REBEL MEETS REBEL

There's almost no way to review "Rebel Meets Rebel" in an objective fashion, since it represents the last completed recordings — aside from demos for the second DAMAGEPLAN album — to feature "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. Recorded over a four-year period before Dime's death in December of 2004, this long-gestating project brought together Dime, his brother and drummer Vinnie Paul and PANTERA bassist Rex Brown with "outlaw" country singer David Allan Coe, whose success as a songwriter over the last thirty-odd years (he wrote "Take This Job And Shove It" and several other hits for a number of Nashville artists) has rested uneasily beside his renegade image and troubled personal history.

The first thing one can say about "Rebel Meets Rebel" is that despite featuring three members of PANTERA, REBEL MEETS REBEL does not sound like that band with merely a different vocalist on board. Marketed as a "metal-country-rock" hybrid, that is exactly what REBEL MEETS REBEL is. While the riffing and arrangements on songs like "Nothin' To Lose" and "Rebel Meets Rebel" are totally metallic in nature, other tracks such as "Cowboys Do More Dope" and "One Nite Stands" boast a looser rock 'n' roll style that harkens back a bit to the pre-Philip Anselmo era of PANTERA. There's also a smattering of blues in there, as well as Coe's country influence in the vocals, lyrics and melody lines.

Which brings us to element number two, Coe himself. The man's husky, rough-around-the-edges, Southern-fried voice is a love-it-or-hate-it proposition that depends solely on each listener's feelings about his style and country music in general. Those open to an old-school country singer vocalizing over a hard-hitting rock power trio will find much to enjoy on "Rebel Meets Rebel". Heavy rock and older, classic country — not the generic, slick pablum sold as country today — have a shared heritage of hard living, hard partying and hard playing that derives from the very roots of rock itself, going back even further to the blues. That shared history and sense of "outlaw" status is captured here, with great success, in the music and vibe in these recordings. However, Coe has tremendous personality and presence, so if one cannot acquire a taste for him — and that is no reflection on him at all — then "Rebel Meets Rebel" may not be for every PANTERA or metal fan out there.

Most importantly, this album showcases Dime's unmistakable sound in blazing, glorious style. Any fan of the man's playing will be satisfied with the riffs, melody lines and leads that erupt all over this disc's twelve tracks. Those great, thick guitar tones are well in abundance, as well as the moments of lyrical, delicate playing that stood out so starkly even on PANTERA classics like "Cemetery Gates" and sound just as poignant here on a track like "Panfilo". "Rebel" illustrates just how truly talented this devoted musician was. Aside from only enhancing his well-deserved reputation as one of metal's best axemen, the music here also documents his diversity and range as he moved effortlessly from heavy rock to country picking to some booze-soaked blues. In one astonishing moment on the title track, he makes his guitar sound like a fiddle, cementing the connection between the various forms of music he clearly loved.

"Rebel Meets Rebel" was undoubtedly a labor of love for Dime, his brother Vinnie, and their collaborators Brown and Coe, and it's also been one for Vinnie to get this album released. It's a shit-kickin', down 'n' dirty heavy rock album with a lowdown Southern feel, reminiscent in spots of what LYNYRD SKYNYRD or BLACKFOOT might have sounded like if they jumped onstage with the PANTERA boys. It may not be for everyone, but for anyone who ever listened to the work of Dimebag Darrell Abbott, it's an essential addition to the collection. Sadly, it seems like it may be also the final one, unless those DAMAGEPLAN recordings surface. But as it stands, "Rebel Meets Rebel" chronicles all the love, energy and passion that this truly original musician brought to his craft. His presence remains sorely, sorely missed.