DIMEBAG Biography 'Black Tooth Grin' Due In April

Da Capo Press has set an April 6, 2009 release date for a 288-page paperback book from Zac Crain entitled "Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott".

According to the book's official description, "'Black Tooth Grin' is the first biography of 'Dimebag' Darrell, the Texas-bred guitarist of the heavy metal band PANTERA, who, along with three audience members, was murdered on stage by a deranged fan in 2004 — twenty-four years to the day after John Lennon met a similar fate. Darrell Abbott began as a teenage guitar prodigy, inspired by KISS and winning local talent contests. With his brother, drummer Vinnie Abbott, PANTERA was formed, and it became one of the most popular and influential metal bands of the '90s, selling tens of millions of albums such as 'Cowboys from Hell' and 'Vulgar Display of Power' to an intensely devoted fan base. In contrast to the band's aggressive music, 'Dime' was outgoing and gregarious, devoted to his craft, and adored by just about everyone who knew him. From PANTERA's heyday to their implosion following singer Phil Anselmo's heroin addiction, from the band DAMAGEPLAN to Darrell Abbott's tragic end, 'Black Tooth Grin' is a must for anyone who misses this guitar legend."

"Black Tooth Grin" author Zac Crain found himself at the center of controversy last year when members of Dimebag's family issued a statement in which they distanced themselves from the book, claiming that Crain "wrote nothing but negative reviews about PANTERA's music" during his tenure as music editor of the Dallas Observer.

In his Dallas Observer review of PANTERA's 1996 album "The Great Southern Trendkill", Crain wrote, "the Cowboys from Hell should stick to running low-class strip joints instead of trying to record albums that would be played in them. Fortunately, it looks like they've decided to do just that. Oh, except for that horrendous Dallas Stars theme song. But, hey, whatever keeps them from working on new material in the studio. And, yes, I'm fully aware that Vinnie Paul [PANTERA's drummer and Dimebag's brother] could kick the shit out of me."

Responding to the Dimebag family's assertion that they had not authorized nor co-operated with him on his upcoming book on Dimebag, Zac Crain told BLABBERMOUTH.NET in a June 23, 2007 e-mail, "The [statement] from the family's PR camp makes it seem like the linked paragraph was one in a stream of negative PANTERA reviews written by me. It is, in fact, the only one. And the only one that ran while I was music editor at the Dallas Observer. I didn't, and don't, much care for 'The Great Southern Trendkill'. I prefer 'Vulgar Display of Power', but I suppose everyone has their own opinion on that subject. I do, however, sincerely regret throwing The Clubhouse (Vinnie's strip club) under the bus. That place is awesome — specifically Dr. Rock — and I even wrote a cover story that was, in part, dedicated to it.

"As far as PANTERA goes, I'd say what I'm really guilty of is not writing about the band enough. I think everyone in the Dallas media was guilty of that, but that's not really an excuse. Consider 'Black Tooth Grin' a bit of an apology for that.

"When I covered Darrell's memorial service for Spin and the Observer, after talking to dozens of fans and listening to everyone onstage and off talk about him, I regretted missing out on 'the full-meal deal' of the Dime experience. Nothing I can do about that now.

"The idea for the book wasn't to cash in on a tragedy, but to do what I could, given my assignment, to let people outside of the metal/hard rock community know about him. I'm sure, outside of that world, the first that people ever heard of him was on CNN. It didn't seem right to let some moron with a gun have the last word. Which isn't to say, as some have suggested here on Blabbermouth, that I'm not also a moron. I just wanted to say that I'm a moron with my heart in the right place.

"Darrell had a great story to tell, and I spent a year doing my best to tell it. I did everything I could to involve Vinnie and Rita [Dimebag's longtime girlfriend]. They didn't want to participate, and I understand. No hard feelings on my end (as if there could be).

"As for the money, people should know that I plan on donating a percentage to the Dimebag tribute fund. I told Vinnie that at the beginning, and I'm a man of my word, whether he (or anyone) believes that or not."