[Deathwatch] 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott, musician, 38

[Deathwatch Central]

Another from a reader - Ed.

'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott killed at 38
Guitarist considered a leading light of metal

Thursday, December 9, 2004
	
Dimebag

Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, right, performs with
bassist Bob Zilla in May.

(AP) -- "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who was fatally shot during a
performance, was a frenetic, ear-shattering guitarist whose riffs for
Pantera and more recently Damageplan were a staple of heavy metal
music. He was 38.

Abbott was shot to death as he took the stage Wednesday with Damageplan
and began to play the first song of the concert at the Alrosa Villa
nightclub in Columbus, Ohio.

Three other people also were fatally shot before a police officer shot
to death the gunman.

The deaths shook the heavy metal music industry as colleagues reeled
from the news and fans flooded Web sites to share their grief.

"This is insane and this is beyond travesty," Killswitch Engage
frontman and former Damageplan tour partner Howard Jones told MTV.
"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."

Rob Blasko Nicholson, the former Ozzy Osbourne bassist, told the music
channel Abbott was a legend.

"I'm speechless," he said. "This is totally unreal."

"When you think of '90s heavy metal or hard rock, Pantera is one of
these seminal bands. They are quoted today as influences by many
bands," said Tom Calderone, MTV's executive vice president. "Hard rock
has lost a legendary guitar player."

Abbott and his brother, former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, produced
Damageplan's debut album, "New Found Power," which was released in
February. Other band members are vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist
Bob Zilla.

"Damageplan carries on the tradition Pantera started, the ...
hell-raising tradition we were all about," Vinnie Paul Abbott told The
Dallas Morning News in October. "We do play some Pantera songs. Me and
Dime wrote them, and we feel like we have the right to play them. But
the focus is on Damageplan."

Born on August 20, 1966, in Dallas, Darrell Abbott and his brother were
introduced to music by their father, country songwriter Jerry Abbott,
who owned a recording studio. Although Abbott grew up around country
music, he often said he gravitated toward rock music and was influenced
by the likes of Tony Iommi, Ace Frehley, Eddie Van Halen and the late
Randy Rhodes.

The Abbott brothers and bassist Rex Rocker formed Pantera in 1982. Then
Abbott went by the name "Diamond Darrell." Abbott later began to use
"Dimebag" and was often referred to as "Dime" by fans and friends.

Pantera's early music leaned more toward hard rock. Joined in 1987 by
singer Phil Anselmo, the band began to develop a heavier sound. After
releasing a few independent albums, Pantera signed with Atlantic
Records in 1990. It was also the period when Abbott came into his own
as a guitar player, developing his heavy, frenetic sound that can first
be heard on the 1990 album "Cowboys from Hell" and on the 1992 standout
"Vulgar Display of Power." It was followed up by 1994's "Far Beyond
Driven."

Pantera's manager Kim Zide-Davis, who worked with Abbott 1994 to 2003,
was overwhelmed by the news of his death. 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."

Abbott and his brother left Pantera in 2003 and formed Damageplan. In
recent years, he also made recording appearances on Nickleback's "The
Long Road" and with one of his influences, KISS' Ace Frehley.

Dozens of messages were posted to the Dallas band's Web site after the
shootings.

"This is the worst day in metal history," one posting read.

"The metal world feels your pain," another wrote.