Here Today... Gone To Hell!

My uncle just called me from Ohio....He took my little 14 year old girl cousin to see Damage Plan tonight. They got all the way up to the front row. Then during the first song someone jumped up onstage and shot Dimebag right in the stomach a couple times right in front of them.. He called me on the way out, that is some fucked up shit... He said it was a madhouse obviously and that's all I know right now..

I don't doubt this post (after 693 posts) - but express shock to hear it - if it is true - hope he is well

Holy shit! a guy posting on the damageplan board says he (Dimebag)was shot in the head, as well as 2 people in the crowd...

EDIT:

2 band members dead, 7 shot 3 dead, 4 critical...

Looks like it's been on the news in the US.

Dimebag and Vinnie both dead.

Jesus christ. Only in America.

Reports of a shooting at Al Rosa Villa on Sinclair Road in North Columbus.

Three people are dead and at least seven are wounded.

Three people in critical condition were taken to Riverside Hospital.

One person was taken to Grant Hospital in stable condition, with a gunshot wound to the thigh.

A triage center has been set up behind the restaurant to help victims with minor injuries still on the scene.

Stay tuned to 10-TV Eyewitness News for updates.

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/3983630/detail.html

some more info

holy shit this is fucking unbelievable.

wtf? why?

i can't believe this shit fuck!

dimebag is a metal legend. RIP to all those that died. hope the others recover.

this is the first time i've heard of such an incident.  :o

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!! I can't believe this  :no: :no:

RIP Dimebag and Vinnie  :'( :'(

My cousin is so freaked out.. She is only 14.. There was only like 400 people at this club.? Must have been horrific.

That fucking sucks. I used to be a big Pantera fan. This former cop who works at my job had to take all kinds of security and body guard courses and was actually just telling me yesterday how fucked up it is because the first thing they teach you is "if someone wants to kill whoever you're guarding theres a 99% chance they can do it."  At least they killed the fucking prick who did it.

I just thought about your reply. What the fuck is "Only In America" supposed to mean?..? That actually just pissed me the fuck off..... Fucked up shit happens all over the world... Where the fuck are you from that you are so high and mighty?

Only in america are there gun control problems. Who  walked into a gig with a fucking gun?

And I ain't so high and mighty. But where I come from people are searched at gigs.

PS - Fuck off!

Settle down man, yeah, the word is a fucked place. Events like this bring down my faith in humanity, whatta shame... :no:

Glad your family members are ok

From someone who was at the show, posted on the Metal Sludge gossip board:

Oh my God...

I'm shaking so bad I can hardly type this.

THIS IS NO FUCKING JOKE!!!

I went to see Damage Plan tonight at The Al Rosa Villa here in Columbus. And I'm afraid I may be the bearer of some VERY TRAGIC news...

Less than a minute into Damage Plan's set, some guy ran onstage, grabbed Dimebag, and just started pumping shots into him!!! I am in total shock right now. I was close to the stage and it was all very confusing. As soon as I realized that the shots were real, I got the fuck out of there, along with many screaming and crying others. It's lucky there was not a Station style trampling on the way out the door.

THIS IS SO FUCKED UP!!! The breaking news here is that at least 5 people were shot and 3 are confirmed DEAD!!! They have not said if Dimebag is one of them, but I'm serious folks...I don't see how he could still be alive. When I turned to look at the stage the last time, he was still down...

As I posted elsewere,I just saw this band live last week here in Canada,and I had pics taken with them and everything man....This kind of shit makes me hate the world.

R.I.P :'(

Hey Tomass, look up how many gun related deaths america has in comparison with england or canada, or any country with a similar society and you will be appalled. I love my country but chris is right, this shit does only happen in america and it is fucked up.

It was a god damn club that held four hundred people.  There wasn't high security and he forced his way through and ran right in.

I was at a gig two weeks ago with 2000 odd people there, I was searched. Not for guns, but for alcohol, or bottles that could be thrown. In a society that legally allowes guns, surley this should be taken into consideration?

Thank You, me too... My cousin is just a 14 year old girl who wanted to be up front too, she is horrified...

for fuck sake dont turn this into a US blah blah blah thread

this is serious fuckin business, if u all wanna discuss america's gun control how bout a topic in the jungle, i really dont think this is the thread to be honest.

we should show respect to dimebag and vinnie and discuss what happened not turn this into how bad the US is etc etc etc.


this is unbelievable

u know a few weeks ago R.Kelly was kicked off his tour with Jay Z cause he said a guy flashed a gun at him in the crowd.

they said he was bein foolish and kicked him off, maybe he wasnt bein so foolish

wonder what will happen to prevent this in the future?

why dont they have metal detectors at the doors?

someone could literally shoot from the crowd and no one would ever know who did it

i bet this will really step up security measures.

Last thing I am saying about this.... It was a damn Bar or pub. ?It wasn't a big show or anything. There was probably a bouncer at the door. I know if ?I wanted to run into a bar I could get buy a bouncer or two... They do search people that go to concerts, this guy just ran right in....Didnt take long to do what he did.

Right ok. Don't understand your argument. But D is right anyway, not the right thread.

For the record, I really hope your cousin is ok.

Thanks.. I was just looking at pictures from the club's site and it is pretty damn small . Like you are right there next to the stage. It must have been such a horrific site.... Who the fuck could do this?? I am not trying to be funny here but it was probably some sick dimeneted fuck that was pissed that Pantera broke up. I mean he was obviously sick anyway, his reason must have been distorted..

here are some pics of the club,

http://www.alrosavilla.com/HallofFlame2.html

I saw that on my Associated Press wire:

AP-NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING, 4TH LD-WRITETHRU
At least five dead, two wounded in Ohio nightclub shooting; witness says members of heavy metal band targeted
Eds: SUBS 2nd graf to CORRECT spelling of name 'Darrell,' ADD name of second band member. ADDS one graf at end with additional members' names; no pickup.


COLUMBUS, Ohio - A man walked onstage in a crowded nightclub during a rock concert Wednesday night and opened fire, killing at least four people and wounding at least two others before he was shot to death by police, authorities said.

Members of the heavy metal band Damageplan had just begun their first song at the Alrosa Villa when the man opened fire on the band, initially shooting the guitarist, who went by the name "Dimebag Darrell," a witness said. According to the band's Web site, the guitarist and another member, drummer Vinnie Paul, are formerly of the heavy metal band Pantera.

The witness, 22-year-old Chris Couch, said he was standing about 30 feet away from the stage when he noticed a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and hockey jersey walk up to the stage, followed by a bouncer and another club employee.

The man in the jersey climbed onto the stage, started yelling and shot the guitarist five or six times at close range, Couch said. Couch said the gunman also shot a bouncer who pulled him off the musician.

Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Brent Mull said a police officer shot and killed the gunman. It wasn't immediately clear whether the officer was already at the show or had responded to an emergency call. Authorities didn't immediately provide the identities of the victims.

After the shooting began, Couch and a friend headed for the exit along with a tide of hundreds of fans.

"It was definitely a grudge. It was against something," Couch said.

Amanda Stankus, 19, who attended the show with Couch, said she initially thought the shooting was part of the show. "I just saw the guitarist fall down, and we decided to get out of there," she said.

Other members of Damageplan include vocalist Patrick Lachman and bass player Bob Zilla, according to the band's Web site.

Sounds weird to me, unless the security sucked ass. When I went to see VR in Southaven, they didn't let a guy who was clearly drunk in. No way you could get in with a fuckin gun. What's up with that shit?

RIP.

That is ridiculous.  And fucked up.

Gunman kills 2 at Ohio nightclub
Police shoot suspect to death, witness says
Thursday, December 9, 2004 Posted: 1:27 AM EST (0627 GMT)


 
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(CNN) -- A gunman opened fire Wednesday night during a heavy metal concert in Columbus, Ohio, killing at least two people -- including one member of the band -- and wounding at least three others, according to a Columbus Fire Department spokeswoman.

The gunman was shot and killed by police, according to an eyewitness account.

The fire department responded to the shooting around 10:20 p.m. ET at the Alrosa Villa nightclub on the city's north end.

Witnesses told CNN affiliate WSYX the shooting during a performance by Damageplan, a heavy metal group with two former members of Pantera.

Calvin Bota said he saw the shooting from the mosh pit right in front of the stage, shortly after the band began playing.

"Somebody came -- I don't know where they came from, out of the audience or whatnot -- but they come onto (the) stage and ... he shot the guitarist at first, fired a couple of other shots, and then he hid behind the stage a little bit," Bota told WSYX.

"Everybody started scattering, you know, there's mayhem everywhere. And then a police officer came into the building, you know, came in professional with his gun raised, and then he proceeded to shoot the guy."

Dimebag Darrell, 38, plays guitar for Damageplan and Pantera -- a group he formed with his brother Vinnie Paul in the 1980s. Darrell's father is Jerry Abbott, a country and western songwriter and producer.

Gerald Caudill told WSYX he saw the gunman shoot the guitarist several times.

"I was up close to the stage and I just saw some guy run up on the side of the stage and I heard some shots and I saw (drummer) Vinnie Paul and somebody jumped on top of Vinnie and the guy just stayed around the stage and started shooting other people," Caudill said.

"I saw wounded people all over the place, out in the parking lot, inside," he said. "It just didn't sound like gunshots or anything, it didn't occur to me that something like that was happening."

Totally fucked up.

***********


 At Least 5 Dead, 2 Wounded In Nightclub Shooting
Witnesses: Alleged Gunman Went Onto Stage, Fired Shots



COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At least five people died and two others were wounded after a shooting at a Columbus nightclub on Wednesday night, NBC 4 reported.

The shooting took place shortly after 10 p.m. at Alrosa Villa, located at 5055 Sinclair Road.

Two members of the heavy metal band Damageplan were reportedly shot and killed, including Dimebag Darrell, formerly with the band Pantera, NBC 4's David Wayne reported. The other band member's name was not released. The alleged gunman also died at the scene, Wayne reported.

Shortly after the band began playing its first song, a man reportedly ran onto the stage and began shooting, according to a witness who identified himself as Sean. Some members of the audience reportedly thought the man running onto the stage with a gun was part of the band's act, NBC 4's Erin Tate reported.

Witnesses said that several shots were fired at the band. Witnesses said that a bouncer at the club tackled the alleged gunman before that person was shot and killed. It was unclear as to whom shot the alleged gunman.

NBC 4 reported that of the surviving victims, one was in critical condition while the other was in fair condition. Several others were treated at the scene, suffering from various injuries.

Alrosa Villa is a popular north Columbus nightspot for young adults, featuring rock and heavy metal bands, NBC 4 reported.

According to the band's Web site, Damageplan was touring nationally. It performed in Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday night and had a concert scheduled in Flint, Mich., on Thursday.

Damageplan featured former Pantera artists Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. The pair were joined by vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist Bobzilla, according to their Web site.

Watch NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/3983630/detail.html
 

This was a small rock club which was basically a big bar. ?Anyone can get into a place like this if they wanted to. He didn't sneak the gun in and hang out for awhile. He barged in and ran up to the stage and started shooting before anyone knew what was going on....

An awful event.

I'm just hoping this dude didn't have A Catcher in the Rye on him. A thinly veiled copy cat murder on Dec 8th would be wretched.

I just can't believe it...  :'(  OMG, there are too many crazy people on the world....

 :crying:

RIP guys, you were great.

OMG! I can't believe it...This is fucking insane...

I can't belive that could happen, it's just insane

Looks like he went in the back door of the bar.... This is so fucking unreal.... I am not sure if anyone said this already but it was on the anniversary of the day Lennon was shot.... My poor cousin is traumatized..

Don't really know the people who were killed and never a fan of Pantera but that is fucked up whoever it is no one deserves that and why shoot audience members what were they guilty of the world is becoming a dark and fucked up place. Hope that never happens at a GNR concert

Breaking news in the music world as legendary guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed while performing with his new band in Columbus OH

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1494653/12092004/damageplan.jhtml?headlines=true

Mods please delete this I posted in the wrong section

I wonder if we'll ever find the reason behind all this, since the killer was shot as well.

RIP Dime. (http://www.zakkwylde.com/)

RIP.

Tomass, glad your relatives are ok. Must've been a horrible scene.

To go to a concert you've been looking forward to and it ends like this.  :no:




/jarmo

R.I.P. :'( :'( :'( :'(

R.I.P Mr Dimebag !
This is fucked up ! He is a friend of Slash as well, wondering how Slash feels now if he has heard it...?




(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v393/cooman78/DimbagSlash.jpg)
Dimebag and Slash 2002

This is some sick shit! RIP Dimebag :( Thank god Vinnie is uninjured..

Why do psychopaths target musicians?

Makes no sense.

This story broke on AOL today at 7:51am.

I'll post part of it.


Guitarist Among Five Killed in Ohio Shooting
Gunman Shot Dead by Police Officer
By JAY COHEN, AP

   
 
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Dec. 9) - A man charged onstage at a packed heavy metal show and opened fire, killing at least four people including guitarist Darrel Abbott before an arriving officer shot him to death, authorities said.

Columbus police department spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio identified three of the victims of Wednesday's shooting as Abbott, guitarist with the heavy metal rock band Damageplan, and two other men, Nathan Bray and Erin Halk.

Damageplan had just begun their first song at the Alrosa Villa when the man opened fire, first targeting Abbott, shooting him multiple times at point-blank range, a witness said.
 :-\

I used to love Pantera back in the day: Cowboys..., Vulgar Display... and Far Beyond... were great albums, real metal classics...

This is insane and a sad day for music in general >:(

Rest in Peace Darrell... :'(

heard about it a couple of hours ago, Im still in shock!
what a terrible tragedy!
RIP Dime, you're a legend!

cemetary gates, i listen to it now

and thanks for the solo in the sleep...

They mean Dimebag? Oh shit......that's horrendous, he's a legend to me.

I always feared something like this could happen.

Shocked, RIP Dimebag the world is the less for losing u.

 :crying: That's fucking ruff.Im glad the cop shot and killed that bitch that did it.You see AXL here to day and gone tommorow you never know what can happen,So get off your ass and release that fuking CD already  :smoking:

Dimebag was an awesome guitarist man!! This really fucking shitty news to wake up to. I saw Pantera 2 times (Detroit for the 101 proof tour, and in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada for the Reinventing the Steel tour) I have never seen a better guitarist.

I mourn his death.  :'(

RIP Dime

You will be sorely missed.

"You left me Incomplete, all alone, but the memory still remains."
Cemetery Gates, "Pantera" from the album "Cowboys from Hell"

RIP

I hope such a tragedy will never happen again.
I guess we won't.

I just read a few minutes ago that it was a joke, I'll try to find the original source.

Edit: I found this on a Dutch website, don't know if it's true.

Ok, ok, the joke went a little too far. We did all this just to see who our true fans were, and I think we can now say we have some pretty loyal fans, and some pretty scummy people on this earth. Dime Bag isn't dead, no-one got hurt. It was a publicity stunt (which worked fairly well I must add) Please no harsh feelings against the band, or against the fans. Dime bag is going to be on MTV's breaking news at 7:00 this morning letting everyone in on the incident. Please don't panic, but please, keep spreading the rumors and gossip, we need this thing to get so completely huge that everyone out there will hear the name "Damage Plan"

-Eric Moxey
VP of Promotions Elektra/Atlantic

Hmmm i dont think so
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio Dec 9, 2004 ? A gunman charged onstage at a packed nightclub and opened fire on the band and crowd, killing top heavy metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and three other people before a police officer shot him to death, authorities and witnesses said.

Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio identified three of the victims of Wednesday's shooting as Abbott, who played for the Texas-based band Damageplan, and two other men, Nathan Bray, 23; and Erin Halk, 29.

She identified the gunman as Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, 25 miles northwest of Columbus. She said there was no information on a motive or any connection to the band.

Damageplan had just begun its first song at Alrosa Villa club when the man shot Abbott five or six times at point-blank range, a witness said.

I see Damage Plan items on Ebay have Rocketed with a signed drum head getting 14 Bids in a few hours.

No, I don't think it was a joke. AP would not have picked it up if it was a joke. Plus they have some pics on their wire. (not pics of the night but pics of the cops, some people leaving flowers near the club, etc.)

...Yeah right, only a total retard would believe that. People, please use your brains before posting shit.

I've never really listened to Pantera, but from what I understand they have a loyal fan base and were a very good metal band.  And regardless of their music, this is a very sad day not only for the people killed/injured, but for rock n' roll.  Keep in mind three weeks ago there was the brawl with the fans at the Pistons/Pacers game, and now this?  It seems that fans, whether they are at sporting events or rock shows, are getting out of control.  I know these are only two incidents, but I think there should be more security checks before you get into a sporting event or a concert.  Regardless, this is terrible.  I guess it's good that the killer was shot himself, but he still apparently achieved his goal.  R.I.P. Dimebag and the others that were killed.

Shit i browsed through Bad Obsession before and missed this! I just found this out now.

Man what a loss to the Heavy Metal genre, Pantera are gods. I'm glad that cop killed that fuckin prick.

R.I.P bro :'(

"YOU KILLED PANTERA ! YOU?RE RUINED MY LIFE! WHAT ABOUT PHIL ( ANSELMO )? HE NEED MONEY TO BUY HEROIN!"
then the fucking idiot shooted 5 times at Dimebag !!!
ON STAGE !!

WHAT DA FUCK IS GOIN?ON IN THIS FUCKING WORLD ?!?!?!?!?!?!

and you all know about the Axl and Slash History along the years... the fans divided... all this shit

AXL ... PLEASE DUDE, I "DON?T KNOW YOU", BUT PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF... NO ONE IS SAFE IN THIS WORLD...

YOUR FAN SINCE 11 YEARS OLD

Renato.


R.I.P. DIMEBAG.

I really don't know what to say ,this is beyond fucked up .


R.I.P Dimebag

"YOU KILLED PANTERA ! YOU?RE RUINED MY LIFE! WHAT ABOUT PHIL ( ANSELMO )? HE NEED MONEY TO BUY HEROIN!"------Yes, sounds familiar. Bloody hell.
Whenever I see rabid reunionistic comments, I worry about the same thing, Actually.

"YOU KILLED < *****'*****> !  YOU?RE RUINED MY LIFE! "

I cant believe this is just out of control

Rest in peace Dimebag and others who were killed.

dimebag's a legend. i'm still in shock.

RIP Dimebag

ironically, yesterday was the 24th anniversary of lennon's murder.

i was at the stinson show last night with a friend who is a huge beatles fan. we happened to be talking about lennon and his murder for a while. same friend called me this morning to tell me about dimebag and i really thought he was joking. sad day.

I seen Gilby play this club back in 96 or 97-he did an all acoustic thing-nice show-really small crowd-a nice memory for me-it really is kind of a small club/bar-it's hard to blame any security on this. Any of us I'm sure have seen a concert at a place like this-this feels like when the station burned down-whether is 5 or 100 people. I just want to be with my brothers and my friends tonight-I feel like crying.

this is just horrible
horrible
how horrible
i read... he was shot 4 times... in the head... oh my god
how horrible

reading these words: ?"you broke up pantera.... you ruined my life.... what about phil??? he needs heroin money..." really made me feel sick to my stomach also ?:'(
cuz well.. we know

just making me sick to my stomach
just awful

horrible

 :'(

RIP Dimebag and the other victims

and to GN'R and all the other bands who go on stage to entertain us and share their music and give us a piece of themselves...
don't take shit from anyone... do what you think gotta be done so that you feel safe
personally i don't care if i have to be searched/patted down and empty my pockets and do whatever it takes so that you guys and all of us in the audience can feel safe

i wouldn't be surprised if bands started hiring armed guards to stand on either side of the stage
fuck it
i think they should

so they take out a fucker like this before he hurts anyone
this shit is making me feel so sad and very angry

i seem to remember axl getting attacked on stage by a nutter with a gun before a bodyguard dragged him away and that was over 11 years ago not a lots changed we are just more used to it

I keep hoping its gonna prove to be a publicity stunt, Pantera meant alot to me.

im shaking , i cant believe this shit!

Dimebag is in my top 5 guitarrist , this cant be real... :no:


He will be missed ....i loved that man.....fuck ! i loved Pantera!!  :'(

I know it's not gnr but we can pay respect to Dimebag cant we?  He was an amazing guitarist.  Such a waste.

RIP bro you'll always be a legend in my eyes. :'(

poor guy.  he died right on the day that lennon got shot. :no:

RIP Dimebag

Thank you for the music...

 :'(

The world is an insane place at times... :no:

It was weird...I pulled out the pantara yesterday. I was listening to a few songs and then moved on to something else. I didn't really wanna listen to it but something told me listen because I had not play the cd in months.
Then I found out Dimebag got shot lastnight. Well It was errie for me to hear that after pulling out the cd the same day he died after not being a big pantara fan. But I always had a like for the music.
RIP Dimebag

Eva,

I agree with what you said.

I'd like to add too that bands should start wearing bullet proof vests to make sure they are safe.

You know, I plan on going to see Gin Blossoms @ Jannus Landing in St. Pete in Jan, Duran Duran in Tampa and Motley Crue.

I'll do my part to make sure I am safe, as well as the people around me and that goes for the band.

Keep your eyes open and when you are at a show if you see something out of the ordinary, tell a building manager or security.

It's a shame something like this happens.

I am angry and sad at the same time :-\

I dont really know what to say..Ive known about this since this morning..Im angry and sad at the same time...I still cant belive it im sad because hes gone but mad because things like this can happen...This is not a slam on american at all..It's a slam on the whole world...I dont know  what drives people to do things like these...Nobody should have a gun unless your a police officer,security guard or otherwise require one...and who cares if its a club,arena or stadium..They should have the same security..Scru people gettin in with cameras..Worry about the people with guns,knives and drugs...I never would of had a problem bringin a gun into any concert ive been to..It's pretty sad...More security for a legend like Dimebag and Vinnie...Handguns shouldnt be avaliable for anyone to buy..Shotguns for hunting ya ok...Lots of people at my school were talking about it today..I wish we knew why this man did it though..Ill post up all the news and updates i get for yas...But all i have to say is my heart goes out to the fans that were at the club,the victims family members and freinds,the band and crew and especially Vinnie...Dimebag was without any questions a legend and had alot more still in him to show to the world...
R.I.P. Dimebag..We all love you and are thinking of you man..Your music and memories will forever live on..Ill see you when i get there brother :no: :'(

Fuck, everyone should wear a vest almost all the time, hell with it.

Audience members died here too.

But, then again i don't think a vest would have helped Dime all that much, since he got it it in the head...

Here is what some other musicians had to say:

Scoop of the Columbus, Ohio radio station The Blitz 99.7 FM has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET that DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul was uninjured in the shooting incident at a Columbus nightclub which resulted in the death of Paul's brother, Dimebag Darrell. According to Scoop, who attended the concert and briefly saw Vinnie following the incident, Paul was in a complete state of shock and expressed his desire to be with his brother right after the shooting occurred.

A friend of Scoop's, Kevin Minerd, who also attended the concert, told BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the gunman entered the stage from the left side and walked over to the right side where Dimebag was standing before grabbing the guitarist and pumping several bullets into him. Additional shots were fired, although it's presently unclear which other member of DAMAGEPLAN, if any, was killed in the incident.

"A Columbus police officer, when he arrived, engaged the shooter, and the shooter is also dead, and if the officer hadn't acted when he did and how he did, we'd probably be looking at more dead, because this guy was actively shooting," Sergeant Brent Mull, public information officer, told MTV News.

"We have 200-plus patrons that we have sequestered inside three city buses," Sergeant Mull explained. "We are interviewing them one by one. The ones that were inside and witnessed this, ran for their lives and were in fear for their lives. They are victims too, and we want to take care of them."

As news of Dimebag's (born Darrell Lance Abbott in Dallas, Texas on August 20, 1966) bizarre and tragic demise rippled through the metal community, the news was met with shock and sadness.

"I'm speechless," friend and ROB ZOMBIE/OZZY OSBOURNE bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson told MTV. "This is totally unreal. Dimebag is a fucking legend and this is total bullshit."

"This is insane and this is beyond travesty," KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman, and former DAMAGEPLAN tour partner, Howard Jones said. "This is beyond anything I've ever heard. This shouldn't happen in or outside of the rock and metal community. He will be missed and mourned as a person, as a musician, and as a friend."

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian, whose band has toured with PANTERA and has featured Dimebag guest appearances on their albums, stated in a posting on ANTHRAX's web site, "I am devastated as I'm sure we all are. All I can convey at this moment are my condolences to Rita and Vinnie and the whole family. My heart is with you."

M?TLEY CR?E bassist Nikki Sixx offered the following: "Dime, I will never forget all the times you made us laugh. I'm so happy we got to spend the day together in London recently? We should all live our lives as full as you have. I will miss you, as will all of us... This is a sad day."

Rich Ward (FOZZY, STUCK MOJO): "Darrell was as nice as they come. During the times that I spent with him, I wondered why he played in such a heavy band. Not that he didn't have the ability to school all of us that dared to share a stage with him, but because he seemed like such a gentle and kind man. He had a great sense of humor and was someone that everyone in the room gravitated toward. He never carried himself like the big rock star that he really was, instead he came across humble and appreciative. I consider it a privilege to have known him, as he was one of the 'real' guys in the business and as Zakk [Wylde] would say, 'one of the boys'!"

Shaun Glass (SOIL): "Today I am saddened to say I lost my friend and hero it sickens me that someone would take away a person that brought so much joy to so many people. Love ya, Double D."

SEPULTURA: "Dimebag was an excellent musician and a good friend, a fucking great partner in memorable tours. We'll miss him very much. Our condolences to the Abbott family."

MACHINE HEAD: "MACHINE HEAD are devastated by the horrific news. Our deepest sympathy and condolences to the Abbott family, DAMAGEPLAN and former members of PANTERA. Our thoughts are with you all."

Jon Dette (ex-SLAYER, TESTAMENT): "My brother just called to tell me that Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed on stage tonight. Words cannot express the sadness I'm feeling right now and my condolences go out to Vinnie Paul and the Abbott family for their loss. This is a huge tragedy for the music world."

Orange County, California-based sextet BLEED THE SKY (recently signed to Nuclear Blast Records): "It's a sad day in heavy metal, Dimebag Darrell formerly of PANTERA, was shot and killed while performing with DAMAGEPLAN in Ohio. We would more than likely not be a band if it wasn't for him, and can't possibly imagine the pain that his brother and his family must be in. RIP, brother, heavy music will never be the same without you."

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"There is nothing unique or clever to this post, and what I want to say has no doubt already been said throughout the metal community, by countless others whom were more closer to Darrell than me by now."However, knowing he was murdered tonight, I wish to thank and remember Darrell for his amazing life and the gift that he shared with me and so many other fortunates."I pray for Darrell's family and friends; specifically for their healing, their peace, and their understanding of this tragedy in this time of need."I send my deepest heartfelt condolences to the Abbott family, to Darrell's friends, and to the fantastic PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN fans around the world."We must never forget his life, and his gifts, his genius, his terrific personallity, and the legacy he left behind to remember him by."Darrell, I will see you in heaven and I, like so many more, love you brother."You will be missed."

 Former JUDAS PRIEST and current ICED EARTH singer Tim "Ripper" Owens has sent BLABBERMOUTH.NET the following message regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"Hey, wanted to say that Dime was a great guy and amazing guitarist! He will really be missed! He made me laugh when he would see me backstage and sing out 'Ripper' in a high note with some melody he had made up! He and his brother always gave me respect. I knew how much of a fan he was of JUDAS PRIEST and Rob [Halford], so the respect meant a lot! And all the rumors about him and I working together where the best rumors I'd ever heard about me! I always wanted to work with Darrell and was always waiting for that phone call! Dimebag, we love ya bro and you will be missed!"

The Associated Press is reporting that the Dallas Stars on Thursday mourned the death of rocker "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who with his brother was part of the group that performed the club's official theme song during its 1999 Stanley Cup run.Abbott, a heavy metal guitarist with DAMAGEPLAN, and three other people were killed before a police officer shot him to death late Wednesday. Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, were original members of the Grammy-nominated PANTERA.The Abbotts had strong ties to the Stars and performed the team's signature tune in its most memorable season."They weren't just hockey fans, they were friends of the entire team. Dime will be missed very much," said former Stars defenseman Craig Ludwig.Assistant general manager Guy Carbonneau, also a part of the 1999 team, called the Abbotts "special friends.""I was horrified to hear the news of last night's events and it never ceases to amaze me how hurtful and violent people can be," Carbonneau said Thursday.Club president Jim Lites said the organization extends its sympathies to Abbott's family and holds thoughts and prayers for all the attack victims.
"We know the Abbotts as passionate hockey fans and consider them good friends of the Dallas Stars," Lites said.

 A number of heavy metal musicians have paid tribute to Dimebag Darrell (DAMAGEPLAN, ex-PANTERA) who was tragically murdered last night.

SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor: "He could take a riff that would take somebody a year to master and he could rip it off in seconds. He made everything look like he was playing 'Smoke on the Water' with one finger."He was one of the coolest people I've ever met. The guy just loved to laugh and he loved to make you laugh. And he loved to make you do something that you would never do in a million years. He was a guy that lived in the moment. His philosophy was, 'Let's do something that is gonna make us remember tonight for the rest of our lives.' And that's something I'm gonna fucking miss for the rest of mine."

ANTHRAX's Scott Ian: "After Eddie Van Halen, you had Dimebag Darrell. He was the next guy that came along and did something as original and important on guitar."He's the type of guy that would do anything for his friends. He really did put his family and his friends first, and for him everyone was his family. Once you came into contact with Dimebag and became friends with that guy, it was a sacred bond. Once you shared drinks with that guy, you became a part of his extended family."

Police released the name of the gunman who allegedly went on a shooting rampage at a Columbus nightclub Wednesday night, killing four people ? including DAMAGEPLAN guitarist Dimebag Darrel ? before a police officer shot him dead.

Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, reportedly jumped onto a concert stage and opened fire, NBC 4 reported.

Several people that have had conversations with Dimebag's former PANTERA bandmate, singer Philip Anselmo (currently in SUPERJOINT RITUAL), early this morning are reporting that the frontman is "devastated" by the news of Dimebag's death.

PANTERA's manager Kim Zide-Davis, who worked with Abbott 1994 to 2003, was overwhelmed by the news of his death, according to CNN. She told the AP 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.

She said there was a sweet and caring side of Abbott that many people never saw.

"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."


Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. is reporting that loud music made it hard to hear the last words of a man who jumped on stage and killed DAMAGEPLAN guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three other people at a concert Wednesday night before being shot and killed by a police officer, Ohio police said.

A police official said witnesses heard someone accuse Darrell of breaking up his former band, PANTERA. Police are not sure if the speaker was the gunman or a fan.

Witnesses said the man jumped an eight-foot security fence and was being followed through the crowd by security before the shooting. The man who opened fire on band members of DAMAGEPLAN also wounded two other people.

Police said a police officer shot and killed the gunman, identified as Nathan Gale, 25, a man with a minor arrest record in his hometown of Marysville, Ohio. He was pulled over for driving on a suspended license last month.

"He's playing the guitar and (the gunman) just went right up to him," witness Jim Climer said. "He started blowing his brains out, basically. Dimebag was still playing. He didn't know what was going on, and that's when he hit the ground."

Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio identified the gunman as Gale. She said there was no information on a motive or if he had any connection to the band.

"(The gunman) came on stage, from the back, like he knew what he was doing and went straight to Dimebag Darrell immediately," an unidentified witness said.

 :'(

man i am totaly shocked guys, my fuckin' hero Dim!!!!!

my thoughts to Vinnie!!!

 :no:

This is Nathan Gale the murderer.(http://images.ibsys.com/2004/1209/3984911_200X150.jpg)

To Dimes.

Man thanks for the best metal tunes over the last 20 years you are the king of thrash metal guitar and you will be greatley missed.

We Love you Dimes. ROCK IN PEACE

I am in complete shock. Yesterday I was overjoyed because VR announced their Oz tour dates, and today I hear about this.

I am deeply saddened by this news.

RIP Dime, thanks for all the great music, you'll be sorely missed. :(

This is absolutely retarted..This guy has absolutely NO respect..This is just distasteful

I guess there?s nothing new or original I can say...This is extremely weird, I?m about to cry, I?m not the biggest Pantera fan but they have been on my mind and ears since what? 95 I guess....man, just this week for some reason I thought of Dimebag. The shooter was an insane motherfucker. Anyway, Dimebag rest in peace.

I hope no one minds that I have created a post to mourn the loss of a man like Dimebag Darrell. The uselessness of this tragedy is so mind boggling, he will be remembered forever... RIP

I also was at the Hamilton gig.....I went to that and Damageplan twice this year in Toronto....The last Toronto gig was a week ago Wednesday.
It is a very sad thing when someone can get into a concert with a gun.

QUIET RIOT's Frankie Banali: "This is so wrong. Darrel was one of the nicest people in music and a great guitarist. He was always great to me each time we saw each other, as was Vinnie. Such a waste and so disturbing. My thoughts and prayers are with Darrel and my sincerest sympathy to Darrel's family, loved ones and all of his fans and the fans of PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN. No one deserves a violent death, and certainly not Darrel. God bless him."

Ozzy Osbourne: "I'm absolutely beside myself with grief. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would do this.

Atlantic Records has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:

"We are shocked and saddened by last night's horrible and senseless shootings. This is a tragic day for the music community, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and the surviving members of DAMAGEPLAN and their crew. Dimebag Darrell was an exceptional musician and an extraordinary person. Along with his brother and bandmate, Vinnie Paul, he was a member of the Elektra/Atlantic family for the past 14 years, and he will be deeply missed. The bravery displayed by DAMAGEPLAN, their crew, their fans, and the local police will never be forgotten."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:

"This is unbelievable. To sit here and talk about Darrell in the past tense seems so wrong, so unfair, so unjust, I don't even know what to say. My heart goes out to Vinnie, to their families, to the other band members, and to the families and friends of the other people that were killed or injured, in this fucking senseless act of selfishness and stupidity.

"In 1985 I was fortunate enough to meet both Darrell and his brother in Dallas on tour. The first thing me and my friend did as soon as that tour was over, was to head straight back to Dallas and hang out with Darrell and Vinnie for a long time, cuz they were the coolest mutherfuckers that we had met after criss-crossing the states for three months. That was the beginning of a friendship that was anchored in love, respect, fun, outrageousness, music, booze, sweat, late nights, early mornings, hangovers, headaches, pounding eardrums, sore bodies... the list goes on.

"There's a tendency in these fucked up moments to use the word 'I' a lot and focus on one's own feelings of pity and shock... so instead let it just be known that thru these eyes Darrell was incredibly warm, open, fun, nutty, forthcoming, talented, embracing, unpretentious, accommodating and he always had a very attractive innocence about him that obviously made him never threatening and always welcoming.

"Darrell and his brother were the cornerstone of musical adventures that were always groundbreaking, pushing boundaries, challenging to themselves and to their fans, respected by their peers and always true musicians' musicians, and today the rock world is worse off because of this untimely and senseless waste.

"Much love and respect and thanks for letting me be a small part of your life and I know you are already having fun and throwing it down with Bon Scott, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Jimi, Cliff B., and the rest of the musicians and troublemakers that you are hanging with so prematurely."


 The gunman who fatally shot four people ? including DAMAGEPLAN (and former PANTERA) guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott ? at Columbus, Ohio's Alrosa Villa nightclub Wednesday night alarmed the club's workers before the gig, according to RollingStone.com. "He was hanging around trying to get in," manager Rick Cantella said. "We told him . . . that he had to pay to get in like anyone else. One of my loaders told him to leave . . . He was hanging around trying to talk to the members of the band, and he was shooed away." Just before the show, Nathan Gale, 25, jumped an eight-foot fence to get inside, and headed straight for the stage. "There were guys chasing him as soon as he got in," explained Cantella, "not because [they saw] he had a gun, but because he jumped this fence and didn't pay."

During the gunfire, a local nurse in the audience, twenty-eight-year-old Mindy Reece, stepped in to aid Abbott. "The one thing that stands out in my mind was I could see Vinnie [Paul] stand up from behind the drums and look down...He had this look on his face like, 'Oh my fucking God.'" said Reece, a PANTERA fan since the age of thirteen. With the help of another audience member, she performed CPR on Abbott for several minutes until the paramedics arrived. "I kept saying, 'Dimebag, come on, come on please, stay with me,'" she recalls. "It was bad . . . There was blood on the floor."

i dont know how true this is but i heard that just before gale started unloading into dime he said "Your the reason PanterA broke up"

Im still in shock about this and i think I will be for quite a while. PanterA played a big part in my life and Dime was the dude that i admired the most. Even though he was the guitarist he was still the frontman of the best metal band of all time.

Its apparent that Just before Nathan Gale began unloading into Dimebag He shouted at him "Your the reason PanterA broke up"

If this is true do you think that this will cause more shit between Vince Paul and Phil Anselmno?

Sad news to hear about the tragic death of Dimebagg. He was one of my favourite guitarists. GNr and VR fans please say nice things about the man here if you like.. RIP dime, youll be missed :(

I dought it..If this is true its just sad that people can die over Pantera breaking up..This guy is a fucking idiot and jsut crushed any chance they ever had of getting back together..

LIMP BIZKIT frontman Fred Durst has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:

"Last night was the 9/11 for metal to me and the metal community. Not only did PANTERA inspire me to have the courage to express myself they were also one of my main motivations to form LIMP BIZKIT. I am sad beyond comprehension. I mourn for the loved ones of dimebag and the others murdered. a living legend has been taken from us. life has permanantly changed for me as of last night. I believe everything happens for a reason and in no way do I understand the reason for this. I will be forever in his debt. RIP Dimebag."

Dimes was an absolute legend and he will never be be forgoton.

But He is now up in hevan forming a super group with Bon, Jimi, John B, Cliff and the rest of the Rock N' Roll warriors that the music world has lost over the years.

We love you man ROCK IN PEACE

What can I fucking say? Sad, just sad..................... :no:

...requiescat in pace...

 :'(

A sad day, a fucking sad day. RIP  :'(

R.I.P.    :(

I can't believe that actually happened.  It just doesn't seem real.  My heart goes out to his family and friends.  Can't imagine what they're going through.
  Vulger Display of Poweris one of my all time favorite albums.  It got me through some rough times in high school.  Dimebag was just flat out awesome.  He will be forever missed.

RIP Darrell. :'(

I just can't believe this is happening this is the biggest death in metal since Randy Rhodes. Awesome player what can I say he got me into metal just like GNR got me into rock my heart goes to damageplan Vinnie in particular and all of the family and friends. Pantera fans and damageplan fans my prayers go out to all of you mysrlf included.

RIP Dimebag

I heard that on Stern this morning. Some guy called in claming to have been there watching the show. I think the dude was legit because he seemed to know a lot even before all the news was in.

I just ask ......Why??


Hours have passed by, but im still in shock, i refuse to admit it.....I grew up listening to Pantera, they were part of my life. :'(

this is fucking sad  :no:  I am a huge pantera fan !!   how can this fucking happen !!   only in fucking america !!   He was one of the great guitarists of our time, better than slash.  Well atleast he went out in a bang.   Get it??     sorry that isnt supposed to be funny  :no:

why this thread is in this section?






edit. okay..moved to the right section..like I care but still..  :P

I?ve been listening to Pantera since I woke up today..can?t believe it still, whenever I remember he?s dead I just feel bad, how can you kill someone that way? I guess as a musician you don?t really expect something like this to happen.

If theres anything positive about this is that at least Dimebag i would think died happy..This reminds me of dale earnhardt's death..He was doing what he loved at the time of his death (Racing)..So i would at least hope Dimebag died happy..Up there on stage playing his guitar like only he can..With his brother behind him....We Love you man..Take care up there with Randy,Keith and all the other greats :love:

SUPERJOINT RITUAL bassist Hank Williams III has posted the following message regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:
"It just ain't fuckin right... Alcohol should have killed Dime, not a fuckin piece of shit worthless fuck with a gun trying to recreate the John Lennon's killing... This happened on the same day, if you didnt know... Dime will never die EVER!!! His style of guitar playing took metal to a whole new chapter in metal history.
"For those of us that were lucky enough to be around Dime as a person... or see him jam in no matter what band it was, you know he liked to have a good time... In his honor, crank up his fuckin music and get motherfuckin wasted on whiskey!!!!!!!
"And no matter what was said with all the shit talking between SUPERJOINT RITUAL and DAMAGEPLAN, that's all it was, nothing but talk!! If we had ever been in the same room together as both bands, it would have been cool? Kinda like seeing 'ole family....
"I'm sure there will be plenty of new rumors surfacing.....And fingers pointing at people to blame... But Philip [Anselmo, ex-PANTERA] and the rest of SUPERJOINT RITUAL are in a state of shock and blown away by this tragedy! We do not take this shit lightly... What this kid did is so fucked up its not even conceivable. May you burn in the hottest corners of hell, you pistol-packin' pussyfuck..."R.I.P Dimebag. You rocked harder than you will ever know!!!!"

ROB ZOMBIE has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"I don't know exactly what to write concerning the death of Darrell. This is beyond shocking and horrible. I still can't believe it is true. I got the call from my manager Andy Gould, who, along with Walter O'Brien, used to manage PANTERA and WHITE ZOMBIE. "During the early ninties WHITE ZOMBIE and PANTERA were constant touring partners and I had the pleasure of watching Darrell perform with PANTERA easily over a hundred times. For those of you who never saw him, he was without a doubt the most dynamic guitartist on the face of the planet. He was truly one of a kind. A legend. "Off stage, he was a cool, down-to-earth guy with the most bizarre sense of humor ever, half the time I didn't even understand what the hell he was saying. He spoke a language all his own ? Dimespeak. "The last time I saw Darrell was with his brother Vinnie standing in the crowd rocking out at a METALLICA show. I never got a chance to see his new band, but I'm sure he was as amazing as always. "No one can replace a giant talent like Darrell, he will be missed. "My heart goes out to Phil, Rex and especially Vinnie."

KORN frontman Jonathan Davis has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"Darrell and PANTERA were one of the main reasons I joined a metal band. This is a tragic loss for the music community and to all who knew him. KORN is truly shaken and we want to send our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased."

Ozzy Osbourne has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"Dimebag was a dear friend of mine. I'm absolutely beside myself with grief. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would do this. PANTERA toured with me many, many times. I'll always remember the signed guitar that he gave me at my 50th birthday party. My heart goes out to Dime's family, his fans and the other innocent victims who were killed in this senseless tragedy. It's just terribly, terribly sad."

DISTURBED have issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"It is with the utmost despair that we extend our condolences to the family and many friends of one of the greatest guitar players to ever walk the face of this earth, Dimebag Darrell Abbott. Not only was he an inspiration to anyone who ever picked up a guitar, but he was one of the most genuine, big-hearted individuals you would ever have the pleasure of meeting. Dime loved to have a good time, and was never satisfied until everyone else around him was having one too. We are all still in an utter state of shock, refusing to believe that he is truly gone. Instead of focusing on the incredibly ugly demise of his death, let us remember the joy and strength he brought to all of us while he was alive. "To Rita, Vinnie Paul, and all of those who loved him so much, we extend our most heartfelt condolences. We'll have a double black tooth in your honor brother. You will never be forgotten."

I Dont know what to do man..I think its finally sinking in..I was fine last night but ima t school now and i feel like fuckin crying..I met Dimebag at a metallica concert and he was the nicest fucking guy ever..He was so down to earth and just real man..like no one id ever seen before...So when i get home im gonna fuckin blast his tunes in honour man...and to all of those people on ebay tryin to make a quick buck..Get a life..Anyways heres some more news

Brian Kozicki, who was doing lighting for DAMAGEPLAN's show, told WTOL-TV he dove under his console and called 911 after the alleged gunman, Nathan Gale, started shooting. "I just told them where I was. There was a gunman firing shots and somebody had been shot and there were more shots being fired as I was talking to them on the phone," Kozicki said. "If the cop wouldn't have gotten there when he did that guy definitely had more ammo," Kozicki told WTOL-TV. "I think he definitely would have killed more people." In the end, Kozicki lost a friend of his Erin Halk who also worked at the club. "It's crazy. He was a great guy, great guy. It's a horrible, horrible thing," said Kozicki. Add to that, Kozicki told WTOL-TV Dimebag's brother Vinnie Paul Abbott was on stage when Dimebag was shot. When it was over, Kozicki had his arm around Vinnie Paul who was in tears. "I let him borrow my cell phone so he could call his dad and tell him what happened," said Kozicki. "I didn't know what to say to him. I just told him to pray."

 While most people at Columbus' Alrosa Villa nightclub watched in stunned horror Wednesday night as Nathan Gale fired his weapon onstage, and then at the crowd, a Central Ohio man sprang to action, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.
Travis Burnett, who is an amateur fighter, said he ran up on the stage in hopes of forcing the gunman to shoot himself."I didn't see anybody dead," Burnett said. "I wasn't concentrated on them. I was concentrated on (Gale).Burnett said he tried to get the gun away from Gale."He had the gun aimed at my chest when I walked around," Burnett said. "I asked him, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Get out of here,' and I said, 'No.' I moved up to him and then he shot my arm and I took off."The bullet grazed Burnett's arm."I didn't feel it," Burnett said. "I just know there was a hole in my shirt."Burnett ran back behind the bar. There, he saw Niggemeyer come into the nightclub with a shotgun. He didn't see the officer shoot the gunman, but he did hear the blast, Burton reported."I have a friend that's a police officer and he said that cop did a really courageous thing," Burnett said.Police said that Gale was holding a hostage. Burnett said that Gale and a security guard were wrestling and Gale had a "good hold" on the man, appearing that there was a hostage situation. Burnett said it was hard to tell, saying there was chaos inside the club. R

DROWNING POOL have cancelled the remainder of their tour Thursday out of respect and grief for the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.The band, who grappled with tragedy just two years ago when their lead singer died of a heart condition while on tour, issued a statement Thursday about the shootings.
"No one knows why some people do the heinous things they do," it said. "What we do know is that once again, we leave tour to bury friends, brothers and family.
"Dimebag Darrell was the epitome of rock and roll. He wasn't just a player that all guitarists aspired to be, but the genuine article and a true friend. Darrell inspired our lives and how we carried ourselves not just as musicians out on the road but also as friends in everyday life."

Dean Guitars founder Dean B. Zelinsky has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"As I sit here awake at 2:34 am, feeling numb beyond belief to the news that our good friend Darrell Abbott is no longer with us, I would like to share my thoughts as they come to mind. "I met Darrell when he was only a kid, not old enough to get into the clubs for which he would later grace the stages throughout his impressive career. This kid was great at 16 years old and destined to become the idol we now know as Dimebag Darrell.
"Darrell became the true persona of a rock star. He personified and exemplified the rock life ?he lived it 24/7. It is the Dimebag Darrells that make this industry we all are so emotionally attached to 'bigger than life.' He truly knew his role...after all; he was also rock's biggest fan. He grew up with the dream and had what it takes to put it all together.
"Anyone who ever met Dimebag Darrell will tell you, they were touched for life. He treated his fans like royalty, as he knew what it was like to be a kid at a concert and seeing your idol onstage?he wanted to give it all back. When Darrell was off stage, he was always aware of whom he was and the effect he had on his fans. People who knew him will tell you that behind the persona of Dimebag Darrell was a guy who was kind, loyal, sentimental, full of emotion, full of life, charismatic and extremely talented. Darrell was an artist not only with a guitar but also with a pen. When I would meet with him, he would show up with a file folder full of drawings of his guitar designs. "Just a few weeks ago I was with Darrell at a show in Milwaukee. Backstage after the show, two kids were waiting at the stage door and would not leave without seeing Darrell. When he got wind of this he insisted they be brought back to meet him. These kids were so in awe to meet their idol, then Darrell rocked their world when he put them on the VIP list for the Chicago show the very next day. "Darrell was one of rock's greatest guitarists. He took metal to whole new level and showed young rockers how the instrument was to be played. He made young kids all over the world want to pick up a guitar and play like Dime! He potentially inspired more kids to play guitar than any artist in recent history. "On a personal note, words cannot express the loss I am feeling. Of all the stars I have met in the past 28 years, nobody touched me like Darrell. He was the artist who would bring me on stage and introduce me as the world's greatest guitar maker. He was a fan of mine as I was a fan of him. No single artist has done more for the popularity of Dean Guitars than Dimebag Darrell. "These past months working with Darrell on new guitar designs, talking to him just about every day have been the most invigorating times in my 28-year career. Seeing Dime onstage with a Dean in his hands again brought back feelings I thought were gone forever. Just yesterday I was on the phone with him discussing the photo shoot we had set up for the show in Michigan on Friday to introduce his new Razorback design. He started talking about how he couldn't wait to get home in a few days to work on the new DAMAGEPLAN CD. He said this new CD was going to be heavier than ever and blow people's minds. "I cannot help but think about Rita. She and Darrell had been together since they were in 3rd grade. I have worked very closely with her these past months as she handles all of Dime's affairs. She is truly the woman behind the man and Dimebag would have told you, he wouldn't have been Dimebag without Rita. She is one very special person and I cannot fathom the pain she must be feeling. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his brother Vinnie and the rest of his family. Our hearts go out as well to the other victims of this horrible tragedy. "Darrell was a living legend. He lived every day of his life to the fullest. I will always remember his smile onstage. He loved what he did and it showed. No matter how big the crowd, he could always find you and fling a guitar pick your way. We at Dean have lost a great artist but more importantly, a true friend. The world has lost a great human being."

Damn what a fuckin physco.... I was at Sebastian Bach concert in my town. I was so happy to see a true rockstar closely. Went home and saw Darrell was shot in the head. He's such a great guitarist. R.I.P Darrell.  :-[

Fuckign Hell!!!Thsi just aint right, he didnt  deseved to die that way, killed by a fucking gay with pistol in his hand, son of a bitch.....
 :no: :rant:



R.I.P





Baby Slash//

Lars Ulrich's comments on Metallica.com


RIP DARRELL
12/9/2004   


This is unbelievable. To sit here and talk about Darrell in the past tense seems so wrong, so unfair, so unjust, I don't even know what to say. My heart goes out to Vinnie, to their families, to the other band members, and to the families and friends of the other people that were killed or injured, in this fucking senseless act of selfishness and stupidity.

In 1985 I was fortunate enough to meet both Darrell and his brother in Dallas on tour. The first thing me and my friend did as soon as that tour was over, was to head straight back to Dallas and hang out with Darrell and Vinnie for a long time, cuz they were the coolest muther fuckers that we had met after criss-crossing the states for three months. That was the beginning of a friendship that was anchored in love, respect, fun, outrageousness, music, booze, sweat, late nights, early mornings, hangovers, headaches, pounding eardrums, sore bodies... the list goes on.

There's a tendency in these fucked up moments to use the word "I" a lot and focus on one's own feelings of pity and shock... so instead let it just be known that thru these eyes Darrell was incredibly warm, open, fun, nutty, forthcoming, talented, embracing, unpretentious, accommodating and he always had a very attractive innocence about him that obviously made him never threatening and always welcoming.

Darrell and his brother were the cornerstone of musical adventures that were always groundbreaking, pushing boundaries, challenging to themselves and to their fans, respected by their peers and always true musicians' musicians, and today the rock world is worse off because of this untimely and senseless waste.

Much love and respect and thanks for letting me be a small part of your life and I know you are already having fun and throwing it down with Bon Scott, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Jimi, Cliff B., and the rest of the musicians and troublemakers that you are hanging with so prematurely.

Lars

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine will be hosting the MTV2 "Headbanger's Ball" tribute to DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell on Saturday, December 11 beginning at 10:00 p.m."For those of you who do, please pray for me that I would do Darrell justice," Mustaine said. "For those of you who don't, please just send positive thoughts so this will be a truly fabulous, honoring, and respectful reflection back on a very good man, and guitar virtuoso."

John Futty, Evan Goodenow and Aaron Beck of The Columbus Dispatch have issued the following report:Shortly before DAMAGEPLAN took the stage at the Alrosa Villa, a man approached the band's bus behind the North Side nightclub.He wanted to know if lead guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, were onboard.Aaron Barns, the heavy-metal group's sound man, told him the brothers had already gone in the club."The next time I see him, he's walking behind the bass player and singer right over to Dime," Barns said yesterday.As the band played its opening song Wednesday night, the man rushed across the stage and grabbed Darrell Abbott, firing several shots into his head from a Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic handgun.The gunman, identified yesterday as Nathan Gale, killed three other people and wounded two before Columbus Police Officer James D. Niggemeyer entered the rear of the club shortly after 10:20 p.m.Carrying a Remington 870, a 12-gauge shotgun, the officer circled a stack of amplifiers and saw Gale, who was at the back of the stage holding a gun to a man's head.
From 20 feet away, Niggemeyer killed Gale with a single shotgun blast.His decision to enter the club without waiting for fellow police officers to arrive saved lives, many said."All of the officers have been trained since the Columbine incident that, if there's shooting going on, to go in and put the pressure on the shooter," Niggemeyer's supervisor, Sgt. Jeff Leesbug, said last night.In addition to the band's guitarist, those whom Gale killed were Nathan Bray, a 23-year-old fan from Grove City; Erin A. Halk, a 29-year-old Northwest Side man who worked security at the club; and Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, a 40-year-old crew member from Waxahachie, Texas.Wounded in the shooting were Chris Paluska, the band's tour manager, and John Brooks, a drum technician. Both were in Riverside Methodist Hospital last night, where Paluska was in serious condition and Brooks was in good condition.Many in the crowd of more than 400 heavymetal enthusiasts thought Gale was a crew member, a part of the act or an exuberant fan."He didn't pull out the gun until he got to Dimebag," said Brian Kozicki, the club's lighting director, who watched from the sound booth.People who had known the 25-year-old Gale in his hometown of Marysville described him yesterday as an unstable man who once asserted that the Abbott brothers' former band, PANTERA, had stolen his song lyrics.Some witnesses said Gale fired at Vinnie Paul Abbott but missed and then fired at those who attempted to subdue him. "He probably wouldn't have shot anyone else if other people hadn't tried to stop him," Barns said.Mitch Carpenter, an Alrosa security guard working in the parking lot, said he encountered Gale before the concert and asked him to "park his car and buy a ticket or leave." Gale parked behind the building near the band's bus and was asked to move his car, which he did.The next time Carpenter saw Gale, he was in the club."He had hopped the fence at the patio," Carpenter said. "He was walking really fast toward the stage and I followed him."I thought he was going to get up there and stage dive or something during the first song. I figured he was just a guy who didn't have any money to buy a ticket so he got in the way he did."I've been going over it in my mind, but when he came in I didn't want to tackle him. He was a big guy."Alrosa owner Rick Cautela was tending bar when he heard the shots during the band's opening song, "New Found Power". He thought they were firecrackers."I heard the music stop and heard more pops. I figured the band had stopped and was going to start again when they grabbed whoever had the firecrackers," he said of security workers. "I just kept waiting on customers."But then audience members ran toward the exits.The panic and confusion can be heard in 10 calls made to 911 operators, beginning at 10:18 p.m., seconds after the first shots were fired."I'm at the Alrosa Villa and there's a shooting. Someone is shooting the band on the stage," said a female caller."They're still shooting. The person is still loose with the gun."Kozicki said he took cover in the sound booth and dialed 911 as soon as Darrell Abbott slumped to the floor. He remained on the line with an operator for five minutes, offering details about the chaos and the gunman's actions.A little more than three minutes after his call to 911 began, he told the operator that police had killed the gunman.Kozicki, a student at Bowling Green State University, called the officer's action "100 percent in the right."If he hadn't done it, more people probably would have been killed," he said yesterday.Niggemeyer had just begun his shift at the 18 th precinct, at Karl and Morse roads ? about 2 miles from Alrosa ? when the report of a shooting came in. When he arrived at the club about two minutes later, security workers pointed him to the back door.At least five other officers came through another door of the club seconds after Niggemeyer fired. Ultimately, about 60 detectives were at the club, many working overtime. They interviewed about 250 witnesses, putting them on three buses provided by COTA.This is the first time the 31-year-old Niggemeyer, who joined the force in 1999, has shot a suspect. He has a clean record, with many compliments from citizens, said Sgt. Brent Mull, a police spokesman. The division would not release his personnel file yesterday.Band members spent Wednesday night on their bus then went back to Texas, where they're base"Vinnie crashed in Dime's bunk and was crying," Barns said.

LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Wes Borland has posted the following message on the group's official web site:"We were playing a show in Texas a few years ago and I saw this sweaty, super long-haired, big-bearded, Dimebag Darrell-looking guy come over the barricade right in front of me. 'Holy crap,' I thought, "That IS Dimebag Darrell!!!' I had only met him once before, but I had grown up on PANTERA and was a little star-struck by his presence. He was smiling and looking up at me and jamming out to whatever song we were playing at the moment. The security in the barricade were getting ready to shoo him out from in front of the stage with everyone else, but I stopped them from ushering him out and I stopped playing guitar and I shook his hand. He hung out right in front of me for about four more songs. I couldn't believe it. He was a hero to so many of us. I'm glad I got to have that moment with him. I'll never forget it."

 Members of MOT?RHEAD have issued brief separate statements regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:Lemmy: "To Vinnie & all concerned: Man, I am so fuckin sorry. You know I loved Dimebag and I'm about as sorry as you can get. Glad you're OK though. If there's anything you need help with, you got my number somewhere, OK."Thinking of you."Phil Campbell: "I'm so sorry, we'll dedicate the set to Dimebag tonight."Mikkey Dee: "My deepest sympathy to everyone affected by this tragedy."


 Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"I knew Darrell from months of touring together. He was a great guitar player, actually much better than was probably necessary to play the kind of music he was playing. Although his image was a wild partying maniac, his playing always was full of class and finesse. As a fellow guitar player, KISS fanatic and basic rock dude just tryin' to make music, I'm sad and shocked by this."Why is it so easy for any lunatic to get his hands on a gun??"RIP, Dime, you will be missed..."

STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:"I can't believe the news I got last night. Jon called me telling me that Dimebag was shot at a club while they were performing. I couldn't believe it then and I still can't. On behalf of myself and the band I'd like to send our deepest sympathy to Dime's family. What a loss."I was lucky enough to be able to hang with Dime on a few occasions and he was a man that loved life and lived it to the fullest. He was an incredible guitar player / musician / human being ? a legend who will live on in the awesome music that he made."Pour yourself a shot of crown, add a splash of coke and raise your glass in Dime's memory. You'll be missed."

BLACK SABBATH legend Tony Iommi, plus KISS principals Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons have issued separate statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:Tony Iommi: "I was absolutely shocked by the news. Dimebag was such a really nice genuine bloke and a great player. He was always very respectful towards me and it was lovely to have him on tour with us. He will be sadly missed."

Paul Stanley: "I'm stunned. The taking of Dimebag Darrell's life in this horrific murder is a senseless tragedy for his fans and unfathomable loss for his family. I send my deepest condolences to Vinnie and the rest of his family. My thoughts are also with the families of all the other victims of this heinous act."

Gene Simmons: "Sad to report 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott, formerly of PANTERA, has been killed in a club incident. Our best wishes to his family and friends."

BBC News is reporting that the U.K. edition of Metal Hammer magazine printed an interview two weeks before former PANTERA guitarist Darrell Abbott was shot and killed, saying he should be "severely beaten."Metal Hammer published the interview with singer Phil Anselmo, who featured in PANTERA with Abbott. BLABBERMOUTH.NET made several excerpts from the interview available online on December 1.Abbott was one of five people killed in Ohio as his band DAMAGEPLAN performed.A spokesman for publisher Future said it was "really sorry" to hear of the deaths, adding: "We extend our sympathies to the families involved."Anselmo, who is now lead singer for SUPERJOINT RITUAL, was interviewed in the Christmas edition of the magazine, talking about the acrimonious break-up of PANTERA.No motive has yet been established for the killings, although Columbus police have said witnesses had described hearing alleged gunman Nathan Gale accuse Abbott of being behind the split of PANTERA."[Abbott] deserves to be beaten severely," Anselmo told the magazine, which is not published in the U.S.The magazine's cover features Anselmo brandishing two knives at the camera.


The Associated Press is reporting that the man who shot guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott once told a friend that Abbott's former band, PANTERA, stole his lyrics.
Jeramie Brey said gunman Nathan Gale (Photo#1, Photo#2, Photo#3) once showed up at a friend's house saying he wanted to share songs he had written. The pages of lyrics were copied from PANTERA, but Gale claimed he had written them, Brey said.
"He was off his rocker," Brey told The Columbus Dispatch. "He said they were his songs, that PANTERA stole them from him and that he was going to sue them."
He later told Brey that he planned to sue PANTERA for stealing his identity. Brey and friend Dave Johnson said Gale's behavior frightened them and they distanced themselves from him several years ago. But other friends said they never considered Gale capable of violence.
On Wednesday night, the 25-year-old former Marine charged the stage at a show by Abbott's new band, DAMAGEPLAN, and gunned down four people including Abbott before a policeman fatally shot him.Police said Friday they still didn't know Gale's motive, and they may never find out. Some witnesses said Gale yelled accusations that the revered guitarist broke up PANTERA, but police had not verified those reports.

It's really great to see so many other artists commenting on this situation.Maybe seeing so many other's comments will give the clubs a clue,and get them metal detectors.
Thanks for posting Malcom :smoking:

I belive this post deserves to be on its own:

DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul issued the following statement:

"With all his greatness and accomplishments on the guitar, Dime will be missed more for his giving personality, charisma, caring for others, love and most of all his HEART!! Twice as big as the state of TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!! Dime gave it all every day to each and every one of us and our lives have forever been hollowed without him...Thanks to all of you for reaching out to us in this time of our immeasurable loss. REST IN PEACE BROTHER DIME!!!!!!"

ive been going around to various message boards on the net since last night just trying to find more info. i must say there are so many people who are grieving right now, its really unbeleivible. since this is the 1st time ive been to HTGTH in a couple of days i just want to extend my apologies and prayers to everyone. Dimebag was not just a great guitar player, but a truely great person. i will sorely miss him

Ted Nugent spoke to the Flint, Michigan newspaper The Flint Journal about the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell."It was horrible. Darrell was a big fan of mine. He expressed that every time we ever saw each other," said the Nuge, who fondly recalled that PANTERA performed his "Journey to the Center of the Mind" and "Cat Scratch Fever" the last time they played Detroit."It's tragic on two dynamic levels," Nugent, an outspoken advocate of sensible gun ownership, added. "Once again, innocence is destroyed, and it's Americans destroying other Americans. This conduct runs wild in this country ... It's not the Taliban doing it. It's Americans."

 Former JANE'S ADDICTION/RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS guitarist Dave Navarro has posted the following message on his web site:"I never met Darrell, but I will always remain dazzled by his playing."I cannot believe how sad the whole shooting incident is."Music is important. You know it means the world to me. But in the same breath, it is just music. So many bands break up, do new stuff, move on, sometimes get back together for a while and then keep moving, reunite, I mean, it just happens. Marriages end in divorce sometimes, boyfriends and girlfriends separate, business partners go separate ways."I was going to try to list all the bands I could think of that have parted over the years, but come on, that would take forever. As soon as I typed, THE BEATLES, I thought, 'Maybe I don't even have to go any further.'"Darrell was just playing music."I have read that his death was due to the opinions of a disgruntled PANTERA fan. If there is any truth to that, it is just so sickening and pathetic and full of selfish hate on the part of the shooter. So full of self-importance and grandeur. As a music fan, it makes me sad. As a fellow artist it makes me sad. I mean, who did this guy think he was rocking out to when he listened to PANTERA? Was he really just a part-time supporter of Darrell? Could he find the distinction? What a fucked up world it must be to live in where one thinks that everything revolves around him and is about him and for or against him."So, Darrell got shot cause he wanted to make music. Because he was happy creating and playing. I am utterly saddened and disgusted. A devastating day for music and for those of us who consider ourselves fans, myself included, because, clearly, on some level, this guy thought we all had this in common. We consider ourselves fans of music."And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation ? some fact of my life---unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake...""Music, our song, our community is our voice. It is by the people for the people, of the people. It is progression, forward movement. The hate is backwards decay into death. We owe it to ourselves to be the representatives of who we really are. The healers. We owe it to the world, because clearly, the world needs to be shown sometimes."

 Former ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell told the Dallas Morning News that DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell was a one-of-a-kind character ? a hard-partying Yosemite Sam who had a tender, more nurturing side.
"He was a deep soul," Cantrell said. "He was always there with a smile ... which is why this doesn't make any sense at all. Why would anyone have a beef with him?"
Cantrell recalled the time Dimebag borrowed his Yukon truck and returned it full of graffiti and adhesive stickers. "That's the kind of guy he was. ... He loved to pull pranks on you. ... He always had a joe and a smile."

Zakk Wylde:"He was beyond beautiful. When he'd walk in the room, he'd light it up. Fuck the guitar playing ? he's right up there with Eddie and Randy and Hendrix. All he wanted to do was make everyone happy. He was the ray of sunshine. Dime will never die ever ? he's in my veins. He's sitting at God's tavern, having a cold one with Randy Rhoads and Hendrix. Dime was an original."

 Former COAL CHAMBER/current PI?ATA guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascon, has issued the following statement regarding the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell:I would just like to take this moment to expess my sorrow to all the people that passed away [Wednesday] night."I know Dime was a great influence to a lot of people, including myself. He will be missed deeply."I can personally say I had some of the best times touring with PANTERA. Music is something that should be shared with all. We never stop to realize how powerful it can be.

"Dime, thanks for all the fun times we had! This drink's for you!"R.I.P."

this is absolute bullshit, i am beside myself, so i am sorry if this post pisses anyone off.   I just fucking get pissed off when shit like this happens, what give this son of a bitch the right to take another person's life that many people value so much? i don't care how fucked up your life is, that is your problem.  I am glad the cop got their when he did so that nobody else got hurt, but i hope to god that their is a heaven and hell so that this motherfucker can face the consequences of his actions. i just hope to hell that he doesn't just get to slay 5 people that numerous people care about just to get shot. I hope this guy goes to hell so he can face the pain that he has caused in so many people's hearts by killing 5 innocent people. i don't care how fucked up your life is, taking it out on other people is simply inexuseable. I no this post makes no sense but i am just beside myself with emotions that i don't really no how to express them.  All i can ask is Why???!?!?! It also makes this board's constant obsession with slash and axl seem so trivial.  They are both still alive and we should be happy.  Being pissed off and shit about axl not releasing cd or anyone breaking up the band is pointless!!!! It is their life and we should respect them for living it the way they decided. It's non of our fucking business why they broke up.  Sometimes people just do what they wanna do.

Before i go i just want to extend my sympathay for every fan,family member and friend of dimebag and the people that lost their lives. I pray they will all be in a better place.

Here is a tribute page set up by launchcast with Pantera and Damage Plan Videos along with pictures and a place to post messages.

http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/dimebag/

MTV News reports: Having befriended DAMAGEPLAN drum tech John "Kat" Brooks before the group's show in Columbus, Ohio Wednesday night (Dec. 8), 28-year-old Kevin Holycross found himself standing off to the side of the stage as the band began performing. "The beginning of the nightmare," as he called it, started 40 seconds into the first song, when gunman Nathan Gale walked up to the guitarist and "shot him in the side of the head, almost point blank".The crowd, not registering what happened, continued clapping and screaming, Holycross said, with people leaning over the balconies shouting, "It's a hoax! It's a hoax!" But knowing it wasn't, Brooks began screaming, "What the f---? What the f---?" Holycross said.Holycross followed Brooks to the side of the stage, where a security guard was trying to subdue Gale and got shot as a result. As the shots continued ? one hitting Brooks in the leg ? people began to realize what was happening and started screaming, "Call 911!" as they ducked for cover.In the midst of the chaos, Gale remained calm."He wasn't screaming," Holycross said. "Everybody's screaming at him, but I didn't see his mouth move one time. He didn't look like he was flipping out, you know what I mean? You'd expect somebody [who'd do this] to be crazy and jumpy, real sketchy. But he was calm and collected. He wasn't rapidly firing shots, he wasn't back and forth with his gun. He seemed to know his targets.

Dave Lavender of The Herald-Dispatch is reporting that in Nashville, opening up a 40,000-square-foot club called The Red Iguana, long-time Huntington-based promoter Rick Widdifield already has been dealing with some of the fallout from the Columbus, Ohio, shootings that left a popular guitarist dead on stage and four others dead.
Widdifield, of American Promotions, which books national acts into such Huntington live music venues as Banana Joe's Island Party and the newly renamed Huntington Music Hall inside the Monkey Bar, said clubs will be adding more security measures and restricting entrances and exits."We had more than 2,500 people through the door and we have had heightened security and had to hire additional people here because there is seven exits in the club," Widdifield said of the Nashville club.Widdifield, who said the next big live club show is Kid Rock's DJ, DJ Paradigm at the MonkeyBar Jan. 14, said the two Huntington venues already have restricted entry, strict dress codes and mandatory coat checks at the entrance.

DANZIG bassist Jerry Montano has sent the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in regards to the tragic death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:"I just wanted to say my heart goes out to Vince, Rita, and the entirePANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN family. We lost undoubtfully the greatest metal guitarist of all time and a great friend."I had the honor of calling [Dimebag] a friend and even bandmember at one time (I was lucky enough to play bass for Dime and Vinnie's side band GASOLINE). I have to say just being next to him while he was playing his guitar was always a sacred experience ? he was truly unbelievable when it came to his playing, but he really shined when it came to being a friend."I can remember during reheasal one day or night (who the fuck knows at that point, right?!!) after the four of us finished playing (fourth being my boy Thurber T. Mingus, our singer and friend from the southern metal band PUMPJACK). Dime and I were hangin having a few beers in the back. I remember asking him, 'How the FUCK do you do it man!!!?' and he looked at me with a very humble look and said, 'Man, I just close my eyes and it comes right through my body my hands and outta my guitar.' I remember him telling me he doesn't even know what's gonna come out of him when he records his solos and that it was a gift given to him from god that he never questions."Truly amazing."He was THE ONE THE ONLY and there will NEVER be another."Words like kind, caring, loving, generous amazing, undeniable, compassionate and god-sized are what come to mind when thinking about this kind man I had the privilege of getting to know very well over the years."And there is the touring we did together ... I swear, [it] literally has taken years and years off all of our lives!! GODDAMN! Ozzfest!! Reinventing tour!! Those four months alone almost did me in ? literally! I remember he was as excited as me when I landed the NOTHINGFACE gig, and gave us the tour immediately!! (Good times). I will never forget one word, one moment, or one note for as long as I exist. EVER."I just needed to say you'll be greatly missed my brother (I still feel like I am gonna get 4- and 5- and 6-in-the-morning phone calls fom you!!). You will never be forgotten ? and [you] truly made an impact on my life forever."So let's sit back and remember the good times, all the wild and insane times and the quiet cool mellow hung over times, and know the entire world lost a friend and hero. So now he graduates from this life to go on to his destiny as the greatest metal guitarist of all time, a true bonafide LEGEND."CHEERS to you, my friend!!! 'I'll see you on the other side.' At the great bar in the sky. Until then, you'll forever be in our hearts.
(Just like you always said!) C'MON with your C'MON!!!"With all my love, respect, admiration... and with great regret, I now say goodbye."GODS NEVER DIE ? DIME LIVES"


 Former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach honored "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's memory by performing PANTERA's "Walk" with his band during a concert in Madrid, Spain Friday night (Dec. 10). Sebastian reportedly sounded angry and upset over his friend's tragic death as he lifted up a poster of Dimebag that someone from the 1,500-strong crowd had thrown up on stage.

LINKIN PARK promoted their hardcover collection of behind-the-scenes photos "From the Inside: Linkin Park's Meteora" with a fan autograph session in Los Angeles, New York and Dublin. Asked by The San Francisco Chronicle if the shooting incident in Columbus that left DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott gave him chills with regards to his own band's security, LINKIN PARK rapper, production whiz and graphic designer Mike Shinoda said, "Absolutely. You can't hear that story and not be concerned. If there was anything I would say to the fans, it would be knowing where to draw the line. It is one thing to be a big fan of the group and something else to cross over the line. You'd like to keep everybody safe and keep yourself safe."

JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford has issued the following statement in regards to the tragic death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:
"Hello everyone. My deepest condolences go out to everyone affected regarding the passing of dimebag. His mucianship was superb and his original style was and will remain an inspiration to players worldwide. His friendship can never be replaced."I first met Dime in 1991. I was in Toronto preparing for the 'Painkiller' tour. I had MuchMusic TV on and saw this guy talking about metal and wearing a 'British Steel' shirt. From what he was saying and the PANTERA video that aired I knew right away that this man was a guitar god!"I called MuchMusic and spoke to Dime and that night went to a club and hung with the band. We jammed 'Metal Gods'. From that point on, he and the rest of the band became solid friends. My gut feeling was that this band would be huge.So PANTERA toured with PRIEST all over Europe. Many a night I would stand off stage and watch them tear up city after city leaving everyone stunned by their intense performances. It was a thrill to watch and hear Dime invent and advance with his playing. Soon the world became Panterarised!"Of course, so much has happened since those early times and I feel that it's important now that however we take the turn of events in recent years we all stay true to the same belief that Dimebag had about his love of metal, which was to play your heart out and be real wherever you are! Some things that happen in life make no sense at all, but out of pain comes strength, and I know the metal community will take that strength and use it as an enduring memory for Dimebag."Love never dies."

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King has issued the following statement in memory of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:"First of all, I want to thank everyone for the e-mails, gifts and overall well-wishing in the aftermath of this tragedy. It's unimaginable how this could ever happen. I don't know if I'll ever get over the reality that my friend is gone. My heart goes out to Vince, Rita, family and friends of the injured and deceased."I'll never forget you, Dime, my iron-livered brother. You're more than guitar hero. You're my fucking hero too."I'll have a double waiting for you on stage. Rest in peace, bro."

Philip Anselmo's (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, DOWN, ex-PANTERA) friend "J" has posted the following message on the official DOWN forum in regards to the tragic death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:

"I don't have a big official statement. I do have a lot of inside knowledge on the PANTERA feud from Philip's side and tonight he gave me the green light to let everyone else in on what I know. He trusts me to do this, and I take 100 percent responsibility for anything that is inaccurate, but I'm confident you all know I'm not going to touch on this subject unless it's from the heart. He didn't even give me any specifics except for the final part of this post... he just wants me to tell people what I know to be true.

"Philip loved Darrell like a brother, always. They accomplished things together that most wouldn't even dare to dream. None of us can know what it's like to be riding such a big machine, it changes the face of music and brings joy millions of people's lives around the globe. The rewards are big, but the stress is unimaginable if things don't go perfectly. Yes, PANTERA broke up and there was a lot of shit-talking through the media. There are two people on this board who would periodically ask me about what's going to happen with PANTERA in the future. I told them each time that I don't know when, but I'm 100 percent sure that we will see PANTERA together again. I told them that when PANTERA does get back together, you will know somebody who never lost faith, not for a second. Why did I tell them this? Because I know Philip loves those guys and when he was ready, he would reach out to them and try to make it work again. I had the feeling that one morning (afternoon maybe), all the 'Cowboys From Hell' boys would just roll out of the rack and say 'Let's go!'

"Of all the time I've spent with Rex and Philip, I never badgered them about PANTERA, but the subject did come up every once in a while. As for Rex, he would refer to the state of things simply as 'silly nonsense.' All I ever got out of Philip was something like 'Nyaaaa... I just don't feel like sitting down and writing PANTERA riffs right now.' ... and that's it! No crazy accusations, name-calling, or carrying on. As a matter of fact, in the middle of all the heat, Philip described Vinnie as 'the perfect drummer' and that Vinnie could drum more perfect than a drum machine if he so chose. What he said of Dime, he also repeated tonight. 'The best of the best.'

"It's sad that the media would irritate the situation so much. Countless times, Kate and I would listen in on Phil doing interviews. Always, always, always, the jackals wanted PANTERA dirt. Sometimes Philip would give it to them, sometimes he would not. However every single time I was there, he expressed his love for, and wished luck to Vinnie and Dime but that was somehow left out of the final print more times than not. I was at Philip's house a few weeks ago and I informed him that I handle the official PANTERA site now, and he asked me if I talked to Dime. I said, 'No, when was the last time YOU talked to him?' With a sigh, he said 'Three years.' Not a 'Fuckin right 3 years' not a 'Yeah three years and it's gonna be three more'... but the dude was genuinely disappointed about the situation. I could tell... the time to patch things up was drawing near.

"There's more I want to share, but it's almost 5AM right now, and I just managed to hold myself together long enough to get that out.

"Philip isn't hiding out or waiting for the right moment to speak, he's in Texas right now searching for answers to this tragedy the best he can. There was one thing he asked of me, that I humbly bring to you all:

"'Darrell my brother. The best of the best.'

DAVE MUSTAINE Apologizes To METALLICA, Promises To Be More Like DIMEBAG - Dec. 11, 2004
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message on the group's official message board:

"Droogies!

"Tonight I had the honor and priveledge to host a special [MTV2 'Headbanger's Ball'] tribute to the life of Darrel 'Dimebag' Abbott.

"I went out to NYC Thursday at 9:30 PM on a redeye to do this, and during the period since then, I have had a good amount of time to reflect on my own life.

"I realized how fortunate I am, and have been to have met some of you, and in some cases become friends with many of you.

"What is bothering me is the people who I have not been able to meet, or worse, have met and ended up not being friends with. There are many.

"I would like to, in honor of Darrel's life, learn from him and how many friends he apparently had made.

"Over my career I have a lot of cleaning up to do on my side of the street as well as letting things go, for once and for all; I need to apologize to many people and also to forgive and quit holding grudges.

"Having said that, if there is something I did to you or someone you know, please give me the opportunity to make this right.

"To SLAYER and METALLICA: I am sorry for whatever I may have done in the past and wish to make it right, to put it behind us. Please let me know how and when we can talk this out.

"To previous bandmembers and managers: I say the same to you.

"To all the MEGADETH/METALLICA fans: from this day forward, there will never be another unkind word from my mouth perpetuating this silly 22-year-old feud.

"And to heavy metal fans around the world: I am going to emulate Dimebag by being more like him; more friendly, and more interested in your lives too, I promise.

"I am grateful to have been asked to come in this hour of darkness to represent us all as we come together and heal as a worldwide music community, and I would be a fraud if I didn't say I need to do more to better represent.

"Thank you in advance for your forgiveness and for your support."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even in death Dimebag can spread goodwill towards his fellow man  :'( RIP Darrell

R.I.P Darrell


This is one fucked up occurance :-\

My deepest sympathies to Darrell's friends and family.  That is a horrible thing.  I read that on VH1 yesterday then saw a Uranium tribute to Darrell on Fuse last night.  I havent heard any of his stuff, but I am still shocked and horrified that this could happen to a beloved entertainer.  God I hope this never happens again.

Rest In Peace Darrell, from a fellow guitarist to another.

Slashisthebest

Keep on Rockin in Heaven man!

 A BLABBERMOUTH.NET visitor has sent us the following message regarding the shooting incident at a Columbus, Ohio nightclub last Wednesday (Dec. 8), which resulted in the death of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:
"The information I have concerning the incident in the Columbus nightclub was that a friend of mine went to see DAMAGEPLAN in Cincinnati over the summer. He said there was a large man there that jumped on stage right after Dimebag came out, and the man tried to assault him. But he was stopped by security."After I heard what happened Wednesday night, I wondered if this was the same man in Columbus, because he was also described as a large man."My friend is now on active duty so I was not able to ask him about it. I did call the Columbus Police [Department] and they told me a couple people had called them already and told them what had happened in Cincinnati."[This information] may not be much, but maybe if security had been better, this guy might not have been able to get on stage two times in a row, if in fact this was the same man both times, and all this might have been prevented."

QUEEN guitar legend Brian May has posted the following message on his official web site, BrianMay.com:"We are all gutted to hear of the senseless and tragic death of Dimebag Darrell, who was shot by a 'fan' who climbed on the stage at a show of his new band, DAMAGEPLAN. He was, of course, better known for his great playing in PANTERA.
"PANTERA were, I think, the first band that I and my son Jimmy both got equally excited about. It was Jimmy who first got me to see them. They were a great band, and Dimebag was an innovative and passionate player."Great musician. Terrible loss. My respects to him, to his family and friends. Also to those who were killed trying to save him and apprehend the gunman."RIP."


I know this is total councidence but its pretty wierd..K Dimebag was killed on the 8th..As we know thats the day John Lennon was killed..It was also Jim Morrisons birthday but also it was the day that the car crash between Vince Neil and the Hanoi Rocks drummer happened (which infortunately resulted in Rocks drummers death)...Vince Neil was also driving a Ford Pantera...Like i said this is councidence but quite wierd

 :no: :no: :no:

I still can't believe he's gone...

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this tragic event Malcolm.

Singer Mike D. Williams of EYEHATEGOD, which features in its ranks SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist Jimmy Bower, has posted the following message at his Southern Nihilism Front web site:
"I know by now you've all heard this bullshit [about Dimebag being shot to death]... It's sad as fuck. I can't even put into words the scope of the violence involved in this... A couple of my other friends were shot as well.
"The fucked up thing is that the shooter was apparently pissed 'cos PANTERA broke up... The goddamn irony of it all is (nothing was set in stone), but they were just starting to talk about doing some reunion shows and put all their petty differences aside.
"What a fuckin shame... I got tons a stories about how much fun we had whenever we hung w/ Dime, staying at his house, BBq'ing and generally getting blitzed, cuttin' up and talkin' trash... Blasting D.A. COE and KISS with that freakin dry ice machine/light show in his living room(!!) and even going fishing w/him in Arlington. We'll never forget all that. The dude lived to have a good time. "...Roll the dice and do a shot of Blacktooth for ya boy..."


QUIET RIOT frontman Kevin DuBrow has issued the following statement in memory of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:"I did not know Darrell as well as many others but well enough to know that he was a really, really nice person in a business full of phonies."Darrell and Vinnie came to most of the QUIET RIOT shows in Dallas and used to rent a limo and come to some of our other shows in Texas."Darrell was always wanting everyone to come with them and hang out. He was a real fun-loving type of person, as is Vinnie."My condolences go out to Darrell's family and to Vinnie in particular. This was senseless and frightening. We have played this club many times and unlike the Rhode Island club it is one of the few remaining good rock clubs. The owner Rick Kate was always a gentlemen to us."Darrell was a Randy Rhoads fan and we spoke about it a couple times. What a waste. He will be missed."


 A public memorial for DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott will be held at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday, December 14 beginning at 8:00 p.m. (not 9:00 p.m. as originally reported).

Arlington Convention Center
1200 Ballpark Way
Arlington, TX
(817) 459-5000

People wishing to sign the official obituary guestbook for Abbott can do so at Legacy.com.

so sad...

Rest in Peace Dime. Shred in heaven like the Guitar God you always were.

Yeah.....

R.I.P Dimebag  :( :crying:

This is crazy shit, i know it's a bit late but R.I.P. Dimebag

 The family of slain DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott has requested a "Kiss Kasket" (photo) for Abbott to be buried in, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons revealed during an appearance on Fox News' "The Big Story Weekend Edition with Rita Cosby" on Saturday (Dec. 11). The coffin features the faces of the four founding members of KISS, the KISS logo and the words "Kiss Forever". A transcript of Simmons' appearance on the program follows:

Rita Cosby: Gene, it's great to see you, my friend. I wish it was under better circumstances.

Gene Simmons: Thank you, thank you.

Cosby: Now, I understand there was something special. This just came down recently. Darrell Abbott's family requested something sort of special tied with your band. Tell us about it.

Simmons: Well, I wasn't really prepared to talk about it, but the family requested, as a personal issue between the family and the grieving people who are going to be there, to send a Kiss Kasket. We initially did it as a promotion. And you know, I think it meant a lot to Darrell when, you know ? when he was alive, he gave lots of people great joy. I mean he had the band tattooed onto his chest. He was a major figure in rock and roll. He's going to be greatly missed. And the family wish ? you know the one last wish they had was that he be buried in a Kiss Kasket. And I think it's a private matter for the family and the fans actually.

Cosby: No, and I think that's beautiful that that's happening, too, because I'm sure, it obviously, as you said, meant a lot to him. How big of a shock was this? You know this guy really was a legend and so well respected in the industry. How big of a shock was it to you, Gene, when you heard what happened?

Simmons: You know it's about as shocking as it can get. The unfortunate thing is that the media will tend to sort of look at the visuals, you know, the flying hair and the crazy look and all of the over- the-top stuff, which is what performing is all about. But people forget that underneath all of that, actually, Darrell was a very, very sweet guy, very upstanding, very quiet in his own way, immensely talented. PANTERA was a very, very important band. And I'm sure all the fans are going to miss him very much. I know I do.

We ? KISS played at the stadium in Argentina and we invited PANTERA to join us. And it was one of the highlights of any of the tours we have ever played. Darrell was just a sweet guy.

BLABBERMOUTH.NET has received the following (unconfirmed) tip from what has previously proven to be a reliable source close to the DAMAGEPLAN/Abbott camp:

"I won't give any details on who exactly was at Dime's funeral or who is planning on staying for the public memorial. But I will tell you that Phil Anselmo [ex-PANTERA, currently in SUPERJOINT RITUAL] came to Dallas and was barred from all events. He was told that he was not welcome."

If you are attending tonight's public memorial for Darrell Abbott in Arlington, Texas, BLABBERMOUTH.NET would like to hear from you. Please send all first-hand reports and photos to the e-mail address listed in the "Contact" section of this web site (using the navigation above).

I hope he wasn't barred from the funeral.

What's the story between Anselmo and Darrell? Kind of a Slash/ Axl thing?

i doubt that was the same guy in cincinnatti

cincy is probably a good 3 or 4 hours away from columbus and that dude from the description didnt seem like someone who would have the means to travel that far but u never know

id say it was coincidental but u never know.

Funny how you guys aren't the least bit shocked at Mustaine's recent sentiments. They're not shocking sentiments in themselves, but coming from someone like him, this is incredible.  :-\

BLABBERMOUTH.NET has confirmed that former PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo did NOT attend the the funeral of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott ? apparently because he was told that he was "not welcome" at any of the events honoring the late musician who was slain last week at a nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. Anselmo's former PANTERA/DOWN bandmate Rex Brown (bass) DID attend, as did a number of other high-profile musicians, such as Zakk Wylde, Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez, Jim Root, Corey Taylor, Paul Gray, and Dino Cazares.Cantrell, Inez and DAMAGEPLAN singer Patrick Lachman reportedly performed acoustic versions of two ALICE IN CHAINS songs ("Brother" and "Got Me Wrong") at the funeral, while Eddie Van Halen gave a speech that included an impromptu playback of a phone message he had received from Abbott at some point before his death.

Anselmo and Abbott spent 15 years touring the world together in PANTERA.

PANTERA didn't achieve widespread success until Anselmo, a New Orleans native, joined about 1989. PANTERA sold more than 10 million albums, collected two Grammy nominations and inspired legions of aspiring hard rock bands. But by 2002, Anselmo, Darrell Abbott and his brother Vinnie Paul Abbott, the band's drummer, had become estranged as Anselmo devoted more time to other projects.

In 2003, they confirmed that PANTERA had disbanded, as the two camps exchanged accusations in the hard rock press. Anselmo was at home on the north shore last week when Abbott was killed. As Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Stanley of KISS, Brian May of QUEEN and other rock icons memorialized Abbott, a devastated Anselmo made no public comment until Tuesday.

Anselmo's statement says that "the heavy metal media destroyed PANTERA." He laments that he "never got a chance to say goodbye (to Abbott) in the right way and it kills me, and I'm so sorry."

Anselmo traveled to Dallas for Abbott's funeral. But he ended up not attending "to respect the (Abbott) family's wishes, and they do not want me there. I believe I belong there, but I understand completely."

"I wish his family the least grief they could ever have, and I know it's impossible. Just bless his family, bless his friends. I love him like a brother loves a brother. . . . I'm so sorry to his family and everyone else who was senselessly killed in Columbus, Ohio."

His statement hints at an uncertain professional future.

"This has changed the entire world, and this is the last you'll be seeing of me for a long time."

Even thought Anselmo could be an idiot sometimes I don't know exactly what to think about him not being allowed at the memorial.

Can somebody explain me what the fuck hapened between Anselmo and Dimebag??What did they say to each other??















Baby Slash//

They've been bashing each other in the media ever since Pantera broke up

Yeah, that?s what I?ve read and I belive you, but an somebody transcribe some interview or a like that contains one bashing the other??












Baby Slash//

Not entirely true, Phil has repeatedly said how highly he regarded Dimebag and i think a few comments have been exaggerated.

It's absurd for him to have been barred from the funeral - its also absurd for him to now go and disappear for ages.

It wasn't so much he was barred from the funneral..The Abott family just asked him if he could not show up..They had enough pressure and things to deal with already,with out Phil showing up..Im sure things were better this way..Im sure nothing would have happened but it dosent hurt to be safe..I mean Vinnie was already upset he didnt need the emotions of seeing Phil there and knowing whether to hug him or question him about his comments towards Darell..So it was better this way..Phil said he didnt mind

 Former BROKEN HOPE and current LUPARA guitarist Jeremy Wagner has issued the following statement in memory of late DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:

"I first met Dimebag at Ozzfest 1997 at Alpine Valley Music Theater (East Troy, Wisconsin). I had stumbled into Phil Anselmo's backstage trailer with Kenny Hickey from TYPE O NEGATIVE and soon found myself among members of PANTERA, MARILYN MANSON, MACHINE HEAD, and others. I headed toward the restroom to piss, but found that the bathroom in the trailer was not exactly 'safe' as Dimebag Darrell had fed about 100 feet of water hose through a window and had a lawn-sprinkler going on full-blast in the bathroom, thus turning it into a waterpark. Dimebag stood next to the bathroom door, grinning and daring me to go in. I declined, and turned to find another restroom. But before I could leave, Dimebag grabbed me and said something like, 'You busy? No? Good, gimme a hand.'

"Dimebag slapped a stack of red plastic-cups in my hands and instructed me to line them up in a row on a deli table. Once I had about a dozen cups lined up, Dimebag took out a bottle of Crown Royal and proceeded to pour it back and forth over the cups until the bottle was empty. Dimebag handed me a cup, we toasted, and after sucking down the Crown, Dime distributed his 'Dimebag Cocktails' to all the guests in the trailer.

"I have the moment caught in an attached photograph from my old camera. From left to right is: Johnny Kelly (TYPE O NEGATIVE), Logan Mader (ex-MACHINE HEAD), myself (barely visible behind Dimebag's hair), and of course Dimebag Darrell. *Note the red cups in Johnny and Logan's hands ? cocktails compliments of Dimebag ? as well as the door to the 'raining' bathroom behind.

"I had always heard that Dimebag created 'Happy Hour' everywhere he went. It's true. I've seen PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN many times since that memorable and drunken day at Ozzfest, but I'll never forget that Ozzfest when I met a true legend/guitar-god: Dimebag Darrell. Those of us who ever saw him play or anyone who met him are truly blessed. Dimebag Darrell was the Ronnie Van Zant of the modern, metal generation. My friends, bandmates, and myself extend our deepest sympathies to Vinnie, the Abbott family, and to all the other people hurt and killed in this unthinkable, and absolutely senseless act. Rest in peace, Dimebag Darrell. We ALL love you, miss you and we will NEVER forget you!!"

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As a slain guitarist's fans gathered in Texas to honor their favorite performer, a mother mourned in private in Ohio, knowing that her son is responsible for four deaths, NBC 4's Holly Hollingsworth reported.

Thousands of people turned out for a memorial Tuesday for "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who was shot and killed Dec. 8 along with three other people at his band Damageplan's concert at Alrosa Villa in Columbus. Nathan Gale committed the murders, and was killed himself by a policeman during the incident.

Meanwhile, funeral plans and the burial site of Gale, 25, of Marysville, are shrouded in secrecy.

Gale's mother, Mary Clark, spoke exclusively Wednesday with NBC 4 about her son and the incident that unfolded last week.

The one thing Clark repeated over and over was her apology to the victims and the families left behind, Hollingsworth reported.

Clark said Gale lives in her memory as a beloved son.

"We were pretty close," Clark said.

Clark confirmed to NBC 4 that her son suffered from a mental illness. She said he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic last year when he was sent home from the Marine Corps on an early medical discharge.

"And I still didn't understand the whole thing, but he came home with his medications, and I don't know if he took them or not," Clark said.

Gale hardly talked with his mother about the diagnosis after that, Hollingsworth reported.

"I don't know if he was afraid to, or ... ashamed to, or ... didn't believe it himself," Clark said.

Clark said her son's fixation on the band Pantera peaked about eight years ago when he was in high school.

"He had it in his head that those were his lyrics," Clark said of Pantera's music. "And nobody was going to change his mind."

Clark said she told her son it was nonsense. She said he had not brought up the band to her in the years since.

Clark said that while Gale was fixated on Pantera in high school, Clark thought that problem stemmed from some drug issues, which she believed her son had since worked through.

"It seemed like he ... he put it out of his mind," Clark said. "It seemed like, OK, everything was better."

It was only with last week's shooting that Clark realized everything was not better, Hollingsworth reported.

"Maybe I wasn't looking for it," Clark said. "Maybe I wasn't in tune, you know? I should have been looking for signs, and I didn't."

But to Officer James Niggemeyer, who she says had no choice but to shoot and kill her son, she said thanks.

"I commend that man for saving the lives of others," Clark said.

Perhaps the greatest weight on Clark's heart and mind is what she knows about the handgun her son used in the shooting, Hollingsworth reported.

"When he came home for Christmas the year he was in the service, I was so proud of that man for cleaning up his life the way he did," Clark said. "And I bought him that gun. I'll never, never be able to live that part down."

Clark said Gale's mental health diagnosis came after the gun purchase.

Clark believed giving her son the gun was OK because he was a Marine and because he wanted to have a nice sidearm. She said she did not think he ever carried it.

Clark said she never saw any dangerous side to her son that might have made her try to get the gun back.

Clark has spent the past week searching for answers about why her son would kill, Hollingsworth reported.

"I have such remorse for those families, and I am so sorry that they are losing their loved ones," Clark said. "Their sons, brothers, fathers."

The only beginnings of answers Clark said she can offer come from notebooks she found in her son's apartment this week.

In one, Gale wrote that two things got him to where he is. One was that he "could not see [his] own thoughts".

"And the other is, 'Growing up not knowing my own thoughts,' " Clark said. "This is what I think paranoid schizophrenia really is."

Clark said she continues to struggle with what happened, and wonders what more she could have done.

"You don't know until you're there," she said. "Until somebody's sitting here, with their son, doing something so horrific. They'll never know."

Feel sorry for this guys mum.  Firstly she was the one who bought him the murder weapon, even if it was before he was diagnosed with this illness she probably thinks she should of kept a closer eye on him, she is going to have to live with feeling responsible for all these deaths.  I am not surprised either that the funeral is taking place in an undisclosed location, cos you just know if it was public knowledge, the grave would be wrecked and maybe even the actual funeral and at the end of the day the only person that will upset will be the guys mother and other family who don't deserve this crap just cos her son was a tad crazy....ain't her fault.

 Thoughts and tributes to DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott continue to come in from a stunned musical community following his tragic death last week at a Columbus nightclub. JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton, in New York to promote the band's upcoming new album, shared his thoughts on last week's murder of Abbott:

"We were, like everybody else, stunned," Glenn told Launch Radio Networks. "I still can't believe it. I mean, he was a great friend, we'd gone back a long way, every time we did Texas we used to hook up with him and go and have a beer with him. He was a great guy and a great guitar player, you know, and he'll be sadly missed. It's just tragic, it's awful, and I'm still in shock by it."

http://www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=3420
The Story of 2 Roadies at the incident
Here is their story of those terrible few minutes that have changed their lives forever and taken a close friend from them in the same instant. As Jon emotionally told me, "It was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life."

Both Jon and Tubbs said that the afternoon could not have gone any better. The band and their crew were extremely professional and friendly. Jon remembers Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson (the head of the band's security) making sure the local crew all had plenty of water and Dimebag Darrell Abbott even made small talk with some of them during the sound check. "They were all incredible," said Jon. During the day however, a strange man made a nuisance of himself, and was finally told to leave the area by "Mayhem." Hangers-on and Want-ta-bees are common in the music business, and no one figured this guy was really dangerous. This of course turned out to be Nathan Gale, who as we know now ended up shooting six people, and killing four of them later that day. Other than that apparently minor incident, the set-up for the show went remarkably smooth. Tubbs now also remembers that just prior to the show Gale's van was parked behind the band's tour bus, and they announced over the PA several times for the owner to have it moved or it would be towed...which the Gale reportedly did shortly before Damageplan took the stage.

As the gig was about to start, Jon was on the stage with his roommate and close friend Erin "Stoney" Halk. On the opposite side of the stage stood Jeffrey 'Mayhem' Thompson performing his security duties by scanning the audience for any potential threats to the band. About that time (just a few minutes prior to the band entering the stage) Jon was thirsty, and decided to walk to the bar and get a bottle of water. He told "Stoney" that "the stage is yours" meaning that the responsibility for the security on that side of the stage (stage right) was now his. Stoney motioned a "thumbs up" to verify that he understood. Jon worked his way through the crowd and was near the bar when he heard the first shots. POP, POP, POP... He looked up and saw the horrific sight of Dimebag falling to the ground and the mass confusion unfolding on the stage. His most vivid memory of that moment strangely, is the ear-splitting feedback caused by Dimebag falling on his own guitar. During the next few panic filled minutes he grabbed and pushed people towards the closest door. In a blur of time he eventually ended up making his way towards the stage, grabbing Vinnie Paul Abbott (drummer for Damageplan and the brother of the now slain guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell) and ushered him to safety.

Tubbs was stage left and watched the entire surreal event unfold just a few feet in front of him. He says he was probably the last person to talk to Dimebag, having said something to him as he entered the stage. As the monitor guy for this gig, his mixing console was only about 5 or 6 feet away from the lead guitarist. According to Tubbs, the shooter (Nathan Gale) entered the stage from the stage right area (not from the audience as previously reported) As Gale determinedly ran towards Dimebag, the stage right roadie "Stoney" ran after him. "Mayhem" saw Gale and converged on him from stage left. Neither one got to center stage fast enough. Gale fired at least five bullets at point blank range into the doomed artist's body. The final bullet was a fatal head shot fired as he went down. "He was dead before he hit the stage," says Tubbs. "The way the attack happened, nothing could have saved him... nothing," He also remembers the feedback (a droning hum at about 600 Hz, notes the trained ear of the audio tech.)

The next few minutes were confused, but this is what else Tubbs remembers.

As Dimebag hit the floor, the shooter now turned his attention to Tubbs (still only about five feet away). Gale raised the gun and aimed it at Tubbs who was now literally looking down the barrel of the gun. However, before he could shoot Tubbs, the two Roadies ("Stoney" and "Mayhem") tackled Gale from opposite sides. Neither one had a weapon, and both were putting their own lives at risk to try to stop the shooter from killing anyone else. Erin "Stoney" Halk was an ex-Marine and Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson was a massive 6'1'' man and a very scary looking dude, so I'm sure they both thought they had a better than even chance to disarm the gunman. They were wrong. We now know that Nathan Gale was also a trained ex-Marine and he dropped his first empty clip and slapped another one in the semi-automatic 9 mm pistol in the blink of an eye. He killed both of these heroes within seconds of his first victim. Gale had at least five clips of bullets and he reloaded at least once, but probably twice, says Tubbs. As "Stoney" and "Mayhem" died making the ultimate sacrifice, two more roadies and several members of the audience also rose to the occasion and stormed the stage. Chris Paluska (the Damageplan Tour Manager) took a shot to the stomach, and is still in serious condition in a local hospital (according to the most recent report). John "Kat" Brooks (the band's drum roadie) also took a hit (but thankfully has now been released from the hospital). According to Tubbs, both were definitely trying to subdue Gale. About the same time several members of the audience climbed the crowd barrier protecting the stage, and some tried to help "Dimebag" with CPR while others made their own attempts to subdue the shooter. (MORE HEROES). Tubbs believes that Nathen Bray (the only "civilian" casualty) was actually killed because he was one of those fans that climbed the stage. Tubbs does not believe that any shots were directed at the fleeing audience at any time (again contrary to published media reports). While all these failed attempts of these unarmed heroes attacking an armed gunman were happening, both Tubbs and Jon noticed several police officers quietly entering the club. Most of them took defensive positions, apparently waiting for more back up. Directly disputing published police reports they both claim that the officer that eventually killed Gale was NOT the first officer on the scene. He appeared however to be the first officer that decided to do something about the situation. Seeing that Gale had a hostage and that he was temporarily distracted by the waves of roadies and fans trying to disarm him, the officer shot the perpetrator from behind with a shotgun blast killing him instantly. With that shot, the hostage was released, and the carnage finally ended. The entire incident lasted only a few minutes.

There are reports that there may be some home video of the event. Tubbs seriously doubts that. Any camcorder would have been "smuggled" into the venue since cameras were forbidden per the terms of the band's contract. Any available video images would probably come from low quality camera cell phones and would probably only be still photos. None have surfaced as of this writing, but the police may have any existing images impounded as evidence.

As you can see there is more to this story than has generally been reported. According to Jon and Tubbs there were AT LEAST SIX and possibly more TRUE HEROES that night at the Alrosa Villa club. Certainly the police officers risked their lives and deserve our thanks and accolades. Officer James D. Niggemeyer probably saved many lives by taking the intuitive and ending the bloodshed and should be duly honored for his heroics. So too should we honor Erin "Stoney" Halk (who Tubbs emotionally credits with saving his own life), Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson, Nathen Bray, Chris Paluska, and John "Kat" Brooks. Heroes all. Four Roadies and a Fan that disregarded their own safety to protect others. The surviving band members and the 250+ members of the audience may in fact owe their very lives to these heroes. I know Tubbs believes he does.

Tubbs and Jon are both having a hard time dealing with the memories of that night, and they both want to remain out of the public eye. I hope that everyone respects their wishes. They both felt however that a corrected version of this event was important and should be told so that the dead and wounded can be properly honored as heroes... hence this article.

They wanted me to tell everyone that both of them, as well as the entire Alrosa crew, the local Columbus stagehands, the Alrosa club owner and employees, and the family of Erin Halk all deeply appreciate the prayers, the condolences, and the outpouring of love that has been expressed this week in response to this senseless act. They would like everyone to continue to pray for the survivors, the victims, and the victim's families (including the family of Nathan Gale).

Finally I asked Jon and Tubbs if they would stay in the entertainment business after this traumatic experience.

Without hesitation they both said... "Hell yes!"

This shows how many other heroes were involved in the incident and how much worse it could of been, it also questions the speed of the police officers, the article makes it sound like they definately took their time and were in no rush, those 2 roadies though and the fan were extremely brave in putting their lives on the line and it is a tragedy that they died also, but as it says but for the intervension of those people distracting the killer the opportunity for the police officer to shoot him when he did may not have come about.

Anselmo: Metal Hammer Xmas 2004

"I think, more or less, it lies between Dimebag and I. There was never a point when he could not get drunk. Which was pretty much every day. And now I'm hearing it's worse than ever.

"He would attack me, vocally. And just knowing that he was so much smaller than me I could kill him like a fuckin' piece of vapor, you know, he would turn into vapor ? his chin would, at least, if I fuckin' smacked it. And he knows that. The world should know that. So physically, of course, he deserves to be beaten severely.

But of course, that's criminal and I won't do such a thing? Really, I just let him prattle on. I grew very tired of it very quickly, and whenever it came up, like it has come up today, I just chose to wish them the best of luck. And in all honesty I really wish that they would be men, which is very hard for them, figuring that they were living in their mother's house until they're 30 years old. In comparison, I was on the street by choice at the age of 15, living anywhere I could ? but living, and successfully living, through my will."

On what it was that caused his friendship with Dimebag Darrell to turn sour:

"I think that there's a lot inside of Darrell? from what I've seen of Dimebag in the past, he had some great tragedy in his family, and of course that's Vinnie's family as well. I don't think that they were ever given or ever allowed time to really heal from that. The anger and the hatred and the drunken nights of just screaming in my face, with me sitting there taking it and holding both of my hands just to not hit the guy? I grew weary of that. I was sick of being his whipping post, y'know, and I just politely, or unpolitely, excused myself.

"I think I proved clearly to everybody what I was in PANTERA! And what I was was a unique, unbelievably magnetic frontman that had not been around since the days of Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourne. I am one in a million. . . I have staying power! I have a devoted following that would do anything for me! Anything that I say. And there's not many people that can say that, that are in my position.

"As far as their product that they put out [referring to DAMAGEPLAN ? Ed.], our product that they put out, it was obvious that I was very much involved with arranging the songs, I was very much involved with the integrity of the songs. . . The integrity and the moulding of the songs, the creating, the putting together of the song. Y'know, it was my job to do the sequencing for the record, it was my job to lyrically stun the audience. And I think they failed on every account. And the world speaks for it."

"When you see a group of guys that are not hungry any more? Honestly, between me and the world now, in my heart of hearts I believe it hurt them more not to receive the money that they were going to get ? that we were all going to get ? for putting out that record, than me leaving the band. They always feared me. They always were different than me. They always had their circle of friends and I had my circle of friends. Their jealousy level was incredible! Y'know, anyone that was close to me outside the band would be treated like fucking serfs or servants by the Abbott brothers. And y'know, that never? that never? never worked very well for me."

On Dimebag's implication in interviews that Anselmo has returned to heroin:

"What a stupid man. What a shallow, stupid man. How would he know what I do? And by the way, I've been fucking bone-sober for three and a half years now. Anybody who has seen me on stage, anybody who has seen the shape of my body and the size of my arms, and the fucking burning desire in my eyes, knows that I am fuckin'? I drink four beers and I have a buzz now. Gimme a break. I couldn't even say that in my twenties."

On the possibility of a PANTERA reunion:

"It would take a lot of soul-searching. It would take a lot of negotiation. And we'll see. In the end, it's what's most important to the fans.

"That's the last time I'm ever ? you can put this in your article ? this is the last time I am ever talking about PANTERA."


http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/

Thank you very much.This has helped me to kind of understand what was going on.Now, what a way to talk shit about someone!!wether he was laying or not, that was pretty strong.Oh , and about the "there hasnt been someone like me since Ozzy or Rober Plant", he has a REALLY BIG
self-estime.

Now about hte article posted by Stoned.I think this was what I really needed.All the things about Dimebag ?death seemed so surreal, but with this article now I seem to have a pretty clear imge of what hapened.AND IT?S FUCKING SAD.No one there deserved to die, neither the roadis nor the fan nor Dimebag......








Baby Slash//

Nathans Gale mother has gone on record of saying that she gave him the gun he shot Dimebag with as a gift coming back from the marines.

Nice gift for someone who got kicked out of the marines before completing his service because he was a paranoid schitzophrenic...

Why is it absurd to disappear?  I thought all the best frontmen did that!  And I'm sure the family of DD had good reason to not invite him to the funeral, believe it or not there may be personal issues that didn't get ito the media.

 Rumors are continuing to run rampant that Nathan Gale might have tried to assault "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott once before prior to the shooting incident at a Columbus, Ohio nightclub that claimed the lives of the guitarist and four others.

On Dec. 11 ? three days after Dimebag's death ? BLABBERMOUTH.NET ran the following report from a web site visitor:

"The information I have concerning the incident in the Columbus nightclub was that a friend of mine went to see DAMAGEPLAN in Cincinnati over the summer. He said there was a large man there that jumped on stage right after Dimebag came out, and the man tried to assault him. But he was stopped by security.

"After I heard what happened Wednesday night, I wondered if this was the same man in Columbus, because he was also described as a large man.

"My friend is now on active duty so I was not able to ask him about it. I did call the Columbus Police [Department] and they told me a couple people had called them already and told them what had happened in Cincinnati.

"[This information] may not be much, but maybe if security had been better, this guy might not have been able to get on stage two times in a row, if in fact this was the same man both times, and all this might have been prevented."

Seemingly corroborating the above story is the following message we received earlier today from another BLABBERMOUTH.NET visitor:

"I attended the HATEBREED show on December 20th at Bogarts in Cincinnati. I originally was going to see this show at the Alrosa Villa on the 21st, but it was canceled for obvious reasons. Well as I was going in, there were two security guards patting people down, and the one that was NOT patting me down said something that caught my attention. He was talking with another employee about the shooting and I CLEARLY heard him say that it was, in fact, Nathan Gale that had tried to get on the stage right after DAMAGEPLAN had got on at Bogart's during the Headbangers Ball Tour with HATEBREED and DAMAGEPLAN. He remembered for sure that it was Gale because he was one of the guards present when Gale tried to get onstage. So, yes the rumor that was previously reported on [BLABBERMOUTH.NET] is, in fact, true.

"On another note, HATEBREED performed 'Last Breath' and dedicated it to Dimebag, and Jamey [Jasta, HATEBREED frontman] was almost in tears the whole song."

 On February 23, 2005, DISTURBED will be putting on a benefit concert for the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund. The venue of choice is the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL. Details regarding guest performances, ticket pricing and on-sale dates will be available shortly.

For more information regarding the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund, visit www.damageplan.com.

DISTURBED are continuing to write material for their third album, tentatively due next year. The upcoming CD will mark the group's first release with new bassist John Moyer (ex-THE UNION UNDERGROUND), who joined the band in April following the band's split with Steve "Fuzz" Kmak due to "personality conflicts." Songtitles expected to appear on the new album include "Hell" and "Monster".

This is a video posted online by Philip Anelsmo talking about Dimebag's Death...If not you can find it over at Blabbermouth  2004-12-28_anselmo_hi (ftp://2004-12-28_anselmo_hi)

RollingStone.com is reporting that DISTURBED frontman David Draiman took a break from recording the band's third album to organize a benefit for the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund on February 23 at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom. The fund was established to cover medical and bereavement expenses for three victims of the Columbus, Ohio, nightclub shooting on December 8 that claimed the life of DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

"Everybody was really into it," Draiman told RollingStone.com. "They all knew how much Vinnie [DAMAGEPLAN drummer and Dimebag's brother Abbott] was going to be affected by it, they all knew how much the crew members would be affected by it, and they certainly knew how much Rita [Dimebag's common-law wife] was going to be affected by it. In our particular genre ? in the world of metal ? if we don't take care of our own, I guarantee you that no one else will. It really is up to us.

"On our very first Ozzfest, you could find us every night after the show in PANTERA's dressing room," Draiman recalled. "Vinnie, Dime and Rex [bassist Brown] were just really welcoming and very nurturing to the baby band. They were showing people the way, and they never were satisfied until everybody around them was about ten times as inebriated as they were. Dime was always the man with the black tooth ? he was always the man passing out the shots. He's the kind of guy that every single night you were with him he did everything in his power to make it the best night of your life."

Dimebag's death has Draiman reevaluating his own band's shows. "It kind of changes everything," he said. "Whereas before we were completely open to letting kids jump up onstage with the intention of hopefully just jumping right off, that can't happen anymore. You need to take security more seriously. I don't think I'm ever going to complain about having to wear a laminate again . . . This was the 9/11 of rock, and now we have to approach every situation differently."

Zakk Wylde's band BLACK LABEL SOCIETY are in talks to appear at DISTURBED's Feb. 23 show at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom to benefit the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund, according to Launch Radio Networks. Also set to appear on the bill are ANTHRAX, DROWNING POOL and SOIL. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, January 8, for $37.50 each.

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman recently told Launch what went into planning the benefit concert. "It was important for us, even though we are in the middle of making our new record, to do something for the family of the individual who did so much for us," he said. "I mentioned it to the other guys and they were all in and the phone calls started that day. I started calling everybody I know, seeing who would want to be involved. And little by little, the responses started trickling in and we solidified a lot of those commitments at the actual funeral."

Draiman added that the idea for the benefit concert ? which will help cover bereavement costs for the family of DAMAGEPLAN security guard Jeffery "Mayhem" Thompson and medical expenses for DAMAGEPLAN crew members John "Kat" Brooks and Chris Paluska ? started with the Internet. The singer was disturbed when he saw items allegedly once belonging to Dimebag Darrell surfacing for sale by opportunistic people on the Internet, and decided to do something positive to benefit the DAMAGEPLAN family.

IMO if there is any benifet,Zakk will be there.
It is now January 5 and even though I didn't know Dime as a friend,the times I met him,he made me and my friends feel like we were appreciated as fans.
And for that I will be forever greatful.
Thanks for posting this Malcolm

 Ohio's NBC 4 is reporting that the man who killed four people at the Alrosa Villa nightclub last month, including former PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, had several unused rounds before he was shot and killed by an officer, police said Thursday (Jan. 13).

Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, fired his weapon 15 times, police said. He had two magazines with 10 rounds in each in his semiautomatic handgun. He reloaded his weapon once, police said, and there were five rounds left in the magazine after he was shot.
NBC 4 reported that Gale's mother legally purchased the weapon, a Baretta, model 92FS.

Police also said that Gale, a former Marine, did not say anything prior to his shooting rampage. There were several rumors from people inside the club who said they heard Gale say something to Abbott before shooting him.

Authorities said they did not know the order the victims were shot Dec. 9, but were investigating.

Columbus police Officer James D. Niggemeyer, who arrived in the nightclub less than one minute earlier, shot and killed Gale. Niggemeyer has not spoken publicly about the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

 Although DAMAGEPLAN may be finished as a touring entity in the wake of last month's on-stage murder of guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, the group's manager told Billboard.com another release is likely. DAMAGEPLAN's lone album was its 2004 Elektra debut, "New Found Power".

"There were recordings the band laid down prior to Dimebag's death that are near completion," manager Paul Bassman tells Billboard in his first interview since the incident. "[Drummer/Abbott's brother] Vinnie Paul has said there will be a follow-up album down the road, as Dime would have wanted his music to be heard."

Bassman adds, "The outpouring of kind thoughts, sadness and condolences have meant so much to all of us. On behalf of all the families impacted by this horrible tragedy, let me share a public acknowledgement of our gratitude."

Abbott was shot to death by disgruntled fan Nathan Gale during a Dec. 8 performance at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, who handled road security for the band, was also shot and killed, as were Erin Halk, who worked at Alrosa Villa in a security role, and Nathan Bray, who was reportedly trying to help Dimebag when he was gunned down. The band's drum tech, John "Kat" Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, are still recovering from gunshot wounds.

"How this man got onstage without encountering security is the most puzzling question," Bassman says.

"All clubs should be prepared for whatever presents itself to protect any artist they have contracted to perform on their stage," he continues. "In this particular case it may or may not have helped, but it certainly would not have hurt. Hopefully, a tragedy such as this will never be repeated."

Thanks for posting this.
I agree with Vinnie when he said that the unreleased material will see the light of day in the future.

Ya NP man..I feel like this stuff should still be reported........

A sellout crowd of 700 marked the reopening of the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio that was the scene of last month's shooting spree in which five people were killed, including former PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

The Alrosa Villa held a benefit concert and auction Friday night (Jan. 14), with all proceeds helping the families of two local victims, Erin Halk and Nathan Bray, NBC 4 reported.

Halk was a security guard at the Alrosa Villa. Witnesses told Halk's family that he was trying to stop gunman Nathan Gale from shooting other people when Halk, 29, was killed.

To make a fresh start at the club and to help patrons feel comfortable, owner Rick Cautela said the public address system was replaced and security changes were made.

"We've had the stage redone, and new carpet, and new carpet in the dressing room," Cautela said.

The head of security at the club said other changes were made.

"We got somebody patting down everybody that comes through the door," Harold Folsom said. "That's something we didn't do before."

Uniformed police officers were on hand outside of the club.

To honor the victims of the shooting, one security worker got a memorial tattoo.

Cautela said he's also placing a statue of the Virgin Mary above the stage.

IMO...If I were an artist,I would never play that club..Not even for benefit....I would just help by paying the families.

 The following story by John Futty was published in the January 16, 2005 edition of The Columbus Dispatch:

His high-pitched scream spoke to all of the things William Wever couldn't say.

"It was like he suddenly realized, 'I've got another man's blood on me,' " said his friend Crystal Levings, 25, of Mount Vernon.

Wever was cleaning the blood from his hands, face and clothing in the Alrosa Villa bathroom when he was struck by the horror he had witnessed.

Like other fans at the heavy-metal concert by DAMAGEPLAN, he had watched a gunman shoot guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott in the back of the head, then turn the gun on those who tried to intervene. For reasons he can't explain, Wever climbed onstage to try to save a bleeding victim, even as the gunman, Nathan Gale of Marysville, continued shooting.

"I have no clue why I jumped up there," said Wever, a 33-year old Mount Vernon man who is trained in CPR for his job in store security. "I wasn't thinking anything. I just did it."

Gale was waving a handgun behind a wall of amplifiers as Wever began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the victim while another fan, Jimmy Van Fossen of Reynoldsburg, did chest compressions. Both assumed they were working on Dimebag.

But even that was a matter of confusion. The men recently learned that the victim they were trying to save was Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, DAMAGEPLAN's security chief, who died later at Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Other fans had dragged Dimbag off the stage and onto the floor, where they attempted CPR until paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead.

Confusion continues to swirl around the night of Dec. 8, when Gale rushed onto the stage of the North Side nightclub during DAMAGEPLAN's opening song.

In the three minutes of chaos that between the first shot from his Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and a Columbus police officer's shotgun blast that killed Gale, the gunman fatally shot four people and wounded three others.

"It was mass hysteria," said Van Fossen, a 35-year old EMT who was one of the fans closest to the stage when the shooting began.

Ty Stewart, a Worthington firefighter and paramedic who was among the first responders, described the scene as "organized chaos."

The Dispatch interviewed more than three dozen witnesses, rescue workers and law-enforcement officers to clarify what happened that night.

The picture that emerges is of a mentally ill man determined to kill and a number of individuals willing to risk their lives to stop the shooting or assist the gravely wounded.

The daylight hours of that Wednesday had passed with the mundane routines of a rock club preparing for a show.

DAMAGEPLAN's tour bus had arrived in the parking lot early that afternoon after an overnight drive from a gig in Buffalo, N.Y. Long before the Alrosa doors were to open, while DAMAGEPLAN's crew began setting up and the band relaxed on the bus, a few hard-core fans began to show up.

Kevin McMeans, 26, of Hilliard, arrived about 1:45 p.m. determined to meet Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, before they went inside.

The Texas siblings were stars of the heavy-metal world, gaining fame with the band PANTERA, which they formed in 1982. The group's down-tuned sound evolved into a relentless hybrid of punk and speed-metal and the band began playing big heavy-metal festivals, including Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest. PANTERA's 1994 album "Far Beyond Driven" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

With his high-pitched, lightning-quick, Eddie Van Halen-inspired solos, Dimebag was one of metal's most influential guitarists by the time PANTERA disbanded in 2002. The brothers then formed DAMAGEPLAN with lead singer Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob "Zilla" Kakaha.

Once featured in stadium shows, the brothers and their new band were working smaller halls such as the Alrosa, a modest, stucco-sided club at 5055 Sinclair Rd. that has featured local and national metal acts for more than three decades.

Vinnie Paul stepped off the bus about 3:40 p.m. the day of the show, followed about 50 minutes later by Dimebag. McMeans chatted with the brothers, who were known for mingling with fans, and got their autographs on several CD booklets. Dimebag joked about the leopard-print jacket and fuzzy multi-colored hat he was wearing while a crew member prepared to snap a photo.

"This picture will be a classic," the guitarist told McMeans as they flashed the two-fingered heavy-metal salute. [see Dimebag's final photos here]

McMeans wasn't the only person who came looking for the brothers behind the club.

A man later identified as Nathan Gale approached the bus shortly before the band took the stage to ask if the brothers were on board.

Aaron Barns, the group's sound man, told him the Abbotts were already inside.

Before the doors of the club opened, three other men met up in the parking lot to share beers.

Billy Clark had com east from New Carlisle, a small city north of Dayton, while his Army buddy John Muirhead had traveled from his home in the northern Pennsylvania town of Snow Shoe.

STORY CONTINUED The friends had trained at Ft. Campbell, Ky., and served together for six months in Afghanistan. Clark also spent six months in Iraq.

Clark, 23, and Muirhead, 25, were there as fans of PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN, but it was the first heavy-metal show for Clark's other friend, Troy McKelvey of Dublin.

"Billy had been talking about Dimebag for three weeks," said McKelvey, 27, who also served in the Army. "He was pumping it up, telling me Dimebag was the greatest."

They watched the four warm-up bands, moving closer to the stage as the time approached for DAMAGEPLAN to begin performing.

Alrosa can accommodate up to 700 music fans, some of whom mingle around the pool tables and bar near the front of the nightclub, but most of whom descend into the mosh pit ? a sunken floor where fans sometimes collide to the music? and squeeze toward the stage.

By the time DAMAGEPLAN took the stage around 10:15 p.m., Clark was standing against the chest-high, metal barricade separating the crowd of about 400 fans from the stage.

The band was playing it's opening song, "Breathing New Life", when Gale ? a 6 foot-5, 268?pound semipro football player wearing a Blue Jackets jersey and blue jeans ? emerged from behind the 7?-foot-high wall of amplifiers and headed across the stage for Dimebag. With many in the crowd thinking they were witnessing a stunt, Gale pulled a handgun fired three shots at close range into the back of the guitarist's head and another that struck his hand.

Dimebag collapsed, his right leg twisting awkwardly under his body, his head and shoulders toward the crowd. Feedback screeched from his guitar.

As patrons realized it was no stunt, the club erupted in chaos.

Some fans and crew members moved to grab Gale or help Dimebag while others headed for the exits, toppling tables and chairs adjacent to the pit. At least 10 people placed frantic calls to 911, several from inside the club.

"The person is still loose with the gun," a breathless Lisa Moore, 42, of Columbus, told an operator as she fled the club. "Please hurry, please." [download an audio file containing some of the 911 emergency calls that were placed as the tragic events of Dec. 8 were unfolding at this location]

Alrosa security guards think Gale, 25, got inside by scaling a 6-foot wooden fence on the north side of the club. One saw him enter through a patio door and work his way through the crowd toward the stage.

A longtime PANTERA fan, he had no previous history of violence. But his mother and a former employer have said that Gale told them he was discharged from the Marines because of a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.

His mother, Mary Clark, also has said he was not taking medication for his illness ? a claim confirmed by an autopsy conducted by the Franklin County coroner's office, which found no trace of drugs in Gale's system.

Former acquaintances in Marysville said the symptoms of his illness included claims that PANTERA had stolen some of his songs.

Gale was discharged from the Marines in October 2003, less than two years into a four-year stint. Military records appear to link the discharge with his weight. One document from April 2003 criticized him for weighing 243 pounds, 23 pounds above his permitted maximum.

His mother bought him the gun he used at the Alrosa ad a Christmas gift during his military service and before his illness was diagnosed.

Clark said she won't tell the story of his life.

"Nothing I say about him is going to erase what happened in the end, in those few minutes," she said. "People don't want to hear it. They'll just think, 'Well, she's the mom, what else is she going to say?"

"I'm sorry for what happened, I'm sorry for those people who were killed, but I lost a son, too.

With more than 200 interviews to sort through, Columbus police detectives are still figuring out the details of what happened after Gale shot Dimebag.

"We may never know exactly," said Sgt. Jeff Sacksteder.

Witnesses speak of a struggle on stage, with one or more fans or crew members wrestling with Gale after Dimebag fell.

The commotion ? and the sound of more gunfire ? moved behind the wall of amplifiers on the right side of the stage and out of view for many concertgoers.

Lachman, the band's singer, leaped off the front of the stage and told fans that what was happening was real and to call 911.

Witnesses think all of the victims after the 38-year-old Dimebag were trying to help the guitarist or subdue the gunman.

Thompson, the 40-year-old crew member who some say was the first to grab Gale, was shot twice in the body and once in the leg.

Erin Halk, a 29-year-old Alrosa employee from Columbus, was shot four times in the chest, once in the hand and once in the leg.

Nathan Bray, a 23-year-old fan from Grove City who apparently had jumped onstage, and Chris Paluska, 39, DAMAGEPLAN's tour manager, each were shot once in the chest.

John Brooks, 34, the band's drum technician, was shot twice in the leg. A bullet also grazed the arm of Travis Burnett of Gahanna, 23, a crew member for VOLUME DEALER, one of the warm-up bands.

As victims fell, others tried to grab them and pull them to safety.

Billy Clark was among the fans who climbed over the barricade and reached for Dimebag. He put one knee on the stage for leverage and shouted for his friends, Muirfield and McKelvey, to help.

"I said, 'We've got to get him out of here. He's still a target.'

"I'm not sure if the soldier in me took over. He was up there bleeding and needed help."

The trio and at least one other man pulled Dimebag off the stage and carried him to the floor, where Clark began CPR after searching unsuccessfully for a pulse.

Mindy Reece, a 28-year-old Columbus nurse, was scrambling from the mosh pit with a friend when she turned and saw Dimebag being carried from the stage. She went to his side, identified herself as a nurse and asked for someone's shirt to place against Dimebag's wounds.

McKelvey pulled off his T-shirt, which they slipped under the guitarist's head.

Meanwhile, Van Fossen and a friend, Andy Meravy of Gahanna, worked their way from a spot on a platform left of the stage to Thompson. The bodyguard, a giant of a man at 6-foot-8 and 346 pounds, was on his back on the right side of the stage, one of his feet dangling off the edge.

Van Fossen, who has worked for two Columbus hospitals, detected a weak pulse and began chest compressions. Wever quickly climbed onto the stage beside him. He could see Gale behind the speakers, waving the handgun.

"I'm certified in CPR," Wever told Van Fossen and began mouth-to-mouth after Meravy, also trained in CPR, cleared Thompson's airway.

"I had to spit blood out a couple of times," Wever said.

As sporadic gunfire continued, Meravy convinced Van Fossen that they needed to leave. Outside the back door, they bumped into Columbus Police Officer James D. Niggemeyer.

Niggemeyer had just started his shift at the 18th Precinct, about 2 miles away at Morse and Karl roads, when the report of shots fired at the club came in at 10:18 p.m.

He pulled into the Alrosa parking lot, grabbed the 12-gauge shotgun that police are trained to use even in situations that involve crowds, and headed for the back door of the club. Meanwhile other officers ran past panicked concertgoers fleeing through front and side doors.

"People were screaming, 'Get in there, get in there. He's killing people,' " said Officer Ricky Crum, who head three or four shots as he approached the building.

STORY CONTINUED When Gale realized officers were closing in, he grabbed one of his victims and began using him as a shield. A handful of bystanders, some onstage, pointed at Gale and screamed for officers to shoot him?

"He got spooked and started retreating," said Officer Kevin G. Ferencz. "That could have been just pure by luck, but I believe he did see some of us coming at him."

Crum, armed with a shotgun and climbing steps on the left side of the stage, thinks that Gale was preparing to fire at officers in the pit when Niggemeyer stepped through the stage door.

With the shotgun raised, Niggemeyer moved around the abandoned drum set and killed Gale with a single blast of lead pellets to the face.

"I had to do it. I had to do it," he immediately told bystanders and fellow officers.

Niggemeyer has not publicly discussed the incident because it still must be reviewed by a grand jury, as is standard protocol for al fatal shootings by police officers.

Meravy, who was among the concertgoers who witnessed the scene, said, "He seemed floored that he had to do it."

Niggemeyer's shot took on added significance last week, when police revealed that Gale had enough ammunition to do much more violence.

Another five rounds remained in Gale's gun, and he was carrying 30 more live rounds. Sacksteder said the gunman had fired 10 shots, reloaded the magazine and fired five more rounds before he was killed.

"He had the gun in his armpit and he was putting bullets in the clip," recalled Marvin Woodruff, of Mount Vernon, who attended the concert with Wever. "It seemed like it took two seconds to reload that gun."

After Gale went down, Crum saw the hostage scramble away and roll off the front of the stage.

Some of the bystanders who remained on the stage had to be ordered out of the building after they cursed at and kicked Gale's body, Crum said.

Although investigators have declined to name the hostage, Barns, the club's sound man, identified him as Brooks, the band's drum technician. Officers who responded to the scene have said the hostage had gunshot wounds in the leg, which is consistent with Brooks' injuries.

He and the other surviving victims have declined interview requests.

"Jim (Niggemeyer) prevented further injuries and deaths," Crum said.

"The suspect wasn't going to stop unless someone stopped him."

After the shooting had ended, Lt. Rick Schoch of the Columbus Fire Division was the first paramedic to enter the club, walking through the same patio door that Gale used on his way to the stage.

"There was an overall feeling of shock and despair and agony about what had just happened," he said.

Dimebag was on the floor, Thompson and Halk were on the stage and Bray was in the dressing room. He considered all to be in level-one trauma, or critical condition. Gale was pronounced dead.

Columbus firefighters Mark Williams and Bryan Cross arrived aboard Medic 24 six minutes after the first report of shots fired and took their stretcher and other equipment through the patio door.

"People were still leaving," Williams said. "Some were screaming, some seemed to be in shock, with blank stares on their faces."

Schoch directed Williams and Coss to Dimebag's body. They found Reece, the Columbus nurse, performing CPR, and asked her to continue while they hooked up monitors and checked his condition.

He was pronounced dead within minutes. "His heart activity had stopped," Williams said.

Williams and Coss then moved to the small dressing room, stepping over Gale's body to reach Bray. He was alive, with a bullet wound to the chest, but died after they took him to Riverside.

On stage, Tinnerman and two other firefighters from Worthington determined that Halk was dead.

Nearby, Clinton Township Firefighters Chris Biasella and Kellie Ruetsch found Van Fossen and Wever performing CPR on Thompson.

"Dude, we had a pulse right before you got here," Van Fossen told Biasella.

With the help of police officers, they moved Thompson from stage onto a gurney. Van Fossen continued chest compressions until Thompson was loaded onto the Clinton Township rescue squad for the trip to Riverside, where he was pronounced dead.

Paramedics found tour manager Paluska slumped against a vehicle in the parking lot, still conscious but with a serious chest wound. Brooks, the drum tech, wound up on the band's bus after fleeing the club.

Both men were taken to Riverside, where they recovered from their injuries.

Burnett was treated at the scene for a bullet that grazed his arm, but he declined transport.

The remaining members of DAMAGEPLAN haven't spoken publicly since the attack. For many of the other people who witnessed the devastation of that night, the memories are unforgettable.

Niggemeyer, in his only comment to The Dispatch, said he is dealing with the killing, "as good as can be expected."

Alrosa manager Rick Cautela remembers his last view of Dimebag's brother, Vinnie Paul, who took refuge in the club's front bar.

"He was wrapped in a blanket, and he was clutching Dimebag's guitar."

Justin Caudill, of Mansfield, a fan who tried unsuccessfully to pull Dimebag off the stage, cried off and on for a week after the shootings.

"I'm a 28-year-old metalhead covered with tattoos and this is killing me," he said at the time.

"My life's changed, man. I'll move on from it, but it will never go away."

I had a hard time reading that,but thanks for posting.

Where are the last photos though?...Were they on the site you go this story from?

Ya i never figured out how to post links and stuff..but ya its on blabbermouth

Thanks!

 Former PANTERA/current SUPERJOINT RITUAL frontman Philip Anselmo has posted the following message at his official web site, PhilAnselmo.com (http://PhilAnselmo.com):

"I've been stumbling around in a coma of loss. No truer lyric has been written than 'You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.'

"To explain my side of things with the hiatus of PANTERA, please give me a moment and think about what I say. Think.

"I joined the band in late '86/early '87, and the chemistry clicked like a vice grip, we hit it off like four bad mother fuckers could. Perfection. Dime, Vince and Rex could play fucking anything. You pick the style, they could pull it off. So in reality we had to find out where our musical hearts lay strongest. After short deliberation, our intention was to be the most devastating 'hardcore-heavy metal' band in the world.

"You know, when the so-called heavy metal press first got wind of 'Cowboys from Hell', they were absolutely unsure what to think. More bad reviews than good at the time. The reason? They had never heard a band quite like us before, and I can't blame the press or anyone for not hearing the full experience, but there were flashes in songs like 'Primal Concrete Sledge', and 'Message in Blood'.

"Once again, as I have said before, the press remained basically unimpressed, BUT, with the heavy metal audience, the phenomenon of PANTERA had already begun. Slowly but surely, the fan base grew larger and larger (the best fans in the world, I say still!)

"The LP that I believe was the first 'true' PANTERA LP was our second major release, 'Vulgar Display of Power'. As a band, our brotherhood and obvious originality and musicianship cemented us as one of the most feared and loved bands ever to step on a stage. That is what we all lived for. We figured as long as our awesome audience was moved (headbanging, skanking, stage-diving, of course), we would play for us and them. Of course, we had a deep connection with both our music and our audience, and we were also very different, image- and attitude-wise? It was extremely rare to see a lead vocalist or anyone with a shaved head unless you looked deep into the underground with bands like the CRO-MAGS, AGNOSTIC FRONT, ROSE TATTOO, etc?(I didn't mean to leave anyone out). The difference between us and these great bands was the fact that we also had an insanely great guitar player who was respected alongside the best of the best, and a rhythm section so unique and tight ? goddamn they were tight. Tight is and always will be the word. I guarantee throughout our 17-year existence it would be extremely difficult to have one memory of Rex or Vince messing up or playing a part wrong ever. That, to some people, may be amazing or impossible, however, I mean what I say 100 times over. They were the best damn musicians I'd ever seen or heard. Period.

"With 'Far Beyond Driven', our third major offering, going to #1 on the Billboard Top 200, it seems appropriate to say that some rock magazines were taking notice, one way or another. Guitar magazines throughout the world were right on the money by calling Dimebag the best axeman of the time. That was absolutely true and within his lead style, influenced by the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Ace Frehley, and himself (it's true, I believe most all great lead guitar players have their own style to hear and influence. By god, Darrell had that type of talent and then some). His rhythms he came up with, in ways, probably became even more influential. His influences were extremely varied and unique from guys like James Hetfield (METALLICA), Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman (SLAYER), JUDAS PRIEST to MOT?RHEAD, AC/DC, ZZ TOP, ROBIN TROWER and even some of the ultra-underground bands I would play him.

"In all honesty, he preferred a more accomplished guitar player than some of the rawer sloppier stuff that I adored, but what he did love about the rawer stuff was its all out assault on the ears. Bless him, he did love that. Within his style, he commanded and demanded the best out of himself, and all of us around him.

"So I will say to everyone in Texas that ever called me a friend, and especially all of my brothers that helped work with us as PANTERA on the road crew; I love all of you.

"To the fans in Texas, and the rest across America and the world, beware of the shit you read in rock magazines. When these pathetically titled 'journalists' (not all of them, but a lot still) had finally caught on to the fact that we, PANTERA, had beaten all the odds a band could, and the press had no choice but to build us up until it seemed that they were all of a sudden desperate to make us supermen in the magazines, it was an assignment. It wasn't true to them, they were getting paid for it. We weren't supermen, just a great band.

"During our whole career, there were always those interviews where you could tell that the 'journalist' didn't know shit about our band, using wrong facts, whether they made us look good or bad, not knowing a thing about our characters, our musicianship, or our careers; asking the same questions, or as 'journalists' love to do, just plain making up whatever they wanted.

"For every 'journalist' out there, these facts may or may not fit in with the way you personally do your work, but I know and so the fuck do you that this load of bullshit behavior, that thousands of fans read on a regular basis, is absolutely irresponsible, and it's obvious that you truly don't care about your responsibilities to the fans, or how many lives you truly destroy. It's all about what sells magazines, isn't it?

"A month has gone by since we, his former bandmates, his current bandmates, his friends and fans around the world, have lost Dimebag. I can't necessarily speak for them, but for me, it's the first thing that comes to mind when I awake, if I sleep at all, still. It is also the last thing I think about as I lay down to rest. Goddamn, it still hurts me.

"I want to be there for Vinnie Paul no matter how long it takes. I want to be there for Rita, if she'll have me. I want to be there for the Kat and the rest of the crew as well, people that have been a part of my life for 17 ? years. Once again, I'm hoping my biggest hope; that they realize that the bad stuff written about our bands and ourselves was coerced nonsense made to sell magazines.

"Bear with me, please. I beg you all.

"By the way, all of the level-headed fans that write in and offer support, that in itself is the best therapy I've received yet.

"I have considered retirement because of a broken heart, but also in my heart, I cannot let my fans down. As the days go by, I realize that I'm at war with some things inside of myself, that I don't mind sharing with you: I always [believed], truly always, no matter if it was my own dreams just coming to the surface, if we, just the four of us, were to sit in a room together, we'd have been laughing, crying, and laughing again. The weight of the world would be lifted off of our shoulder as we hugged each other. Play together again? I have a suspicion that our fans would demand some type of reunion. My god, I thought of that so many times, and because what our fans wanted, they usually got. It may have taken a little longer, but think about how long it took the original BLACK SABBATH to play together again!?

"Then in one night early December 2004, an event changed the entire year and our entire lives into one of the cruelest sort. Some mentally disturbed individual ?crushed the dream. He took one of the most talented, extroverted people ever to grace this earth.

"I'm crushed for the loss of my friend that I loved, for Vince, his brother, for Jerry, his father, for Rita, his life companion, for all of his good friends, for every music fan that was inspired and loved his playing; especially those who were lost or were injured that night we lost Darrell. None of what I have said will ever bring him back, and it hurts so bad. I add very humbly in hope that no one else out there ever has to go through something like this: Keep your loved ones close.

"Yours truly, I can take no more at this time. Philip H Anselmo"

VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Dave Kushner recently spoke to New Zealand's Stuff.co.nz about the murder of PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott at a nightclub in Columbus, Ohio in early December.

"You know, it was weird," Kushner said. "Their tour manager called us only a few nights before it happened and when we heard we weren't sure who had been shot. Each time we got a phone call it would be someone different.

"We (had) just played a month or so ago with DAMAGEPLAN, on a radio show. Dimebag was such an amazing guitar player, and Matt and the guys were friends with Dime and Vinnie (Dimebag's brother) from their PANTERA days. It's a real tragedy and really disturbing to think that something like that can happen to you. It shakes the foundations of what we do."

DAMAGEPLAN's official fan site, Damageplan.net, has opened up a new message board dedicated to "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and the fallen heroes of the tragic shooting at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Colmbus, Ohio.

"We ask you be respectful on the new board," the site's webmaster writes. "No disrespectful comments will be tolerated on the new message board. There will be no warnings you will be banned, and I will not respond to banned peoples emails like I did on the old DAMAGEPLAN board. If you bring up anything related to PANTERA, talk about the great accomplishments that were achieved and how you were affected by it. If you bring up anything negative about that subject or members of DAMAGEPLAN or PANTERA you will be banned.

"Let's celebrate the life of Dimebag Darrell. We all have our stories to share and now we have a place to share them. Please think before you post."

DAMAGEPLAN's official fan site, Damageplan.net, has opened up a new message board dedicated to "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and the fallen heroes of the tragic shooting at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Colmbus, Ohio.

"We ask you be respectful on the new board," the site's webmaster writes. "No disrespectful comments will be tolerated on the new message board. There will be no warnings you will be banned, and I will not respond to banned peoples emails like I did on the old DAMAGEPLAN board. If you bring up anything related to PANTERA, talk about the great accomplishments that were achieved and how you were affected by it. If you bring up anything negative about that subject or members of DAMAGEPLAN or PANTERA you will be banned.

"Let's celebrate the life of Dimebag Darrell. We all have our stories to share and now we have a place to share them. Please think before you post."



http://www.damageplan.net/phpBB2/index.php?sid=5245d25cff05b5a2c1d067d936db3bab

www.dimebagforever.com (http://www.dimebagforever.com)

New memorial stickers are avaliable and its a cool site so check it out

 Guitarist Paul Crook (ex-ANTHRAX, SEBASTIAN BACH) has sent the following message to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"I really enjoy my work with [the QUEEN musical] 'We Will Rock You'. It's been running in Las Vegas since August 2005 and I perform eight shows a week. I can't believe how much satisfaction I get when I plug in that Red Special and play those guitar solos. I think most of it has to do with the love and respect I have for my boss, Dr. Brian May. This man continually amazes me with his kind heart and gracious manner. His lack of ego is incredible. He is voted by Guitar Player magazine as one of the greatest guitar players to ever walk the earth and he doesn't even realize it or care!

"This brings me to another point: Dimebag Darrell, another extraordinary human being. His energy was beautifully bright. His guitar playing was terrifying and he didn't care either. When in his presence you were treated with respect, 'southern hospitality.' It didn't matter who you were or what you did. He wanted you to feel welcomed and most of all he wanted you to laugh.

"At the theatre backstage in Las Vegas, I have several photos of Dimebag taped to the outside doors of my locker. I see him every time I go to open them and I give him the horns every night before I hit the stage. As I'm looking at him with horns, I say to myself, 'For the next two hours I am going to play to the best of my ability with as much passion as I can.'

"Last night (May 4) was extra-special for me. Thanks to Brian May, Dimebag made his debut at the theatre during the song 'No One But You'. As the song is performed, images of fallen rock stars are shown on these huge screens. What's so great about Dimebag's segment is that it's a video. The video piece is of Dimebag ripping up the fretboard during the song 'Domination' from the PANTERA concert in Moscow. It brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful gesture from Brian. A mutual love and respect from a fellow human being/guitar player. There Dimebag was, lighting up the stage, as usual. There he'll always be.

"I can't wait to get to work tonight so I can see my friend again."

 Columbus Police Officer James D. Niggemeyer, who is widely credited for saving lives on Dec. 8, 2004 when he entered Alrosa Villa without backup and killed a crazed gunman responsible for blowing away four people, including PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, is among the finalists for the "America's Most Wanted All-Star" prize, which includes $10,000 in cash and a VIP trip to the next NASCAR All-Star Challenge ? all courtesy of Nextel.The winner will be announced on AMW.com on May 28.

DAMAGEPLAN had just begun their set last December when a crazed fan rushed the stage with a gun. His first target, lead guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, slumped dead. Chaos erupted and more shots flew. James Niggemeyer was first on scene. Without waiting for backup, he crept through the stage door and quickly drew a bead on the shooter ? who was holding a hostage. Niggemeyer took the gunman out with one shot. His swift actions saved countless lives ? the gunman had dozens of shots left to fire.

 The first annual "Ride for Dime" bike rally will be held on Saturday, August 20 (late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's birthday) in Dallas. The event has been organized to raise money for the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund, which has been set up to help the victims of the Alrosa Villa shootings in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 2004, which took the life of legendary heavy metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

The bike run, which will begin and end at The Clubhouse, will take the participants into Arlington, where Dimebag lived all of his life, with stops of interest including his favorite restaurant, Campo Verde, where the riders will eat dinner. The ride will also pass through Elkins Park, where Dimebag often went to relax, and by his high school. The route will finally pass by Moore Memorial Gardens, Dimebag's final resting place, where the riders will toss flowers near the cemetery gates as they pass by. The ride will then return to the Clubhouse, where a night of Dime-style partying will take place.

Anyone interested in participating in this ride can find registration information at www.dallasentertainment.com/rfd.

Malcolm, did Phil ever say much about DB's death?  I never heard that much other than they were like brothers and Phil wouldn't be at the funeral.  I didn't feel like spending my luch hour reading 10 pages of posts!

He said he wasn't invited to the funeral and that he was absolutely devestated by Dimebag's death and that he was going on hiatus for what he described as a long time as a result

I hate to criticize Vinnie after what he went through, but he should've let Phil come to the funeral.  He said he didn't want him there.  After what happened he should realise that life is short, and people shouldn't hold grudges for such petty reasons.

Phil is the idiot who caused Pantera to break up in the first place, and the shooter was an idiot for blaming Dimebag. All of the music Phil has done outside of Pantera has been mediocre.

Ok.....Thats gonna generate quiet an argument......
But for my little knowledge on Pantera I`ll leave it for you fans. :yes:





Baby Slash//

Phil was mostly responsible for breaking up the band.  But after the break up, Vinnie talked just as much shit as Phil did.  I'm not trying to knock Vinnie or anything.  I just thought he should've let Phil come to the funeral.

They just thaught it would be better if he wasnt there..Its more Dimebags mother who didnt want Phil there..she just thaught it wasnt the right time and didnt want to make a big scene or anything and Phil respected her wishes but really wanted to be there

I think they'll come together one day to pay tribute to Dime.  Phil, Vinnie, and Rex...if they'd play a show I think it would have to be Zakk Wylde on guitar.  That would be a nice way to pay tribute.

Couldnt agree with you anymore then that

Exactly my sentiments as well, i was gonna make a new post on this very subject on how much i miss Pantera, jees those guys could rock out, they played a kind of metal with a groove and hook, metal music you can dance too. I miss them sons of bitches!

RIP Diamond Darrell - You are still missed more and more each and every day!

They were very special, nothing else is nearly as good

Dimebag's riffs and solo's are just wonderful, there isn't anyone out there that can offer what he did

Im gonna agree with you there Scouser! Here we are on a Guns N Roses message board awaiting an album that is 8-9 years in the making! Jesus christ, at least we can get a new album from Guns, puts it all into perspective doesnt it.

Guns N Roses tire me now, its not Rock and Roll making an album that takes 8-9 years to Finish, not speaking to fans etc.

Pantera are 10 times the band GNR are today and they are defunct!

Nope - havn't nicked enough cars (yet) to qualify, and besides i'm from the south

I know what u mean about GNR - atleast they are all alive - Pantera can never return. Pantera weren't afriad to just release their music, even if it was in different styles (glam/thrash/hardcore). Axl is basically a coward terrified that people won't like his new album - get some balls man, the worse they can do is give ya 3/5!

TRENDKILL ("The Ultimate PANTERA Tribute"), DOWNSHIFT and THE LIFELESS DESIGN are among the confirmed bands for "The 2005 Darrell Abbott Memorial Show", set to take place Saturday, December 10 at Chez Paree in Carter Lake, Iowa. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund, which has been set up to help the victims of the Alrosa Villa shootings in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 2004, which took the life of late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, DAMAGEPLAN's head of security, Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson, an employee of the club, Erin Halk, and a member of the audience, Nathan Bray.

"The 2005 Darrell Abbott Memorial Show" confirmed acts (in alphabetical order)

ANALOG
BLOODCOW
CONTUSION
CYNGE
DEAD ECHOES
DEAD OF DAWN
DIESEL BREATH
DIRTFEDD
DOWNSHIFT
IDLE APATHY
RANDOM DISFIGUREMENT
REALITYS FLAW
SIN
THE LIFELESS DESIGN
TRENDKILL (The Ultimate PANTERA Tribute)
VIOLENT IMPACT
WESTSIDE PROLETARIAT
(http://www.blabbermouth.net/dimebag_flyer.jpg)

Former PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo has spoken exclusively to Revolver magazine (web site) about the death of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Anselmo's much-rumored substance-abuse problems and the role the heavy metal media has played in PANTERA's eventual demise, among many other topics. Several excerpts from the article (published in the magazine's February 2006 issue, due to hit newsstands on December 6) follow:

Revolver: Tell me about the past year.

Anselmo: "Man, this has been the worst year of my life ? it's been the worst year of many people's lives. Ever since? Ever since my guitar player was taken from me, basically."

Revolver: How much do you miss Dime?

Anselmo: "I miss him more than I can even begin to say. I think of him every single waking day ? every 30 minutes, if not every five minutes.

"And? [he pauses] Trying not to get choked up here. I'm trying to compose myself. I speak with Rex [Brown, PANTERA's bass player] often. We both are dealing with it? I'm in therapy. I never had to see a psychiatrist before. I see one regularly now. They tried to put me on antidepressants, but I won't take them because I don't trust drugs at all anymore. I don't trust a fucking pill, not unless it's a vitamin.

"I feel so goddamn bad for Vince [Paul, PANTERA's drummer and Darrell's brother], because during the writing of our last record, [his and Darrell's] mother passed away? I miss Vince. I miss his sense of humor. And Dime ? there was no more creative, beautiful, perfect motherfucker ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. He could make something out of nothing ? if we were in Bumfuck, Anywhere, he could find some kind of something to do that would end up being fun, you know? And not to mention his music, our music. Dimebag, Vinnie, Rex ? they were the greatest, and still are the greatest, musicians I've ever played with. I will always love everybody in that band, man. We had so much chemistry together. I miss it so goddamn much. You know, it took me quite awhile, but after about six months, I watched some old videos, I listened to our records, and I was just stunned, amazed, gasping for air, because I knew that I was part of something that changed heavy metal forever. And it took all four of us.

"To lose someone like Dime, and to have his brother in such pain, it kills me. I'd give one of my fingers to fix everything somehow, go back in time, or to have been there. This is a harsh thing to say, but if I saw some stupid son of a bitch coming at my guitar player with a gun, I would have knocked his block off, you know? I would have taken a bullet for that motherfucker."

Revolver: Have you tried to contact Vince?

Anselmo: "Yes, right afterwards, and I don't blame him for his isolation. I mean, it's a stunning, stunning thing. It's nothing you can just put out of your mind, it's nothing you can drink away, it's nothing you can go to a psychiatrist for a couple of months and he can put everything into perspective. I fear the worst for him, because I love him so much, you know? All I have in my heart is love, and when I say this, there's no way I can leave the fans out.

"We, PANTERA, had the greatest, the most intense, dedicated fans I've ever seen in my goddamn life. And I really hope with all my heart that one day, people ? especially our fans and my friends ? can see clearly enough to think for themselves and really realize that I have nothing but love for them. I've just been going through personal hell since December. Once again, it's very hard to talk about, man. You know, my heart is in a thousand pieces a day.

"But there is something very, very, very important that I've been wanting to say for a long time? and the only reason I couldn't say it before was because I always wanted that air of 'a new level of confidence and power' ? you know, that 'vulgar display of power.' When I was in my middle twenties, I could walk through walls. There wasn't a man big enough to kick my fucking ass. I'd rock with anyone, and I don't remember losing a fight.

"And then I tried a drug called heroin, because deep inside of myself I thought ? I knew ? there was no way that any drug could conquer me. No way. But the second time I did it in my entire life, it killed me.

"Then I rebounded from that, played a show the very next night, knew that there's no way I'm messing with that garbage anymore. But I could tell something was screwed up with my back, something was not right. Pain, severe pain. So in between tours, I had an MRI, my first of six. Sure enough, the lowest lumbar disc in my back was ruptured ? shattered from being onstage since I was 14 years old, jumping off the stage, off Vinnie's drum set, going as crazy as possible.

"So I asked my doctor, 'What can I do about this?' And he says, 'Well, you're going to have to wear a back brace,' which I've been wearing for 10 years now. [Anselmo pulls up his shirt to reveal a large back brace around his midsection.]

Revolver: Damn.

Anselmo: "Nobody's known that. Anybody who ever thought I had a beer gut or I was fat, I was holding my bones together. Then, after two, three more tours ? another MRI. I got another damaged disc, and no cartilage between the bottom one and the next one, which meant bone-on-bone scraping and nerve damage, and so the painkillers got stronger, stronger, stronger just to get up on that goddamn stage and do what I do, man. I mean, I was born to do this and I've known it since I was 6 years old.

"Back in the Nineties, I went to see so many goddamn surgeons, and they all wanted to slice me open from the belly, take pieces of my hipbone out, take all my guts out, lay them on a table, and then fuse the discs from the front, use pieces of my hip to fill gaps in the bone and cartilage, then put all my guts back in, sew me up. I asked the doctor, 'Well, what's the recovery time for something like that?' And he's like, 'Oh, 10 months to a year, maybe a year and a half.' I'm like, 'No way. I gotta work, bro. We're going to Europe. We're doing Ozzfest. I cannot take a year off.' And then, on top of that, I had doctors ask me if I had been fitted for a wheelchair. That's how bad it was. And I never have let that out of the bag before. I said, 'A wheelchair?! I still jump off the damn drum riser, man.' And they're like, 'You're just going to screw yourself up.'

"And so eventually, I got put on the heaviest painkiller known to mankind ? it's called methadone. Most people relate methadone to heroin, but I saved every bottle, every document ? everything was for my back. And you know, it still hurt to be up there on stage, and when I woke up in the morning, it felt like an ice pick was shoved in my lower back, and the colder it got, the worse it got. And when you'd go to Europe in the middle of winter, it's like, man, I cannot do this without medicine.

"So I think people, especially journalists, took it upon themselves ? and I really can't blame them, because I've never spilled these particular beans before. But I was slurring my words, I didn't have that glow anymore. It was killing my soul. You know, drugs, dope, everything you ever hear about them, it's true, man.

"So now, here we are in 2005 ? medical science and neurology have come a very extreme distance. I have found an incredible doctor. He has put me through rigorous tests. They've given me my sixth MRI and nuclear testing where they make all your bones glow. [Laughs] And the worst of all was the last one. It's called the discogram ? they allow no medication, no relaxants at all, and the whole purpose of the procedure is to duplicate the pain that you feel.

"So, at that point in time, I was slowly coming off this poison called methodone, which ruined my life, and another pill, which anybody who takes it is out of their mind. It's [a muscle relaxant] called Soma. That's what makes you sound like you're on the biggest amount of dope in the world ? it makes you retarded, and I hated it. And so I want to apologize to all of my fans. I just wanted to play for you guys, man. And I think an apology is due for all my close friends and family, who had to endure what they didn't understand. And Dimebag, Vinnie Paul, Rex ? they didn't understand the pain I was going through and the medicines and all of that. I apologize ? so much. I'm not making excuses, but living with chronic pain makes you antisocial, depressed, not yourself. It changes your life, and it did mine, and now I want it back.

"And so, next month, on November the eighth [pushed back to Nov. 21 after this interview was conducted ? Ed.], I'm going under the knife, and I'm getting this motherfucker fixed finally, and I will walk through walls again, and I will punch through bricks, and I will rise again. Mark my goddamn words."

Revolver: When you do tour again, are you worried at all that some crazy will try to take you out?

Anselmo: "There ain't no way I'm playing a show unless the security's tight and everybody knows the score, man."

Revolver: But as you know, some people really hate you?

Anselmo: "Man, look, there is no way anyone in this world can vicariously live through that tragedy and blame anyone but the kid who shot my guitar player, for God's sake. So many people don't even know me, and they have formed an opinion. I would suggest to every person that reads this, before you judge anyone else, make sure and check yourself out first. Because imperfection is just a human way, man. And opinions are like assholes ? everybody has one. And when you assume something, yes, the ass comes out in you. Don't believe every fucking thing that you read, especially these goddamn tabloid magazines, like Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, for all the tasteless bullshit that they pulled."

Revolver: So what did those magazines pull? And how big a role did it play in things going so wrong with PANTERA in the end?

Anselmo: "You know, after the SLAYER/MORBID ANGEL tour [in 2001] that we did, I thought it was wisest to take a break. I wanted to get the second DOWN album done, and I wanted to release the SUPERJOINT [RITUAL] album, because both of them had been on ice for so long. Never did I think that before interviews would even start, I'd have guys come in and tell me how much Darrell and Vince hated my guts. Or I would say something in jest, or I would say something that would be taken so completely out of context, like, I would kick Dimebag Darrell's ass or something like that." [see previous BLABBERMOUTH.NET story]

"Look, man, the world knows that I probably wouldn't be the easiest guy to fight, but I would never raise a hand to Dimebag Darrell. That would be like raising a hand to my own family, and it would never happen. Ever. No way.

"And goddamn, man, I would never quit PANTERA. Are you crazy? I mean, that was my home. That was my real band, you know? And now, yeah, I'm starting from scratch, and all I know how to do is play music. That's all I know how to do. But if there's any silver lining within all these clouds, it's that our music does live forever within our records. That is immortal. As is the strength of our fans and the faith that I have in our fans to realize that Dime's murder was the action of a psychotic motherfucker who believed in the media too much and fell into this hype thing. Our fans are hardcore, and it kills them, what happened, but it's not going to do any good to take sides, because there is only one side, you know?

"So goddamn the effects of drugs, goddamn the fucking media personnel who toy with words and don't expect consequences. And goddamn anyone who thinks that I had anything but love for Dimebag Darrell. A part of me, a gigantic part of me, is destroyed, and I am a different man."

Philip Anselmo's entire interview with Revolver can be found in the magazine's February 2006 issue, due to hit newsstands on December 6.

Thanks Malcolm : ok:

that was a good read. so are the Down reunion rumors true then?

Glad to see Phil doing another interview. I love that SOB!

That interview sheds a lot of light on his drug intake...



..i believe him.

I've got a lot of sympathy for Phil.

People still whinig about him need to let it go, Pantera definately won't come back now and that's thanks to the tosser who went on stage with a gun last year.

RIP Dimebag

interesting read - RIP Dimebag

In the past year I've developed a lot of respect for Phil.  He's really turned things around.  He seems like a very genuine, sincere dude who's going throuhg a very rough time.  I hope things go well for him and he's able to be the great frontman he once was.

My buddy is obsessed wioth this whole Dimebag murder situation, he this Phil hired that dude to kill Dime, I think he's full of shit. Looks like you guys agree with me too : ok: (or do you?) I hope Phil gets back to where he needs to be cuz I'd love to see him kick ass on the stage again.

Nothings ever what it seems, but i give him the benefit of the doubt

I will say this though: if he loved Pantera so much why didn't he move heaven and earth to keep them going?

I think he felt betrayed by the other guys when they started to turn on him.

I think alot of shit was going on cuz when i saw them in Hamilton in June of 2001, Phil said that it would be the last Pantera tour for a while, he said it right on stage between songs. then not long after the tour ended they broke up :crying:

That's awesome that you did get to see them though.  That's one band I'd loved to see, but will never get the chance.

I have a good story from that show, (Hamilton, 2001). A freind of mine that went with me was in the pit. and another buddy and me saw this shoe being thrown around. and we were laughing, thinking, aw poor bastard someone lost their shoe. right. well at the end of the song freind # 1 comes up to us and is like "fuck I lost my shoe..." so we start howling right. then he's scared to go back in there right cuz he doesn't want his foot stomped on, then about 2 songs later we see the shoe again flying up in the air. And we are like there's your shoe dude!!! and we start laughing again. He's like fuck!! and runs back in there. then about 2 mins later he comes running back to us, waving his fucking shoe. :rofl: "I got it guys" :rofl: ahh good times.

It was crazy, The very beginning of the live album says it pretty fucking good. It was the same both times I saw them. you would start to see dimebag walking around back stage with his guitar then the crowd starts going "PAN-TER-A, PAN-TER-A, PAN-TER-A" then the light blaze and its fucking loud and its fucking chaos, a shitload of people not in the pit rushed the barricades and at least 1/2 jump over them. guys getting thrown 10 feet in the air from the pit. and the whole floor was a battle, you know most shows there is a pocket with no activity, That was not the case with pantera, every second in there was a battle. I was never scared of being hurt in any pit after being in that utter chaos (Blood, Booze Drugs and fights), I've felt almost indestructable at any other show I've been to since the show in Detroit '99. (I was pushed into a circle pit of skinheads there :nervous: it was fucking scary, but i ran before they could grab me :hihi: )

PanterA ruled so fucking much. I truely feel for those who didn't see them :'(

I never saw them either, it's too bad

Me neither!  :'(

Never had the opportunity to catch them either.....

Maybe the surviving members could reform..or would that be a bad idea?

Well Phil and Rex were both in Down, I'm not sure if they were split in 2 or not, thats what it looked like when Damageplan was together. And I remeber seeing a bit of an interview with Dime in Guitar world right after Damageplan was released and he was talking about the breakup of PanterA. I'm pretty sure it was portrayed that way in that interview. I don't have that one though sorry :(

EDIT: I think this is the interview i was talking about

Another exerpt from the new Revolver Magazine coming out next week.

Today last year I was sitting outside of The Phoenix Concert Theater in Toronto and it is only 1:40pm....I was up that morning at 8:00am getting ready to leave the city in which I live to go wait all day to see Damageplan....Around 2:00pm a local cab pulled up in front of the venue and out came Dime Vinnie and Mayhem,me and my friends approached and were greated...Taking pictures,getting autographs,talking about that nights gig,it was great...I thought to myself I had never met any nicer people...Went on to destroy the city like always...What a great day.I'm not really good at getting to the point sometimes,but this is a day I will never forget.
Rest In Peace to all from that tragic night,you'll be missed.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/FnHostile/00590026.jpg)

As for the Phil interview,I rather not comment.

I was at that show as Hamilton is where I live...I wasn't on the floor,but for my first show it was killer none the less....I was glad I got to see them live after they broke up.
I also saw Damageplan both times they came to Toronto in 2004.

Its a real shame they can't get back together - at leats with GNR its still technically posisble if not concievably possible

Damageplan and Down/SJR are pretty godawful offerings when compared to Pantera - they were 4 guys that when combined where far better than the sum of their parts. I thought Down/SJR are really, really awfull and Damageplan's album has never bene in my cd player again (mainly due to the awful vocalist)

Down and Damageplan are awsome IMO....Superjoint is just ok,but I rather have the other two...Pat Lachman is a great vocalist....I was really looking forward to the follow up Damageplan record. :-\

I got both Down albums and i think they are fucking great : ok:

I still have to get around to buying Damageplan (I didn't want to seem like ibought it just cuz Dime was killed) I've heard a couple tunes and they sound alright.

Did you see the Vinnie Paul interview I posted in the Pantera thread? He talks about the damageplan 2 recordings and his thoughts on what he's going to do with them. Check it out its a good read.

What is it u like about Down?

I though the first album has the most basic guitar work i have ever heard - makes Green Day guitar work look complex.

I like Phils vocals and lyrics firstoff, I like the fact that i got to hear Phil sing a different type of music than scream your guts out pantera. Pepper Keenan kicks ass. The second album, "a bustle in your Hedgerow" is a bit heavier, and its got this cool southern rock feel to it. Also it was written and recorded in a month. Rex also plays on it. Rex wasn't in Down for the first album. The song "Jail" off the first album is wirtten totally by phil. and Stone the Crow is just a cool song.

Pantera always had a melody to it thati find Down/SJR totally lacks, in all 4 of Phil's albums i didn't find a riff or solo that impressed me at all, whereas Pantera manage to rarely go a song without both

I find Phil's vocals to be ridiculous cookie monster grunting - can't understand a word he says, whereas with Pantera the message is always clear

I will say that Stained Glass Cross from Down II is a superb song, one of the best tracks i have ever heard - only track that i found even remotely memorable

I actually just got into Pantera the other week.  I heard "Cemetary Gates" and was just blown away - after that I listened to "Cowboys From Hell" and "Walk".  The band really has more melody than I thought they would.

i remember hearing  the bad news during my job in the factory i used to have, I was crushed to hear a man that seemed so awesome get brutally murdered in front of his own fans. :'(  Boy, 2004 was a shitty year in my opinion.

MTV News spoke with members of some 30 hard rock and metal bands about their memories of late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. They told MTV how much he'd meant to them, they shared fond memories and spoke of the impact he made on their lives and their music. A few excerpts from the article follow:


David Draiman - frontman, DISTURBED: "During our second Ozzfest, we were holed up in Dallas for about two or three days ... hanging out at Dime's place ? it was an eclectic house. There's all kinds of PANTERA memorabilia and Dimebag memorabilia all over the place. But you could never make the mistake of falling asleep at Dime's. He'd wake you up the way he always did: with firecrackers. He'd always set off an entire chain of firecrackers not two inches from my head. One time ... Dime took us to a strip club where we all judged a bikini contest. There was never a wrong time in the day for Dime to hit a strip club. ... Dime was just this character who was very easy to love. He didn't have a bad bone in his body, and was ready to give you the shirt off his back at all times. It was his mission in life to make sure every single moment you spent with him was the best moment of your life. He was selfless."

Zakk Wylde - frontman, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY: "Whenever you were around Dime, there was never a boring moment. He was the coolest guy on the planet. He was an even better person than he was a guitar player, if that's even possible. Whenever me and him would hook up, forget about it, bro. We'd always have to have a spare kidney, liver and pancreas on ice."

Chad Kroeger - frontman, NICKELBACK: "The last time I saw Dime, we were on tour in Dallas. He jumped up on our bus and he'd brought me this little tiny miniature guitar. It almost looked like a ukulele. He goes, 'I brought you something.' And I hate when someone gives me a present and I don't have something to give them back. So, that night, we were both getting pretty sloppy, and I go in the back and I grab my favorite leather jacket. I come out and give it to him and he throws it on. I'm like, 'There you go. What do you think?' We were both ecstatic, and I gave him a big old hug. We jumped back into his Escalade, and we're sitting there, talking for a bit. We were passing this bottle of Jack Daniel's back and forth. ... I tell him I love him and to be careful, and he tells me he loves me and to be careful. I gave him a big old hug and went back to my bus. ... That was the last time I saw him, and that's what I'll always remember when I think of Dime. I miss him a lot."

Several New York metal bands will be paying tribute to late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on Saturday, December 10 at Wild Spirits in New York City.

Dimebag Tribute NYC will be hosted by Militia from Fuse TV and will feature performances by KEVORKIAN (playing a full set of PANTERA songs), CENTER OF ZERO, PRIAPISM, EDEN A.D. and SWEAR ON YOUR LIFE (featuring Militia).

(http://homepage.mac.com/nealdavis/.Pictures/dimebagFlyerSiteEditWeb.jpg)()

Check out Hollow - the solo is just haunting. Cemetery Gates and Hollow have such superb lyrics, there really isn't many songs that match.

Dimebag's guitar work is so consistently superb through all their albums, the way he could fuse melody with sheer power is virtually unrivaled, check out his superb solo on Yesterday don't mean shit - damn good stuff

Floods!!!!!!  ;D and shedding skin and revolution is my name

I'm listening to Hollow right now....I don't want Thursday to come...I want last December to not even have happened.
Still feels like yesterday I was talking to the guy.

(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alfieii/pantera/photos/slovenia/Dime.jpg)

(http://tinypic.com/ibjos9.jpg)

 : ok:

Let's keep it going

(http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b206/blackstatik/Dimebag_Darrell.jpg)
(http://www.rikksrevues.com/dimebag_darrell.jpg)

I think these pictures say it all right here..Thanks for all the memories and kick-ass tunes man

Here's some old school "Diamond Darrell"

(http://tinypic.com/ibmey0.jpg)

good words malcolm, good words :'(

Here's to you Dime :beer:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/FnHostile/191908811742f3939ba39c0.jpg)

I cant believe its been a year already. My love to Vince and His family for the Loss of a Great Guitarist and a Beautiful Human Being.

Rock in Peace Dime.

To all those lost in the tragedy one year ago,you all are missed...R.I.P

(http://www.marty-obrien.com/Dime&Moby.jpg)

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/rebecce_evelyn/d251e1bb.jpg) (http://photobucket.com/albums/y206/rebecce_evelyn/Photo0015.jpg)


more pics > http://www.downboard.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2805

One year of the lost of this man, I wasn't a Pantera fan but I do like a couple of songs and they are pretty cool.
Anyway RIP Dime  :'(

(http://www.ridefordime.com/pics/gravesite/PB270015.JPG)
(http://www.ridefordime.com/pics/gravesite/PB270016.JPG)

MTVNews.com reports: December 8 marks the one-year anniversary of one of the most grim and bizarre tragedies in music history ? the onstage shooting death of PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. In the past year, friends and fans have talked at length about Dime's influence and spirit, but the man who knew him best ? his brother and bandmate Vinnie Paul ? has been largely silent. Recently, however, Vinnie sat down with MTV News' Robert Mancini for his first on-camera interview since losing his brother. He recalled a different side of a true metal giant, and helped to remember the talent and the kindness that was Dime as fans mark the anniversary of his death. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

MTV: A lot of folks, the first image that they get of Dimebag is of this really open and good-natured guy who's always up for a party, but he really took music seriously too and was very much a student of his craft, right?

Paul: He was a perfectionist. I know because I was in the studio with him every record we made, I co-produced all the records with Terry Date. He was like, "Man, I've done a thousand bands and I've never seen anybody like your brother sit there and want to get the guitar as hot as it gets, take 20 leads and decide, 'You know what? All those suck. Let's start over and go again.' " He just was a perfectionist, and he was never afraid to experiment. That's something that always blew my mind. You know a lot of people learn certain places on the neck or certain things, and he was really great at accepting other people's ideas. He never said, "Naw, this is my way. This is the way I'm gonna do it." He'd say, "Aw, OK, let me try it, let me see if I could do it the way you're talking about." And a lot of magic came from that, you know, because he just was never afraid to try other things. He was never afraid of people making fun of him, and he wasn't afraid to fail. He would go for it, and if it didn't work, he was the first person that knew.

MTV: That's what you hear so much about him ? you hear a lot about that spirit and that energy. And it's so evident in the scope of the reaction to his death and the number of people who say he impacted them.

Paul: It was heartwarming to see all the people that really respected everything he did, all the people that he touched, in particular the bands that toured with us. So many of them learned to have a good time on the road from him and from our family and everything we did on the road, and he truly touched millions and millions and millions of people and he will continue to forever.

MTV: It's also remarkable how many fans he had direct interaction with, and how many people were connected to him that way. What was it like to see that on the road, to watch him with the fans?

Paul: He never turned a fan down. He knew the minute he came off that bus everybody expected the wild and crazy Dime that they saw in the videos, that they saw onstage, that they came to see, you know? I remember the night before this horrible stuff happened we played in Buffalo, New York, and me and Dime loved gambling. Anytime there was a casino, we wanted to go gamble. And we got on the bus after we did everything with the fans and everything and I said, "Hey, man, let's go to Niagara Falls. Let's go gambling." And he's like, "Man, I'm smoked. I've gotta go to bed. I just gotta rest up, we've got these last two shows. I'll catch you tomorrow." I'm like, "OK." So we take off, we go to the casino, we're having a blast and all that. About two hours later the bus comes to pick us up, and I hop on and there's Dime in the front lounging with seven or eight fans, and they're all doing shots. And I'm like, "I thought you were smoked, man, and going to bed." He goes, "I couldn't let these people down, man. They wanted to f---ing party, so I brought them on the bus." That's how he was, man, he never came first. He was exactly what people thought he was and then some.

MTV: This whole thing must be such a long and difficult process. What was the key thing that you needed to go through to make this a little easier to even just start talking about it?

Paul: Time. That's all it is ... time, man. And it still feels like it's a couple days before December 8 last year. I mean, I've never had a year in my life go by this fast where it just felt like it was null, empty, unproductive, no goals, no future and just unimaginable sadness, you know? I've just had a lot of amazing friends and the support from all the fans, and that's been a big help. That's been a big help, so somehow or another we'll make it through this. I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that Dime's legacy lives on as long as it can, and at some point I'll get on with doing my thing too.

MTV: Is there a thought that sticks with you more than anything else? Not necessarily a memory of him, but sometimes when you go through something like this, something will run over and over in your head.

Paul: Probably the truest phrase that anyone came up with was [Dean Guitars founder] Dean Zelinksy, whom he had an amazing relationship with ? Dean did all his guitars. He said, "He came to rock, and he rocked like no other." And that's all there is to it, man. That puts a smile on my face every time I hear it because it's true. No truer words were ever spoken.

Today all ive been doing is tributing  dime at school and talking bout him and stuff and making sure people know what day it is. Some people had R.I.P dime on there hands which i thought was nice. Such a shame that such a great man  and guitarist was killed in such a cruel way......

Does anybody have any pics of him with zakk wylde?

(http://www.zakkwylde.com/nwwd/features/DressingRoom7444.jpg)
(http://www.tiometalrules.blogger.com.br/Zakk%20e%20Dime.jpg)

A great musician's life was cut off the wrong way, but his spirit remains in a better place....


We miss you so much Dime, R.I.P. buddy. :beer:

 Some of the biggest names in hard rock ? including members of such acts as METALLICA, KORN, LINKIN PARK, SLIPKNOT, MUDVAYNE, ROB ZOMBIE, DISTURBED ? have joined forces for an amazing art exhibit in remembrance of late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and to support music education.

Set to debut at Winter NAMM in Anaheim, California, "Six-String Masterpieces: The Dimebag Darrell Art Tribute" will include the following:

* A collection of 50 guitars, hand-painted by world-famous rock stars and internationally known modern artists.

* A charitable art auction to benefit a foundation dedicated to music, education and improving the lives of today?s youth.

* A travelling entertainment attraction hitting major U.S. markets in 2006.

* A highly-publicized tour that will feature an art opening party and VIP reception in each city attended by participating artists, press, celebrities and entertainment industry personel.

This exhibit promises to be of massive popular appeal, as well as a great story for the music, art and mainstream media. Platinum-selling artists such as Rob Zombie, Moby, Billy Corgan, KORN, Dave Navarro, VAN HALEN, Kirk Hammett of METALLICA, Dave Grohl of FOO FIGHTERS and NIRVANA and SUM 41 have already signed on and the list of impressive artists is growing.

"Six-String Masterpieces: The Dimebag Darrell Art Tribute" will debut at Winter NAMM in Anaheim, California before heading off on tour to major U.S. markets. The guitars will be auctioned off with proceeds going to a foundation dedicated to furthering music education.

List of participating artists:

Aaron Cain (Aaron Cain Tattoo)
Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM)
Billy Corgan (SMASHING PUMPKINS)
Bob Tyrrell
Bob Zilla (DAMAGEPLAN)
Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX)
Chester Bennington (LINKIN PARK)
Dan Donegan (DISTURBED)
Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA)
Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION)
David Stoupakis
DEFTONES
Derek Hess (Derek Hess Studios)
Filip Leu (Leu Family Iron)
Gill Montie
Greg Tribbett (MUDVAYNE)
Guy Aitchison (Hyperspace Studios)
Hank Williams III
Jack Rudy
James Hetfield (METALLICA)
Jason D' Aquino (Blue Moon Tattoo)
Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
Jim Root (SLIPKNOT)
Joe Capobianco (Hope Gallery)
Joe Satriani
Jonathan Davis (KORN)
Kelly Clarkson
Kerry King (SLAYER)
Kirk Hammett (METALLICA)
Marilyn Manson
Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO, MUTATO MUZAKO)
Michael Anthony (VAN HALEN)
Mick Thompson (SLIPKNOT)
Mike Shinoda (LINKIN PARK)
Moby
Munky (KORN)
Oderus Urungus (GWAR)
OTEP
Paul Booth (Last Rites Tattoo)
Rob Zombie
Ron English (Popaganda Art Studio)
Ryan McGinness
Sammy Hagar
Sas Christian (Hotbox Designs)
Shannon Larkin (GODSMACK)
Shawn Crahan (SLIPKNOT)
Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL BAND)
Sully Erna (GODSMACK)
SUM 41
Ted Nugent
Tom Morello (AUDIOSLAVE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE)
Tommy Lee (M?TLEY CR?E)
Willie Adler (LAMB OF GOD)

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY singer/guitarist Zakk Wylde, guitarist Nick Catanese and bass player John "J.D." Deservio recently spoke to Boston writer Debby Rao about the legacy of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN) on the second anniversary of Abbott's tragic death (Dimebag was gunned down by a deranged "fan" on December 8, 2004).

Zakk Wylde: "We dedicate 'In this River' to Dimebag every night. I wrote the song before Dime passed away. It is just like I never had a brother, but Dime was my brother. I laid him to rest. It is just like that. Looking at the lyrics, this is his song. Dime was always a giver, never a taker."

Q: Do you consider Dime's death a 9/11 for all musicians? The second anniversary of Dimebag's death is December 8, and it still seems so surreal. What was going through your mind when you heard the news of Dime's death?

Catanese: I was sitting here just like now answering emails and I heard the news. I was in total disbelief but then many people called and I knew it for real and I just lost it. A person so full of life and just wanted to have a good time and jam and be buds and treat everyone like they were the star was taken from us. But he will always be around. He isn't gone he is in all of us. Dime wore his BLS vest all the time and is now forever in it, and to me that means so much. That day Vinnie lost a brother, Rita lost lost a husband and we all lost a dear friend and a great musician.

Q: Dime has made such an impact in the metal world. His legacy will live on through is music. What was your favorite PANTERA song? Do you think PANTERA helped paved the way for nu-metal as we know it today?

Catanese: "Becoming" was always my favorite and I loved "Hellbound". Fuck no, PANTERA never led into nu-metal. They were there own breed.

Q: "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott recently got inducted into the Hall of Fame in Dallas at the Hard Rock Cafe. What are your thoughts on Dime's induction?

Catanese: It's about fuckin time. Dime deserves that and more. He brought so much into the world of music. Not just great playing but as a person. He is the best and will always be.

Q: What advice did Dime ever give to you as a musician, that you will forever treasure? Describe the impact that Dime had on your career as a musician.

Catanese: He said to me after we did the show in Dallas with JUDAS PRIEST, he put his arm around me and said, "Twin, you keep jamming, you got fire and I see it. One day you will be up there with the big boys." That was such a great fucking thing for him to say to me. It put even more of a drive in me."

Q: Do you remember the first time you met "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott?

Catanese: I met Dime during the CROWBAR tour with us. He came out and hung. My best memory I have of Dime is the last time I saw him was when we opened for JUDAS PRIEST. Dime and Rita came out and we had a blast. After the show, he put arm around me and complimented the show and said "Man, I watch you up there playing note for note with the boss. Don't you ever quit and mark my words you will be one of the best." Well that about had me in tears. Here is one of my idols telling me something like that. That was just the kind of person Dime was ? such a giving and caring person. "

Q: One of the highlights of the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY set on the "Shot to Hell" tour is when the band performs "In this River" in a very special tribute to Dime every night. The emotion pouring out from the band is so heartwarming.

Catanese: It is still hard to this day to play that song and not get emotional. The song was written and recorded while Dime was alive, but it fits and pays a lot of honor to him. Now that it's played on the piano, it's even more intense.

Q: What impact did "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott have on the metal world? What was Dime's motto in life?

Catanese: Be yourself and have fun every fucking day of your life. Dime never went a day without having a fucking blast. He would call me up at casinos and we would talk about how much money we had each lost. He would say "Twin, live it up man, let it roll. Getcha pull."

Q: JD, do you have any special memories of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott that you would like to share with us?

J.D.: "Dime is loved and missed, and he's always in our thoughts and prayers. Dime is with us every night on stage!"

Theres some people there that i dont think should be. dime and zakk hated grunge and nu-metal yet dave grohl and mike shinoda are there? wtf

I wonder if we will hear the recordings laid down for Damageplan's second album

Its fantastic that we got the Rebel meets rebel album, i hope there is still a few more songs to come from such amazing guitarist, and he truly was, he truly is, one of the all time greats

u would stop someone celebrating anothers life and morning their death? :confused:

I think the music is there. Vinnie doesn't know if he wants the lead singer from Damageplan to lay vocals are pick some of Dime's favorites.

Last I heard, Damageplan were gunna release the second album with all members.
Does anyone know whats doing with Pantera Home Video 4, and all the unreleased Pantera tracks. There was also an albums worth of stuff from after Reinventing the Steel and there was talk about that coming out to.
Any clue?


 :peace:

The Damageplan vocalist was awful, i'd hope someone else could 'contribute' - but the important thing is getting more of Dime's stuff out there

Apparently there is a lot of it lying about, Vinnie lent Nickelback one of Dime's solos for the excellent 'side of a bullet', i'm sure from 20 years + of recordings you could carefully create whole new songs

man 2 years already...where has the time gone :'(

damageplan has a couple cool tunes...but yeah the vocalist is pretty bad, i like the idea vinnie talked about getting dimes fav singers to lay vocals over some of his recordings...appparently the 2nd damageplan album was completed aside from vocals

no but considering everything pantera stood for i think its bit disrespectful to dime.

Dime would feel disrespected by someone celebrating his life??

Dime's music touched people around the world, i'm sure Dime would feel very humbled by that.

R.I.P dimebag!!!!!!

Dime Forever!

R.I.P brother.

2 fuckin years. I still cant believe it.
Rock in Peace Dime
Rot in Hell Nathan Gale


 :peace:

(http://www.massconcerts.com/graphics/dimebagdarrellRIPbyJeremySaffer.jpg)

RIP brother Dime.. Your music lives on forever

i was watching the concert footage from that show a few weeks ago and couldn't believe it still. how fucked up can some dude be?

anyway

rip dimebag

5 years today  :-\

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZJcupwTfFc

RIP Dimebag


 :(

RIP Darrell and John Lennon, also killed on December 8

RIP.

Still sadly missed :'(

Dimebag Darrell: A Photo Tour of the Fallen Pantera Guitarist

http://www.noisecreep.com/2009/12/09/dimebag-darrell-headbangers-ball-photos/