Dimebag Darrell is known primarily for two things:
his iconic metal band Pantera, and his horrific premature death.
Born in Texas in 1966 as Darrell Lance Abbott, the future guitar legend had music in his blood:
his father, Jerry Abbott, was a country music producer and songwriter. Darrell began playing
guitar when he was a teenager, and by 1981, he and his brother Vinnie Paul had created Pantera.
They would eventually add bassist Rex Brown and singer Phil Anselmo to the
mix. The band released a few albums in the '80s,
but they didn't reach the mainstream until their breakout album "Cowboys from Hell" in
1990. They gained hordes of fans thanks to their aggressive sound and powerful lyrics.
"They talk about, you know, being strong,
and inner strength, and… to me, that's what real heavy metal should be about."
"Cowboys from Hell" made Pantera a household name, and their subsequent albums "Vulgar
Display of Power" and "Far Beyond Driven" were released with much success. By 2003, however,
Pantera had split due to a conflict between the brothers and Anselmo. According to Paul,
Anselmo hadn't been showing the brothers the respect that they felt they deserved. As a
result, Darrell and Paul quickly started a new band: Damageplan.
Damageplan was a passion project for both Darrell and Paul. Though their new band was
nowhere near as successful as Pantera, they were glad to be out of the negative atmosphere they
were formerly in with Anselmo. In February 2004, Damageplan released their debut album,
"New Found Power," and decided to hit the road. Loudwire writes that
Damageplan was two shows away from their tour's end when the unthinkable happened.
On December 8, the band was playing at the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio. That's
when Nathan Gale, a former Marine, charged through the stage while Damageplan was playing.
Gale shot Darrell in the back of the head multiple times with a 9mm Beretta handgun, killing him
instantly. According to Rolling Stone, Gale proceeded to shoot and kill three others: a fan,
Nathan Bray, the band's head of security, Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, and a roadie, Erin A. Halk.
Billboard reports that Bray climbed on stage to give Darrell CPR before attempting to aid
Thompson, who had been shot twice. He was then killed after being shot in the chest. Halk was
also a former marine, and is believed to have been shot when he attempted to stop
Gale. Minutes later, an officer arrived at the scene and shot 25-year-old Gale dead.
According to Loudwire, the last two words Darrell
said to his brother were "Van Halen." Paul stated that this was their "code
word" that they told each other at each show as a reminder to have a good time.
Though the true reason for Gale's deadly rampage is unknown, one thing is clear: he was obsessed
with both heavy metal and Pantera. According to another Loudwire article, it was initially
thought that he blamed Darrell for the band's demise. Some now believe Gale's severe mental
illness was to blame, as it was reported that he believed Pantera was stealing his thoughts.
Gale's mother, Mary Clark, told NBC News that her son was convinced that the band had stolen lyrics
he had written. One of Gale's friends said that he thought the band was stealing his identity.
Clark went on to explain that Gale suffered from paranoid schizophrenia — a condition that
resulted in his discharge from the military. Moreover, Clark admitted that she had bought
the 9mm gun used in the shooting as a gift prior to Gale's diagnosis, and said that she
understood why the officer who killed him did what he did. She told a local news station —
"You'll never know how many lives he saved."
According to ABC, Gale had also intended to kill Paul. However,
the drummer managed to flee the stage unharmed and retreat into the safety of his tour bus.
Shortly after the shooting, Paul released a statement that read in part —
"Dime gave it all every day to each and every one of us and
our lives have forever been hollowed without him."
Paul continued to pay tribute to his brother until
the very end. Paul passed away in June 2018, at 54 years old.
"He recorded and made some of the most ama— he
would go and have a bad experience at Taco Bell and write a song about it."
Ultimate Classic Rock reports that the Alrosa Villa club was demolished in 2021.