EPT<font size=5>Pantera!</font>
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This band of drunken rednecks are some of the best musicians to ever grace the planet. Particularly the prodigal song of the group, Darrel "Dimebag Darrel" Abbot. If i have ever heard a man lead a band with chops it was at the hands of Dime. To me his riffs overpower every other aspect of the band, not to the extent where it is bad, but his skill really shines through.
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Dime has an amazing range of creativity. Of course the common fan would know "Walk" "Mouth for War" and "Drag the Waters". For good reason too, those songs are amazing. An all out attack on the senses is Dimes forte, those three songs are good example of that. But what many people miss is his careful attention to detail. Take for example "Cemetary Gates", another popular track from the Cowboys from Hell album. Dime begins this song with a slow guitar part which leads ever gently into one of the most face melting riffs I have ever heard. It is a perfect transition, then it goes until just the right moment where Dime drops it back so lead singer Phil Anselmo can step in.
Dimebag Darrel is the self proclaimed number one Ace Frehley fan. It shines through in his play when he takes off on a series of ear shattering notes that would makes the boys in makeup shed tears. Dime grew up a child of the 70-80s metal. Most of which consisted of Black Sabbath, Kiss, and Iron Maiden. Darrel got his start as a young boy, dominating a competition at a local guitar store.
Since then that young boy has become a legend in the world of music. Along with his bandmates he created a niche for a new type of metal to come along. Though I am not the most knowledgeable about their style of metal I do know I can't think of another band as successful from the era. Easily one of the most talented bands from the 80s or 90s, Pantera changed the face of music. They made some of their best albums while bands like Guns and Roses made room for the grunge era.
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To me Dimebag Darrel is more than just a guitarist and a great guy. He is a man to look up to and someone who lived his life with alot of integrity and honor. Dime is a hero and he will be forever in my mind.
Unfortunately Pantera could not stop drugs and alcohol from damaging their relationship beyond repair. After lead singer Phil Anselmo became so abrasive and blatantly drug riddled Dime, his brother Vince and bassist Rex left him to his devices. Anselmo had been using heroin to alleviate pain in his back caused by an injury years prior. If history has taught the music industry anything its that drugs, and heroin in particular, do not mix with musicians. Anselmo became volatile and constantly irritated with the band, that led to them breaking up before I even had a chance to see the live.
After split Dimebag, Vince and Rex went on to form a new band called Damage Plan. I was honestly not that happy with the performance on the record, nonetheless I bought it merely to support Dime and co. With an impending tour coming up I debated on whether or not purchase a ticket when they stopped in my town. While I loved Dime, I was kind of strapped at the time and I knew this would not be his last tour. I was depending on a reunion tour for Pantera when they were all in their late 40s.
Sure enough November of that year brought Damage Plan through my town on their first national tour. I decided to pass on the show since I would definitely get to see them sometime and there were some other shows I wanted to see at the time. In fact Skinny Puppy was in town on their first tour in 13 or so years. I guess that was probably a big factor in why I decided not to go see Damage plan this time around.
Well that turned out to be the worst mistake of my concert going career. Just over a month later Dimebag was playing a show in a club when a man rushed on stage and shot him dead. The man continued to hold the crowd in fear, while Dimes guitar tech tried his best to cover the bullet ridden body of his friend. I have seen the video and more importantly heard the audio, once was more than enough. The Police showed up and had to kill the man to keep the rest of the concert goers safe. But the damage had already been done.
This was the most unexpected thing I could think of stopping me from seeing my hero live. To think that someone would want to kill Dimebag Darrel never crossed my mind. Supposedly the man wanted to kill Dime for causing Pantera to break up and moving on with Damage Plan. Clearly a person of unstable mental nature, he robbed the world of one of the most amazing musicians ever.
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Even at his funeral there was tension between Anselmo and Vinnie Abbot, Darrels brother. If I recall correctly Anselmo refused to come to funeral unless Vince apologized for some past mistake (it could have been the other way around, just writing this from memory). That truly makes me sad since I had hoped that they could come together after their friend and brother was so viciously murdered.
I myself spent the next day sluffing school and pulling on a bottle of Canadian Host. It was one of the most depressing days of my life, especially since I had just passed up my only chance to see him live. I wish I could go back and see him that day, but that not possible. Listening to his art will have to be enough to satiate my thirst and I hate that fact.
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