Dimebag Darrell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darrell Lance Abbott | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | August 20, 1966 Dallas, Texas |
| Died | December 8, 2004 Columbus, Ohio |
| Alias(es) | Diamond Darrell Dimebag Darrell |
| Genre(s) | Groove metal Thrash metal Glam metal Heavy metal |
| Affiliation(s) | Pantera Damageplan Rebel Meets Rebel Anthrax Tres Diablos Gasoline |
| Label(s) | Atco Records Big Vin Records |
| Notable guitars | Signature "Dimebag" models issued by Dean and Washburn Based on Dean's Original ML design, a merger of the Flying V and Explorer Shape. |
| Years active | 1981 - 2004 |
Dimebag Darrell (born Darrell Lance Abbott August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), also known as Diamond Darrell until mid 1992, was the lead guitarist for the heavy metal bands Pantera, Damageplan and Rebel Meets Rebel. In 2004, he was murdered by a deranged fan on stage during a concert.
Contents |
[edit] Bands
[edit] Pantera
- Main article: Pantera
Pantera was formed in 1981 with Dimebag's brother Vinnie Paul on drums. Pantera went on to become one of the most influential and popular heavy metal bands of the 1990s. The band officially split in 2003 due to conflicts between members. Phil Anselmo, in the throes of a heroin addiction, started lashing out at other members. Brothers Vinnie and Dimebag officially broke up the band and went on to form Damageplan.
[edit] Other projects
Shortly before singer Phil Anselmo joined Pantera, Darrell was invited to join the pre-Rust in Peace Megadeth by Dave Mustaine. According to both Darrell and Mustaine's telling, Darrell was willing to join, but insisted on Mustaine also hiring his brother Vinnie. When Mustaine found out that Vinnie was a drummer and replied that he had already hired Nick Menza, Darrell turned down his offer and stayed with Pantera.
On and off between 1996 and the formation of Damageplan, the Abbott brothers and Pantera Bassist Rex Brown teamed up with country singer David Allan Coe for a project called Rebel Meets Rebel. Vinnie's favorite recorded Dime solo is on this album, part of the track "Get Out Of My Life". The album was released May 2, 2006 on Vinnie's "Big Vin Records" label.
Dimebag played guest guitar solos on several Anthrax songs from their John Bush era: "King Size" & "Riding Shotgun" from Stomp 442, "Inside Out" & "Born Again Idiot" from Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, "Strap It On" and "Cadillac Rock Box" (with a voice intro from Dime as well) from We've Come for You All. In a recent interview Anthrax bassist Frank Bello said "Darrell was basically the sixth member of Anthrax". A sample of a Dime guitar solo has been put in the Nickelback song "Side of a Bullet".
Shortly before Dime's death, he went into the studio with a band named Premenishen to do a guest solo on a track titled "Eyes of the South" [which coincidentally is the title of one of the songs featured on the debut album by Anselmo's project Down]. The band consists of two of Dime's cousins (bassist Heather Manly and guitarist April Adkisson).
There was speculation that Dimebag and close friend Zakk Wylde would collaborate with Eddie Van Halen; however, nothing was confirmed. He was also confirmed as one of the original guitar player choices for Liquid Tension Experiment by Mike Portnoy.[1]
Dimebag's musical roots were in Country Western music; he supported the local music scene in Mexico and would sometimes record with local musicians. On December 2, 2006 a very rare track of one of his collaborations was discovered. Dimebag sat in on a recording session with local Mexican musician "Throbbin Donnie" Rodd and recorded "Country Western Transvestite Whore". It features Dime on lead guitar and lead vocals.
Dimebag and his Brother Vinnie-Paul along with Rex (during the Pantera Era) and Bobzilla (Damageplan Era) performed at their newyears party every year under the name "Gasoline". Dime, Vinnie and Rex also recorded a cover of the ZZTop song "Heard it on the X" under the band name "Tres Diablos" for ECW wrestling's "Extreme Music" soundtrack.
[edit] Press
[edit] Magazine appearances
Dimebag frequently appeared in guitar magazines, both in advertisements for equipment he endorsed and in readers' polls, where he was often included in the top ten metal guitarist spots. In addition, Dimebag wrote a long-running Guitar World magazine column, which has been compiled in the book Riffer Madness (ISBN 0-7692-9101-5). Total Guitar frequently featured him and wrote about him in the months leading up to his death. One year after his death, they also made a tribute issue.
[edit] Equipment
In his early career as a musician, Dimebag used Dean ML guitars and Bill Lawrence L500XL pickups, which he would install in a reversed position to have the "hot" blade facing the neck. His main guitars were the Dean from Hell (an ml guitar customiser by Buddy Blaze, painted with a unique lightning bolt design and 'Floyd rosed' and a Braziliaburst ML. He used Dean guitars from 1983 - 1995. When Dean guitars went out of business he switched to Washburn. Dimebag used Washburn guitars from 1996 – 2004 endorsing various signature models such as the Dimebolt and the Stealth. His main guitars at this point where the dime 333, the stealth, and the culprit (a unique model designed by washburn which varied greatly from the ml's). Seymour Duncan manufactures a signature pickup co-designed by Dime, called the Dimebucker. Dimebag proudly endorsed Seymour Duncan, but continued to use Bill Lawrence pickups in most of his personal guitars. Several months before his death, Darrell ended his long relationship with Washburn guitars, and again became a Dean endorsee, coinciding with Dean Guitar founder Dean Zelinksy's return. Dean guitars built him a brand new signature guitar, called the Dime O' Flame, which he began using live. As a tribute to him, in 2005 Dean Guitars released the new Dime Tribute line of ML guitars. These guitars come in various models, ranging from lower end ones that have a stop tail piece, a bolt-on neck, Basswood Body, and lower quality pickups, to higher end models with Dimebuckers, a Floyd Rose bridge, and set neck construction. In his last few weeks with Dean Guitars, Dime help design a guitar he called the Razorback. After his death, Dean continued with the Razorback project and dedicated them to the memory of him. During the height of Dimebag's fame, he also worked together with MXR and Dunlop to produce the MXR Dime Distortion and the Dimebag "Crybaby from Hell" Wah respectively.
Dimebag's main rig included:
Randall RG100H heads and cabinets (1983 - 1991, 1996 - 1999)
Randall Century 200 heads and cabinets (1992 - 1995, 2000)
Randall Warhead heads and cabinets (2000 - 2004)
Randall X2 Warhead heads and cabinets (2004)
Krank Revolution heads and cabinets (late 2004)
Furman PQ4 parametric equalizer (1990 - 1995)
Furman PQ3 parametric equalizer (1996 - 2004)
MXR Six band graphic equalizer ('the blue one')
MXR flanger / doubler (1990 - 2004)
MXR DIME Distortion (2004)
Lexicon effect modules
Korg tuner
Rocktron Guitar silencer
Digitech Whammy pedal
Jim Dunlop Crybaby 535Q Crybaby From HELL
When Dime left Washburn a few weeks before his death, he also left Randall Amps. Dimebag had always swore by his solid-state Randall's through the years, but in late 2004 he switched to Krank amplifiers, which where purely tube driven. He planned to redefine his very own sound by developing the "Krankenstein". He used the MXR Zakk Wylde Overdrive with the Krank amps.
[edit] Musicianship
He took only one guitar lesson and then focused on self-prescribed teaching through a mix of watching and talking to the local country acts recording at his father's studio and playing along with his favorite artists' albums.
At a very young age Darrell won a series of local guitar competitions where he won his first Dean ML guitar and his first Randall Amplifier, the 2 staples of his style and sound. By the end of the winning streak he was barred from competing ever again, but was asked to return as a judge.
[edit] Influences
Among Dimebag's influences were Kiss, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Ace Frehley, Kal Edmondson, Jimi Hendrix and Pat Travers. Dimebag once said in an interview that if there was no Ace Frehley, there would have been no Dimebag Darrell - he even had a tattoo of the Kiss guitarist on his chest. Ace signed the tattoo in pen ink upon meeting him, at Dimebag's request, and then the autograph was painstakingly tattooed over soon after, so as never to be washed off. In addition, he cited many of his contemporaries among his influences, including Slayer's Kerry King, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society, Metallica's James Hetfield, Prong's Tommy Victor and Helmet's Page Hamilton. He also credits Vito Rulez of Chauncy for convincing him to try Bill Lawrence pickups. According to an interview with Dino Cazares then of Fear Factory Dime told him that during the recording of Reinventing the Steel he A/B'd his guitar tone with Dino's (incidentally during the making of Fear Factory's Demanufacture Cazares A/B'd his guitar tone against that of Vulgar Display of Power).
In the late 80's, around the time of "Power Metal", Dimebag often covered songs by guitarist Joe Satriani, such as Crushing Day. He also incorporated elements of Satriani songs like "Echo" into his live solos as well.
Dime has stated, in various interviews, that his riffs were largely influenced by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. Indeed, Tony's influence can be heard in many Pantera songs, Dime often emulating his sliding, slurring, style, his odd timing, his dissonant, eerie single note riffs, his open string chugging, his use of the wah pedal on rhythm parts, his penchant for odd changes and adding funky embellishments and his frequent use of sludgy, mammoth walls of distortion. Tony's influence can occasionally be heard in Dime's soloing as well, with his fast, manic pentatonic licks. Tony also influenced Dime's tunings, which often went down to C# or lower. Pantera covered Planet Caravan, Paranoid, Hole In the Sky and Electric Funeral by Black Sabbath.
He has also cited thrash giants Anthrax, Metallica and, despite a sometimes vicious feud, Megadeth as primary influences. He was also a great fan of Slayer and a good friend of Kerry King. Dime mentioned in an interview with Guitar World that the clean chord passages in the intro to Cemetery Gates were influenced by the clean chord passages found in much Ty Tabor's, of King's X, material. Dime cited Alice in Chains as his favorite grunge band, and Pantera frequently toured with them. The first song Dimebag learned was said to be "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. Fistful of Metal-era Anthrax can clearly be heard in Dimebag's guitar playing. The frantic, out of control feel of both Anthrax's leads and rhythms are common place in Dimebag's playing. Dimebag has stated on multiple occasions that ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons' bluesy, soulful playing style has, if subtly, had an influence over him.
Indeed Dime frequently made use of pentatonic scales and slide guitar in both his leads and rhythms. Another playing characteristic Dimebag shares with Rev. Gibbons is stomping, aggressive, and yet still grooving rhythms. Both guitarist employ blues scales, start / stop dynamics and pedal tones. A good example of each style would be Dime's southern style riff in "The Great Southern Trendkill", and the stomping main riff to ZZ Top's "Tush". Randy Rhoads' eerie, clean, dissonant chord arpeggios can be heard in much of Dime's playing as well, noted examples being "Floods", "Shedding Skin", "The Sleep", and "This Love". It is also possible that Dimebag developed his love for the wah pedal, which can be heard on nearly all his leads on Vulgar Display of Power, through listening to Metallica's Kirk Hammett, whom he has in fact cited as an influence.
Although most of Dimebag's influences were from music, he had other influences too, especially if they were people he trusted the most. Contrary to popular belief, Darrell did not always like being called "Dimebag". He felt that marijuana was wrongfully placed with narcotics made through a chemical synthesis (example: cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine), because of marijuana's derivations to organic life. Since he could not change this political fallacy himself, he just wanted his most trusted influences to simply call him "Darrell".[citation needed] Darrell was also an avid consumer of alcoholic beverages. He himself invented a cocktail, known as the "Black Tooth Grin", named after a lyric in the Megadeth song "Sweating Bullets". The drink consists of "a splash of Coca-Cola and two shots of whiskey."[2]
[edit] Murder
On December 8, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag Darrell Abbott was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. Abbott was shot a total of five times, at point blank range in the back of the head. He was 38 years old.
Three others were killed in the shooting: concert attendee Nathan Bray, 23 of Columbus; club employee Erin Halk, 29 of northwest Columbus and Damageplan security guard Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40 of Texas. The band's drum technician, John "Kat" Brooks and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were also injured.
According to police, Gale fired a total of fifteen shots, taking the time to reload once, remaining silent throughout the shooting. When security staff and audience members climbed the stage to try to stop him, Gale fired at them, killing Thompson and Halk, who had attempted to stop the gunman with a wooden table, and wounding Paluska. Gale then took Brooks hostage, holding him in a headlock position after the technician attempted to wrestle him to the ground. Police then arrived on the scene. Five officers came in the front entrance lead by officer Rick Crum, and moved toward the stage. Officer James D. Niggemeyer came in through a back door. Gale only saw the officers coming from the front: he never saw officer Niggemeyer. When the hostage moved slightly, Officer Niggemeyer shot Gale in the face with a police issued 12-gauge shotgun, decapitating him. Gale was found to have 35 rounds of ammunition remaining.
During the rampage, nurse and audience member Mindy Reece, 28, went to the aid of Abbott. She and another fan administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Dimebag Darrell was buried at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.
Some months before his murder, Darrell had found out from one of his industry contacts that Eddie Van Halen and Charvel guitars were going to produce a limited-edition series of guitars bearing Van Halen's trademark tape-striping. Van Halen himself would be individually taping each guitar and they would also come with a picture of him doing so and a certificate of authenticity. According to Eddie, Darrell called him on the phone and asked if he could purchase one before they became available. Eddie replied that the next time he saw Darrell, he would have one of the guitars with him and would stripe it in Darrell's presence as a gift. Before they could meet again, Darrell was murdered. Eddie recounted this story when he spoke at Darrell's funeral, then to the surprise of those in attendance, he brought out the black and yellow tape-striped guitar seen on the back cover of Van Halen II (which Darrell had said was his favorite guitar of Eddie's) and laid it into the Kiss Kasket with Darrell's body.
In May 2005, Officer Niggemeyer testified before the Franklin County grand jury, which is routine procedure in Franklin County after a police shooting. The grand jury did not indict Niggemeyer.
Niggemeyer received a commendation from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission for his outstanding police work in time of crisis, as well as The National Rifle Association award as 2005 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The five other officers that were first on the scene received Ohio distinguished law enforcement medals for their brave work.
Early theories of motive suggested that Gale may have acted based on the Pantera breakup, or a public dispute between Abbott and Pantera singer Phil Anselmo, but these have now been ruled out by investigators. Another theory is that Gale believed that Abbott had stolen a song that Gale had written.[3]
Abbott's family has now decided to sue the night club where he was murdered. They claim that if the club had employed competent security guards, this death would have never occurred. The club owner states that his security guards are not trained nor were ever intended to thwart gun-wielding guests. The news of this lawsuit comes within days of the anniversary of Abbott's murder.[citation needed]
[edit] Tributes to Abbott
[edit] References
- ^ Mike Portnoy FAQ, Mike Portnoy.com. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/bands/d/damageplan/news_feature_120505/
- ^ Dimebag Darrell killing 'not motivated by Pantera split', NME.com. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official Damageplan website
- Official Pantera website
- Official Rebel Meets Rebel Site
- Dimebag Darrell at the age of 16 doing a guitar solo (video)
- Obituary by Sebastian Bach
- A Night of Heroes -- The Story of Jeffrey Thompson from The Malefactor's Register
- National Rifle Association Award to Officer Niggemeyer
| Pantera |
| Members |
|---|
| Phil Anselmo | Dimebag Darrell | Rex Brown | Vinnie Paul |
| Terry Glaze |
| Discography |
| Albums: Metal Magic | Projects in the Jungle | I Am the Night | Power Metal | Cowboys from Hell | Vulgar Display of Power | Far Beyond Driven | The Great Southern Trendkill | Reinventing the Steel |
| Live and compilation albums: Official Live: 101 Proof | The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! |
| Songs |
| "Cowboys from Hell" | "Cemetery Gates" | "Walk" | "This Love" | "Hollow" | "Becoming" | "5 Minutes Alone" | "I'm Broken" | "Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks" | "Slaughtered" | "War Nerve" | "Drag the Waters" | "Suicide Note Pt. I" | "Floods" | "Revolution Is My Name" |
[edit] See also
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1966 births | 2004 deaths | Deaths by firearm | Pantera | Guitarists | American guitarists | Heavy metal guitarists | American heavy metal guitarists | People from Dallas | Murdered entertainers | American murder victims | Spree shootings
