Dimebag Darrell 1966-2004

Former Pantera and Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbot was shot to death Wednesday night while performing on stage with Damageplan at a show in Columbus, Ohio. The gunman has been identified as Nathan Gale, 25, of Maryland. Gale stormed the stage shortly after Damageplan had begun its performance and shot Dimebag at point blank range. He was 38 years old. Gale and at least three audience members also were fatally shot in the ensuing melee.

As a member of Pantera, Dimebag was an inspiration to legions of fans and fellow musicians. The nimble-fingered axeman was known for hammering out stinging, technically precise solos and razor-sharp riffs. He was the type of player who made aspiring guitarists want to either practice three times as hard in hopes of catching up or burn their guitars in frustration. Watching Dimebag perform live was much like watching Michael Jordan play basketball; both men made their crafts look so effortlessly easy that they seemed to be deriving their awesome power from some otherworldly source.

Dimebag was born Aug. 20, 1966 in Dallas, Texas. His father was country music songwriter Jerry Abbott, who owned a recording studio and shared his music knowledge with Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul, who played drums in Pantera and Damageplan. Having first picked up the guitar as a teenager, Dimebag was motivated to become a rocker by players like Eddie Van Halen, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Kiss' Ace Frehley and the late Randy Rhoads of Ozzy Osbourne's band. He would eventually rival his heroes in terms of both playing ability and compositional prowess.

Dimebag and Vinnie formed Pantera in 1982. After putting out a few independently released albums that were geared more toward traditional hard rock, the band found its niche with the addition of singer Phil Anselmo in 1988. The combination of Anselmo's vicious vocal assaults and Dimebag's bludgeoning riffing transformed Pantera into the ungodly heavy metal machine that fans know and love.

Pantera albums like 1990's "Cowboys from Hell" and 1992's "Vulgar Display of Power" defined the ultra-heavy attack of 1990s thrash. Although Pantera's riffs and staccato rhythm patterns evidenced a death metal influence, its anthemic choruses on songs like "Walk" and "I'm Broken" and the bluesy, southern rock twinges in Dimebag's playing made the band accessible and enjoyable to mainstream and underground metal audiences alike.

Following the demise of Pantera in 2002, Dimebag continued to dish out stellar guitar work in Damageplan. By the time of his passing, he had long since established himself as one of metal's most gifted and influential musicians.

Many of Dimebag's contemporaries have been stunned and shocked by news of his slaying.

"This is insane and this is beyond tragedy," Killswitch Engage vocalist 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 as a person, as a musician and as a friend."

Whenever a death is surrounded by circumstances as violent as Dimebag's, it is cause for severe sadness and mourning. But when one considers how much natural talent and ability Dimebag possessed and how important his music was to his many fans, his murder can only be described as a devastating and tragic waste. The many years of hard work and practice that Dimebag dedicated to perfect his musical skills were eliminated in a single moment, and that is more than enough to make those who treasure his work sick to their stomachs.

In the wake of this horrific event, hundreds of fans have been posting messages on Pantera's official web site to express their feelings of grief and sorrow. One of these posts referred to Wed. Dec. 8th as "the saddest day in metal history."

Dimebag Darrell will be remembered as a consummate musician who made invaluable contributions to heavy metal. His musical legacy will be cherished by his fans and fellow musicians for years to come.