Darrell Lance Abbott was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of country songwriter, Jerry Abbott. His father owned a recording studio in Pantego, Texas, where Darrell had seen many blues guitarists play, inspiring him to take up the instrument himself. At an early age, Abbott began entering statewide guitar competitions and by the age of sixteen had been banned from entering because he had won too often. Dimebag was the the only lead guitarist Pantera ever had as obviously with somebody like dime shredding for them why need anyone else. They were together from 1983-2003 and created some of the best music ever known to man. Dimebag also took part in a band called Damageplan for the last year of his life also with his brother Vinnie Paul.
Dime was while performing on December 8 at a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. Nathan Gale 25, of Marysville entered the nightclub at about 10pm, just after the performance began, after scaling an eight-foot fence and being chased into the building by club security. He entered the left side of the stage and proceeded across to the right where Dimebag was standing. Gale then grabbed Dimebag and shot him twice in the head with a Beretta at point blank range. Dimebag received a total of five to eight gunshot wounds.
Three others were killed in the shooting: 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 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 (although early reports indicated he made disparaging remarks about the breakup of Pantera). When security staff and audience members climbed the stage to try to stop him, Gale fired at them, killing Halk and Thompson and wounding Paluska. Gale then took Brooks hostage, holding him in a headlock position after the technician attempted to wrestle him to the ground. When the hostage moved slightly, Columbus police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who was the first officer on scene, shot and killed Gale with a 12 gauge police issue shotgun in the back of the head.
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. According to some reports, victim Nathan Bray was also attempting to render assistance when he was killed.In May Officer James D. Niggemeyer went before the Franklin County grand jury which is charged with formally investigating police shootings. As expected, Niggemeyer was cleared and commended on his outstanding police work in the time of a crisis. He was recently accorded a national honor for his service, and is considered a hero by many fans of Dimebag.
Originally, it was thought that Gale acted on rumors of a Pantera breakup, but later investigators have also ruled out the theory that the killing was over a public dispute between Dimebag and Pantera singer Phil Anselmo .
The song "In This River from the Black Label Society album Mafia was written before Dime's death and later tributed in loving memory to Dimebag by a very close personal friend Zakk Wylde.
Also featured on the newest Nickelback album, All the Right Reasons is a song titled "Side of a Bullet" which features lyrics dedicated to Dimebag and an outtaked guitar solo from the Far Beyond Driven era.My name is Dan Rose (www.myspace.com/forcefedonhumanflesh) and Dimebag was a hero of mine and i will never let him be forgotten. He lives on through all of us and in Pantera an Damageplan's music. As a gutiar player, Dimebag changed my life so much. His music and his attitudes taught me that you dont have to give a fuck about the image of music as long as the heart and soul is in the music and we all know that dime put his blood, sweat and tears into his music. I wish my heart felt condolonsces to any person who loves dime as much as i do. R.I.P. My Brother,My hero and My Friend. Legends Never Die.
Playlist code by nackvision.com
This profile was edited with Thomas' myspace editor™ V2.5
