding Shotgun" from Stomp 442, "Inside Out" & "Born Again Idiot" from Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, "Strap It On" and "Cadillac Rock Box" (with a voice intro from Dimebag as well) from We've Come for You All. In a recent interview Anthrax bassist Frank Bello said "Darrell was basically the sixth member of Anthrax". Dimebag also performed a solo on the titular track from King Diamond's Voodoo album. Additionally a sample to a Dimebag guitar solo has been put in the Nickelback song "Side of a Bullet".
Shortly before Dimebag's death, he went into the studio with a band named Premenishen to do a guest solo on a track titled "Eyes of the South," which coincidentally is the title of one of the songs featured on the debut album by Anselmo's project Down. The band consists of two of Dimebag's cousins (bassist Heather Manly and guitarist April Adkisson).
There was speculation that Dimebag and close friend Zakk Wylde would collaborate with Kerry King; however, nothing was confirmed. He was also confirmed as one of the original guitar player choices for Liquid Tension Experiment by Mike Portnoy.
Dimebag's musical roots were in Country Western music; he supported the local music scene in Dallas and would sometimes record with local musicians. On December 2, 2006 a very rare track of one of his collaborations was discovered. Dimebag sat in on a recording session with local Dallas musician "Throbbin Donnie" Rodd and recorded "Country Western Transvestite Whore". It features Dimebag on lead guitar and lead vocals.
Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul along with Rex (during the Pantera Era) and Bob Zilla (Damageplan Era) performed at their New Years party every year under the name "Gasoline", which was originally and previously a project involving Dimebag and Vinnie plus Thurber Mingus and Stroker from Pumpjack. Dimebag, Vinnie and Rex also recorded a cover of the ZZ Top song "Heard It on the Table" under the band name "Tres Caballos" for ECW wrestling's "Extreme Music" soundtrack.
Dimebag frequently appeared in guitar magazines, both in advertisements for equipment he endorsed and in readers' polls, where he was often included in the top ten metal guitarist spots. In addition, Dimebag wrote a long-running Guitar World magazine column, which has been compiled in the book Riffer Madness (ISBN 0-7692-9101-5). Total Guitar frequently featured him and wrote about him in the months leading up to his death. One year after his death, they also made a tribute issue. The January 2008 issue of Metal Hammer was also dedicated to him. In the March 2008 issue of Guitar World Dimebag featured the cover story "Dimebag, The Untold Story," and interviews with Dimebag's guitar tech, Rita Haney, and Vinnie Paul Abbott as well as being voted into the Guitar World Hall of Fame. He was very good friends with one Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Zakk Wylde.
Death
On December 8, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag Darrell Abbott was shot and killed onstage by former U.S. Marine Nathan Gale. Abbott was shot a total of five times, at point-blank range in the back of the head. He was 38 years old.
Three others were killed in the shooting: concert attendee Nathan Bray, 23 of Columbus; club employee Erin Halk, 29 of northwest Columbus; and Damageplan security guard Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40 of Texas.
The band's drum technician, John "Kat" Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were also injured.
According to police, Gale fired a total of fifteen shots, taking the time to reload once, remaining silent throughout the shooting. When security staff tried to stop him, Gale fired at them, wounding Paluska, and killing Halk, who had attempted to stop the gunman with a beer bottle as a weapon. Damageplan head of security Jeffery 'Mayhem' Thompson fought with Gale for a short time, stopping him from killing Vinnie Paul Abbott and John Graham, as well as knocking off Gale's glasses (preventing him from seeing Officer Niggemeyer just minutes later), before being fatally wounded by Gale. Audience member Nathan Bray, who jumped onstage to try to give CPR to Dimebag and Thompson, stood up and took a single step towards Gale before being shot once in the chest. Brooks was scuffling with Gale onstage but was overpowered and taken hostage in a headlock position. Brooks was shot several times (once in the right hand, his right leg, and his right side) while attempting to get the gun away from Gale. Five officers came in the front entrance led by officer Rick Crum, and moved toward the stage. Officer James D. Niggemeyer came in through the back door, behind the stage. Gale only saw the officers in front of the stage; he never saw officer Niggemeyer. When the hostage moved his head, Officer Niggemeyer shot Gale in the face with a police-issued Remington 870 shotgun. Gale was found to have 35 rounds of ammunition remaining.
During the rampage, nurse and audience member Mindy Reece, 28, went to the aid of Abbott. She and another fan administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Dimebag Darrell was buried at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.
In May 2005, Officer Niggemeyer testified before the Franklin County grand jury, which is routine procedure in Franklin County after a police shooting. The grand jury did not indict Niggemeyer, finding that his actions were justified.
Niggemeyer received a commendation from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission for his outstanding police work in time of crisis as well as The National Rifle Association award as 2005 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The five other officers that were first on the scene received Ohio distinguished law enforcement medals for their brave work. In 2006 James Niggemeyer penned the foreword to A
Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa.
Early theories of motive suggested that Gale may have turned to violence in response to the breakup of Pantera, or the public dispute between Abbott and Pantera singer Phil Anselmo, but these were later ruled out by investigators. Another theory was that Gale believed Abbott had stolen a song Gale wrote. In the A Vulgar Display Of Power book, several of Gale's personal writings, given to the author by Gale's mother, show that the motive of Pantera's breakup or the idea of stolen songs is false, and that due to his condition, paranoid schizophrenia, he believed that the band could read his mind, were stealing his thoughts, and laughing at him.-Wikipedia.
... And you will know him not for his Titanic riffs, Mountainous scales, or Godly solo's, but for his heart.
Merely a Tribute To Dimebag Darrell Lance Abbott and Jeffery "Mayhem" Thompson, and the others that were killed or injured that night. John "The Kat" Brooks is the fucking man!
My Favorite Quotes
"All the money in the fuckin' world couldn't buy me one second of trust or one ounce of faith in anything your about! FUCK YOU ALL!!"
- War Nerve, Pantera: Great Southern Treandkill
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.
- Albert Einstein
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.
- Edmund Burke
True courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to proceed in spite of it.
- Unknown
By The Way, The Only Reason I even have these test on here is because I highly respect all of these men in some way. I don't know why anybody would think to put up the results of a test they took just too make the person that the test says they are look bad. C'mon think strait. Darrell, Chris, and Varg are all very intellectal, talented, and awesome dudes and if you can't handle that idea or dissagree... THEN FUCK OFF!
Dimebag Darrell....You like to drink a lot, you are perverted, you like to play around with the opposite sex quite a bit and can be violent at times. You like it loud. Calm down with the barbarism, caveperson.
Take this quiz
Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code
What death Metal Frontman are you?
You are Chris Barnes you cant really stick to things even if they are amazing well unless its pot. Everything you do has to be over exaggerated and heavy. You probally talk like your the smartest person on the earth even though everyone just thinks everything you say is cliche. Your mind is partially disinigrated from all the pot you have been smoking. People probally see you as a poser.
Take this quiz !
Quizilla |
Join| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code
Which Black Metal musician are You? (10 possible results)
Varg Vikernes
Take this quiz !
Quizilla |
Join| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code..
adopt your own virtual pet!
adopt your own virtual pet!
Quizilla |
Join| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code
How evil are you?
What Jory Means
J is for Joyful
O is for Outgoing
R is for Revolutionary
Y is for Yummy
What Does Your Name Mean?
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
