Report: 'DIMEBAG' DARRELL's Guitar Work Made A Mark On Metal

Tim Brouk of Indiana's Journal and Courier Online has issued the following report:

Thursday [Dec. 8] will mark the one-year anniversary of one of the most shocking moments in rock 'n' roll history.

On a cold night in Columbus, Ohio, the new heavy metal band DAMAGEPLAN was launching into its first eardrum-bursting opus. The small club was filled with about 500 fans, mostly there to see the band's guitar player, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who earned metal royalty by propelling popular metal act PANTERA for almost 20 years.

A deranged fan put a sudden halt to the show and the life of one of metal's most celebrated six-stringers.

Initial reports were that Nathan Gale, 25, was upset that PANTERA had broken up a year earlier. The incident is a bone-chilling reminder to performers that their work can affect others in the most extreme ways, believes Michael Morrison, an associate professor of history who teaches a class on the history of rock 'n' roll.

"There is no way to control the way fans react to them and the music," Morrison said. "We protect political people, but musicians are in the public eye, too. When you put something out, you don't know how people will react and lose control of the message."

While a couple rock musicians have died onstage due to accidents or health problems, Morrison believes no musician has ever been murdered onstage before Abbott.

Morrison said he knows from how students "editorialize" his lectures after class that music fans sometimes have strong reactions. Gale gave the strongest reaction possible almost a year ago.

Local musicians still remember hearing the news about Abbott's death.

Guitarist John Wekluk recalled PANTERA as "probably the most talented metal band in the 1990s" thanks to Abbott.

However, he believes Abbott's death didn't register with a lot of people.

"It didn't get much mainstream press when it happened," Wekluk said. "Even if metal is on popular swing, it's still underground unless it's METALLICA. I think the average person on the street doesn't know his death like John Lennon's."

"The shock factor makes his death more memorable," said Jesse Charles, 27, a guitarist and drummer. "Dimebag Darrell made a pretty big contribution to music, but a lot of people think 'Whatever, it's metal.' "

While heavy metal sometimes gets an unfair shake compared to other music niches, Charles found Abbott's work inspiring. He bought the 1992 release, "Vulgar Display of Power", around the time he was first picking up the guitar. While many of Abbott's leads could melt the faces of people in the front row, many songs and riffs were simple enough.

"He was definitely a shredder of sorts but inspiring for people like me who kinda plunked around," Charles said. "He wasn't over the top all the time."

Charles believes rocks stars who are murdered — Abbott, Lennon and Latin singer Selena — are mourned differently than those who committed suicide — Elliott Smith, INXS' Michael Hutchence and Kurt Cobain.

"Suicides are more sad. I remember Cobain's suicide most vividly," Charles said. "When someone is shot, it's tragic, and you hate the guy that did it. There's more anger for murders and sadness goes with suicide."

BATTLE GROUND's Charles Samuelson, 20, has been a PANTERA fan since he found a mix tape of random PANTERA songs on the road and popped it in his Walkman. He said he became a metal fan thanks to that tape.

While he doesn't rank Abbott at the top of the all-time rock guitar greats, Samuelson believes Abbott to be unique, which carried PANTERA.

"I didn't hear anybody like him at the time," Samuelson said "If I hear a guitar line, I can immediately tell it's Dimebag Darrell."

Samuelson owns all of PANTERA's discography.

"Even the hair-metal ones from the '80s, before (singer) Phil Anselmo was in the band," he admitted.

Samuelson believes Abbott's memory would be preserved even if he didn't die onstage.

"His guitar playing makes him more memorable," Samuelson said.

"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was shot at least five times in the head by Nathan Gale, according to The Associated Press. Three others were killed and more were injured in the nightclub before Gale was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer.