Posted on 12/08/2010 1:45:42 PM PST by Darryl Lecht
Remembering Dimebag James Greene Jr.
“Dimebag” Darrell Lance Abbott was murdered six years ago today in an incident just as shocking and callous as John Lennon‘s murder on the same evening in 1980. Lennon will always get the lion’s share of remembrances every December 8th, but no metal fan should feel any jealousy or bitterness over that. Comparing these guys isn’t just apples and oranges—it’s apples and kumquats.
I mean that strictly in artistic terms, of course. By all accounts, Dimebag Darrell was just as outgoing and personable and funny a human being as Mr. Ono, a fact some outside the rock world might doubt after one or two spins of Darrell’s signature work. The sandpapery riffs Pantera rode to heavy metal fortune were the sonic personification of a bar fight; in fact, if you had to describe Pantera in one word, it would probably be “fight.” They were fight metal, the kind of music you threw on to exacerbate simmering tensions at a southern backyard barbecue or to psyche yourself up for an ECW viewing party.
At the chewy nougat center of Pantera was Dimebag’s ultra dry guitar tone, scathing in its chugga-chugga attack and broken up only by the occasional balls-out solo. There’s no other way to describe the smokin’ fret work Darrell punctuated so many compositions with. The guy just went for it, doing all those wild sweeps and epic dives, making it sound like he was melting the guitar with his fingers. Yet, at the same time, Darrell’s playing was all so fluid. The only time I don’t wince when I hear a pinched harmonic is in Pantera, because Dime actually took the time to work those silly little noises into the solo’s “narrative,” as it were. He wasn’t pinching harmonics just to make noise or show off.
Another thing I personally always appreciated about Dimebag was that he was very aware of what we now call “brand.” He was one of the last true guitar personalities rock music ever saw. The hilariously low brow nickname, the day-glo red goatee, the polygonish guitars with the split “devil horn” headstocks…Darrell was a very satisfying rock n’ roll character (one that mutated out of an equally delicious hair metal persona seen years earlier, “Diamond” Darrell Abbott). Although I love Marty Friedman from here to the moon, I can’t even imagine how much more awesome Megadeth would have been had Dave Mustaine hired Darrell instead of Marty just prior to Rust in Peace.
Alas, Darrell refused to join up unless Megadeth also hired his drumming brother, Vinnie, and Mustaine had just brought on UFO-obsessed percussionist Nick Menza. That, as they say, was that. Of course, with Dime and Vinnie in ‘Deth, Pantera’s career would have been remarkably shorter/suckier. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where Vulgar Display of Power doesn’t exist. It’s disheartening enough as it is to live in a world where Darrell Abbott was senselessly murdered in 2004.
When I was in high school, I remember getting an issue of Guitar World in the mail that featured Dimebag Darrell on the cover. He was standing there with his legs apart, holding one of those wild guitars, bending his mouth from an obvious laugh into a fake scream while throwing the goat at me with his strumming hand. It was a fun image, and I think that’s how the world should remember Dime. He created some really intense, brutal heavy metal, but you can only be so angry when your facial hair is the color of a Jolly Rancher. This cat clearly squeezed a lot of enjoyment out of life. The personality is surely just as missed as the persona or the music.
Here’s looking at you, you diamond of a Dimebag. You’re one kumquat no one’s ever gonna forget to remember.
Wasn't Darrell on the cover of every other issue back then....;^)
I like that “Mr. Ono” bit.
I’ll always remember him for when the Dallas Stars won the Cup in 1999, he was a regular at Stars game, and even wrote the Stars’ fight song that played over the PA when they came on the ice.
Dimebag seemed like an all around cool guy to hang with while Anselmo came off like Ass-elmo....
Funny how they were able to escape their glam past (plenty of pictures of “Diamond” Darrell and the boys out there on the Net’) and carve a chunk of serious cred.
Well. there’s two minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
Somehow I don’t think you are all too important to miss out on anything.
me too. wtf hood is this we're in?
read
Congratulations.
Was this post directed at you, twerp?
you gotta forgive me. I'm so uncultured.
No, just stupid.
Yep - just another reason to celebrate.
Well, I doubt that.
Anyway, I can tell Mr. Bag means a great deal to you, so I think I'll stop responding to your elementary school recess level insults, if you don't mind.
I like the reference to John Lennon as “Mr. Ono.”
I might be the only one, but I was not a fan of the Beatles and certainly not a fan of Lennon. Back in the 60s when they first came out, my friends went ga-ga over one or the other Beatle. Me, I thought they just made a lot of noise. And Lennon as a solo artist (or with his wife) was untalented IMHO. Sorry he’s gone and I’m sure his wife and children miss him, but I can’t get worked up over this anniversary.
You came in first and started it off. Now, run away.
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