It’s just one of those days when you can remember exactly where you were … exactly what you were doing.
I’m not about to pretend it’s as bad as a close friend or family member dying. I’m not that type of fanatic (after all, that’s where we get the term “fan” from to begin with). But it was still a kick to the gut. It was an “oh my god” moment, followed by stunned disbelief and denial.
We’d lost Layne Staley, but that was expected — he had a long, publically-detailed battle with drugs. We’d lost Dave Williams (he of Drowning Pool) — but that was of natural causes; God’s will. (Those are just a couple off the top of my head.)
Long before I was a fixture on the third-shift circuit, it was a habit to check the news one last time before bed. That’s what you get used to doing when you work at a newspaper and/or are a news-junkie … always trying to make sure you don’t miss any breaking news. When something “big” is happening, there’s always some sort of update of interest, but most nights it’s just the same old stories rehashed for the insomniacs.
Thursday night, December 9, 2004: There it was, breaking through the monotony of an (very) early a.m. cycle. There was a shooting at a heavy metal concert.
Then, like a slow turn of the faucet, little by little more and more of the story began to drip out:
Where? The Alrosa Villa nightclub.
… Damageplan were playing there.
… Members of the band or audience may have been shot.
… may have been killed.
… At least two band members are confirmed shot.
… Two band members are dead along with several in the audience.
… A member of the band, a member of the band’s crew — dead. Several audience members — dead. Several others wounded.
“It couldn’t have been Dime,” I remember thinking. I was sure it was (lead singer) Pat Lachman and the bassist. Then I was sure it was Dime and Lachman. Then I knew it was just Dime.
A 25-year-old man stormed the stage at a heavy-metal rock concert Wednesday night, shooting and killing Pantera founder and Damageplan guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and three others before a police officer shot and killed him, Columbus police said.
— From a CNN.com report
Slowly the cold, hard truth set in, and the whirlwind of riffs and killer solos from throughout the years fluttered away. There’d be no new shredding. All we were left with was the impressive Pantera back-catalogue, the Damageplan debut and some odds and ends that would, hopefully, sometime see the light of day.
It didn’t matter who did it, or why. All that mattered was that the metal community lost one of its most beloved members — a cornerstone if you will — to a senseless act of violence. It wasn’t something you could undo, something that could be taken away. It was simply something we had to learn to live with.
I walked into a Sam Goodies on a cold winter’s day 14 years ago (only a couple of days before Christmas) and asked the salesman to recommend some good metal. I was directed to pick up Helmet’s “Meantime” album and Pantera’s “Vulgar Display of Power.” The Pantera disc was sold out, so instead I finally picked up the band’s national debut “Cowboys from Hell” on CD … obviously much clearer than the fourth-generation tape a friend or cousin had passed along a year earlier. I’d have to wait for “Vulgar” for a couple of more weeks. Still, hearing the crystal clear opening riffing to “Cowboys from Hell,” the twisted chords on “Primal Concrete Sledge” and the soaring solos on “Cemetery Gates” … it was a twist on something so familiar — yet you knew it was like nothing you had ever heard before. Where were these guys hiding out? Who was this “Diamond Darrell?”
It’s a cliched saying that you never forget the first time you fall in love. From the first spin I was hooked on Pantera and the rest, as they say, is history.
Dimebag Darrell Abbott was murdered almost a year and half ago. The metal scene has moved on. There have been tribute songs and album dedications and, most recently, another “new” album full of Dimebag Darrell’s signature style: the Rebel Meets Rebel disc. (Recorded between 1999 and 2003, the album features Dimebag, brother Vinnie Paul on drums, bassist Rex Brown and David Allen Coe).
Rebel Meets Rebel
“Rebel Meets Rebel”
Big Vin Records
It not supposed to be a country album, not supposed to be a metal album. I guess, deep down it’s a little of both though, for the most part, it’s essentially Pantera being fronted by a honky-tonk rocker.
Well, to be fair, that’s might not quite be it either.
What it is, is a testament to the driving artistic nature of the late Dimebag Darrell.
The second those oh-so-familiar riffs kick up on the opener “Nothin’ to Lose,” any fan will feel a smile creep across their face. And while Coe’s voice needs a little “getting used to,” it really starts to grow on you and by the time the disc starts over after a full listen, you forget why you had any issue to begin with.
This album isn’t breaking any new ground and isn’t setting any new trend. It’s simply showcasing a group of guys jamming together for fun and the mutual love of music. Longtime fans of Pantera or Dime will be happy with the usual riff-heavy fare, but there’s a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure. There’s Dime trading riffs with a fiddler on the title-track; Dime doing his damnedest to actually make his guitar sound like a fiddle on “Nothin’ to Lose”; Dime sharing vocal duties on the title track; Dime tearing it up with an acoustic guitar on “N.Y.C. Streets.”
Everyone else more than pulls their weight on this album. Brown throws down some sick grooves on a multitude of songs, Vinnie is a lot more subdued behind the kit but still makes his presence felt and Coe not only keeps pace with the Cowboys from Hell, but comes up with some great lyrics along the way.
Of particular note is the album closer, “N.Y.C. Streets.” As the story goes, Coe told Dime (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the true test for musicians is to just jam together, make up a song on the spot and see what comes out. The duo went up to Dime’s room and recorded a song on a four-track there and then, completely spur of the moment. Apart from a couple of added guitar tracks Dime added later, “N.Y.C. Streets” was what was recorded that night.
I don’t really feel like rating this album. Fans of Dime, Pantera and/or Damageplan will eat it up. Metal fans could find a lot to enjoy. Country fans a little less. But the album is really a gift to the fans and an effort to keep Dime’s memory alive. It works — very well — on both fronts. Would this disc have seen release so soon (if ever) had the tragedy not come to pass? Who can say? But it is here and is a testament to all involved.
The Rebel Meets Rebel disc could be the last we’ll hear from the Dimebag front. Personally, I hope this isn’t the case. There’s rumors of a glut of demo material for what would become Damageplan’s second disc. While I’d love to hear the material down the road, it would also be nice for the estate of this metal legend to avoid a raping (like Sublime’s Bradley Nowell or Kurt Cobain). If there’s enough to actually put together another good album, I wouldn’t be happier. But it’s not something that could be forced. There’s already a healthy catalogue of stellar material out there and enjoy for many, many more years. Even something like the Damageplan disc, which I took for granted upon initial release in 2004, is a pretty solid outing.
Here’s a list of notables I put together immediately following Dimebag’s death:
1. “Walk” (off Pantera’s “Vulgar Display of Power”)
2. “Wake Up” (off Damageplan’s “New Found Power”)
3. “Breathing New Life” (off Damageplan’s “New Found Power”)
4. “Hostile (live)” (off Pantera’s “101 Proof”)
5. “Drag the Waters” (off Pantera’s “Great Southern Trendkill”)
6. “5 Minutes Alone” (off Pantera’s “Far Beyond Driven”)
7. “Pride” (off Damageplan’s “New Found Power”)
8. “New Level” (off Pantera’s “Vulgar Display of Power”)
9. “Ashes to Ashes” (off the Punisher soundtrack)
10.”Cemetery Gates” (off Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell”)
11.”Hollow” (off Pantera’s “Vulgar Display of Power”)
This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Go out and pick up all the Pantera albums …
My point being, Rebel Meets Rebel was a perfect parting gift for fans. It reminds us of what Dimebag had to offer, of how the music seemingly flowed from him with little to no effort, of the fun-loving guy we all were told he was and of the big hole let in the genre with him gone. It wasn’t perfect, polished or pretty. It was simply Dime at his best.
Until next time, take it easy.
