R.I.P. Dime

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Dimebag Darrell Abbott: August 1966-December 8, 2004.

Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society) "We dedicate "In this River" to Dimebag every night. I wrote the song before Dime past away. It is just like I never had a brother, but Dime was my brother. I laid him to rest. It is just like that. Looking at the lyrics, this is his song."

Nick Catanese (Black Label Society) "Dime made his mark by being the real person that he was and is. He is always felt and will never go away. His music and legacy will be forever and when we do,” In the River" it is always for him. My favorite memory would be just being his friend. His advice to me was,” Never give up, it is in your blood.

See an extended conversation with Nick about Dime Here.

Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot) "There are two specific memories that will forever be indelibly etched in my mind and heart about Dime. The first is when we did a jam for a Randy Rhodes Tribute concert in LA years ago. Dime walks in to the rehearsal studio all full of life and energy, slaps on his guitar and then begins to shred Randy Rhodes solos like he had written them, full of fire and technique and completely lacking in ego. Dime was a star and he shone that evening.

The second was that each time Quiet Riot played anywhere near their hometown, if both Dime and Vinnie were in town they would make a point and come down to say hello and invite us to have some fun in only ways they could! It always impressed me how down to earth and personable Dime was Vinnie still is.

Dime was a star in life and is now a most precious star in heaven. God bless him and may his family find comfort in their memories."

Alex Grossi (QUIET RIOT) "I remember going to the mall and buying "Vulgar Display of Power" when I was in High School, I was completely blown away, Dimebag's riffs, tone and solos were simply amazing - I was lucky enough to meet him at NAMM about 4 years ago, he was a totally down to earth, sweet guy - He is, in my opinion, one of the best Rock/Metal guitarists EVER, he left a lot of great guitar work that will inspire guitarists forever."

John JD DeServio (Black Label Society) "Dime is loved and missed, and he's always in our thoughts and prayers. Dime is with us every night on stage!"

John 5 (Rob Zombie) "I did know Dime. I knew Dime really well. We were suppose to do a photo shoot together. We were supposed to do a cover together for Total Guitar magazine. We were going to be on the cover and take the picture together. We never got that chance. He was such a great influence on me and such a great guy. It was just such a shame that it happened."

Steve Riley (La Guns) "We were friends with Dime. It is still such a sad story. We were so happy that he got inducted into the Hard Rock Walk of Fame in Texas. He really deserves it. We knew him, but we never really played with Pantera. I know Vinnie and Dime well. He have gone to see them, they have come to see us perform, when we were in Texas. A couple of times, when we played The Whiskey, they have come over. It is a nice friendship. They were such a great band. Every time we would run into Dime and Vinnie, they were just the best people to be around. We miss Dime big time."

Laura Christine (Warface) "My biggest musical influence was Dimebag and Pantera. When I turned the TV on that day, and heard the news, it was just complete disbelief. It didn't seem real. This is just not possible. It was a complete shock. It was just like hearing the sun fell out of the sky. It didn't seem possible. It was pretty devastating."

Jeff Keith (Tesla) "Dimebag Darrell was great man. I loved their stuff. I couldn't sit here and rap off a bunch of their songs. I think it really opened up our eyes to; you just can't blow off somebody's threats because they can be in touch with you. Bad things like that can happen. You just have to be careful. I think it is a tragedy what happened. It is just unheard of. He was an awesome writer, and awesome person. They were all about having fun. They loved to play music. That is how Tesla likes to live too. I hope something like that never happen again."

Brian Fair (Shadows Fall) "Darrell was one of the most approachable guys in a band with that status that I’d ever seen. No one could even buy shots for him at the bar because he would buy shots for the whole bar. It was great. It definitely shows you what kinda guy he was. When they [Damageplan] didn’t have a guitar tech he’d be out there wheeling his shit around, this is a dude with platinum records, setting his own shit up, not giving a fuck. It was a great thing to see that that love never died in him. That’s the reason he was out there, because he loved making music and hanging out and partying. He didn’t want to sit at home."

Don Dokken (Dokken) “Of course I was shocked, when I heard about Dime's murder.. I played the same club. It doesn't matter how much security you have, you can be as careful as you want. As we found out in 911. It happens. When there are millions and millions of people out there listening to music, the odds are out of one million people there are thousands of them who are disturbed. Unfortunately, one of these people killed Darrell, and then he (was) killed himself, so we will never know, what was going on in his head.”

Chris Robertson (Black Stone Cherry) There are a lot of great guitar players that walk the face of the earth. A lot of the great ones are gone too soon. There are three metal guitar players that I wanted to meet my whole life: Zakk Wylde, Tommy Iommi of Black Sabbath, and Dimebag Darrell Abbott. I never got to meet Dimebag, but I can honestly say, he is a huge influence on our band. Just the way Dime carried himself. I never heard a bad thing about the guy. It is a shame he was gone before his time. Dime is one of those guys that his legacy will live on until all of us are gone. That is the way, it should be. From what I understand, from anyone who has ever met the guy, he was one of the most genuine people that ever walked the face of the earth.

On December 8th, 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 four times, twice at point blank range in 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 injured.