R.I.P. Dimebag
"(Dimebag) Darrell Abbott, influential heavy metal guitarist, killed at 38
Canadian Press
Thursday, December 09, 2004
NEW YORK (AP) - (Dimebag) Darrell Abbott, who was fatally shot during a performance, was a frenetic, ear-shattering guitarist whose riffs for the Grammy-nominated band Pantera and more recently Damageplan were a heavy-metal staple. He was 38.
Abbott was shot to death as he took the stage Wednesday with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. Three other people also were fatally shot before a police officer shot the gunman to death.
The deaths shook the heavy-metal music industry and fans flooded websites to share their grief.
"It's going to be hard for people outside the metal world to understand, but this is as important as losing a president," said Mark Hunter, lead singer of the metal band Chimaira.
Abbott "changed the way metal music was written with his guitar playing. I don't know anybody in a band who hasn't stolen a few guitar riffs from him," he said.
A fan posting on the band's website read, "This is the worst day in metal history."
Pantera's fast, aggressive sound attracted a massive cult following in the early 1990s, and its third release, Far Beyond Driven, debuted at No. 1 in 1994, surprising chart-watchers and critics alike. Other hit albums were The Great Southern Trendkill and Reinventing The Steel, and a song by the band became the Dallas Stars hockey team's signature tune in 1999.
"When you think of '90s heavy metal or hard rock, Pantera is one of these seminal bands. They are quoted today as influences by many bands," said Tom Calderone, MTV's executive vice-president. "Hard rock has lost a legendary guitar player."
Pantera was nominated for Grammies for best metal performance in 1995 for I'm Broken and in 2001 for Revolution Is My Name. The video The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits hit the top 10 for music-video sales earlier this year; another video, 3-Watch It Go, went top-10 in 1998.
Darrell Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, left Pantera last year and produced Damageplan's debut album, New Found Power, which was released in February.
Born in Dallas on Aug. 20, 1966, Darrell Abbott was introduced to music by his father, country songwriter Jerry Abbott, who owned a recording studio. The younger Abbott gravitated toward rock music and the styles of Tony Iommi, Ace Frehley, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhodes.
The Abbott brothers and bassist Rex Rocker formed Pantera in 1983. Then Abbott went by the name Diamond Darrell. Abbott later began to use the moniker Dimebag and was often referred to as Dime by fans and friends.
Early on, Pantera leaned more toward hard rock, but the band began to develop a heavier sound after singer Phil Anselmo joined in 1987. After releasing a few independent albums, Pantera signed with Atlantic Records in 1990. It was also the period when Abbott came into his own as a guitar player, developing his heavy, frenetic sound that can first be heard on the 1990 album Cowboys from Hell and on the 1992 standout Vulgar Display of Power.
Pantera's manager Kim Zide-Davis, who worked with Abbott from 1994 to 2003, called him larger than life, and said she often told the guitarist he was "a living cartoon character."
"He would do things that you wouldn't believe a real person was capable of," she said.
But she said Abbott also had a sweet and caring side that many people never knew.
"Everything you saw from him was real. That was who he was," she said. "He lived and unfortunately died by his guitar. What you saw on stage was his enjoyment."
In recent years, Abbott also made recording appearances on Nickleback's The Long Road and with one of his influences, KISS's Frehley.
Besides the Abbott brothers, Damageplan also includes vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla."
Canadian Press
Thursday, December 09, 2004
NEW YORK (AP) - (Dimebag) Darrell Abbott, who was fatally shot during a performance, was a frenetic, ear-shattering guitarist whose riffs for the Grammy-nominated band Pantera and more recently Damageplan were a heavy-metal staple. He was 38.
Abbott was shot to death as he took the stage Wednesday with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. Three other people also were fatally shot before a police officer shot the gunman to death.
The deaths shook the heavy-metal music industry and fans flooded websites to share their grief.
"It's going to be hard for people outside the metal world to understand, but this is as important as losing a president," said Mark Hunter, lead singer of the metal band Chimaira.
Abbott "changed the way metal music was written with his guitar playing. I don't know anybody in a band who hasn't stolen a few guitar riffs from him," he said.
A fan posting on the band's website read, "This is the worst day in metal history."
Pantera's fast, aggressive sound attracted a massive cult following in the early 1990s, and its third release, Far Beyond Driven, debuted at No. 1 in 1994, surprising chart-watchers and critics alike. Other hit albums were The Great Southern Trendkill and Reinventing The Steel, and a song by the band became the Dallas Stars hockey team's signature tune in 1999.
"When you think of '90s heavy metal or hard rock, Pantera is one of these seminal bands. They are quoted today as influences by many bands," said Tom Calderone, MTV's executive vice-president. "Hard rock has lost a legendary guitar player."
Pantera was nominated for Grammies for best metal performance in 1995 for I'm Broken and in 2001 for Revolution Is My Name. The video The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits hit the top 10 for music-video sales earlier this year; another video, 3-Watch It Go, went top-10 in 1998.
Darrell Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, left Pantera last year and produced Damageplan's debut album, New Found Power, which was released in February.
Born in Dallas on Aug. 20, 1966, Darrell Abbott was introduced to music by his father, country songwriter Jerry Abbott, who owned a recording studio. The younger Abbott gravitated toward rock music and the styles of Tony Iommi, Ace Frehley, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhodes.
The Abbott brothers and bassist Rex Rocker formed Pantera in 1983. Then Abbott went by the name Diamond Darrell. Abbott later began to use the moniker Dimebag and was often referred to as Dime by fans and friends.
Early on, Pantera leaned more toward hard rock, but the band began to develop a heavier sound after singer Phil Anselmo joined in 1987. After releasing a few independent albums, Pantera signed with Atlantic Records in 1990. It was also the period when Abbott came into his own as a guitar player, developing his heavy, frenetic sound that can first be heard on the 1990 album Cowboys from Hell and on the 1992 standout Vulgar Display of Power.
Pantera's manager Kim Zide-Davis, who worked with Abbott from 1994 to 2003, called him larger than life, and said she often told the guitarist he was "a living cartoon character."
"He would do things that you wouldn't believe a real person was capable of," she said.
But she said Abbott also had a sweet and caring side that many people never knew.
"Everything you saw from him was real. That was who he was," she said. "He lived and unfortunately died by his guitar. What you saw on stage was his enjoyment."
In recent years, Abbott also made recording appearances on Nickleback's The Long Road and with one of his influences, KISS's Frehley.
Besides the Abbott brothers, Damageplan also includes vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla."