Dimebag Darrell, RIP

I spent a handful of really enjoyable hours slam dancing at Pantera concerts during the early and mid-90s. One particularly good bill paired Pantera with the Brooklyn hardcore-metal act Biohazard. Fists and feet were certainly flying that night. In fact, a couple of my favorite memories from that time took place at or around those shows. If you talk with just about anybody that caught Pantera live, you're likely to hear about how good they always sounded -- how technically brilliant the musicians obviously were (particularly in light of the fact that they were usually drunk). Guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott and his drummer (and brother) Vinnie Paul consistently executed blistering, CD-perfect blasts of thrash and grindcore, with the occasional foray into classic metal gallops and acoustic arrangements. At some later point I’ll probably write about the time I sang back-up vocals for the band during an Ozzfest date, but for now I'll just say that watching them play at close range was very impressive. Those fuckers could shred.

Everything about the band was great -- from the bruising rhythm section to Phil Anselmo's shredded throat vocals -- but for me, Dime was always the star. I'd probably argue that Far Beyond Driven is the best record, though I'm not going to fight anybody that prefers The Great Southern Trendkill. As for the songs, “Suicide Note Pt. II” has one of the heaviest guitar lines to ever inspire “moshing activities” (as the disclaimers usually put it), while “This Love,” “5 Minutes Alone,” “Walk,” and “Fuckin' Hostile” also contain some serious riffs. Needless to say, Dime practically defined Pantera’s killer sound. Two nights ago, performing onstage with his new band in Columbus, Ohio, an obsessed and deranged piece of shit shot and killed Dimebag Darrell and several others, including at least one audience member, before being shot and killed himself by a police officer. RIP, Darrell, you’ll be sadly missed.