Pretty sad news coming out of Columbus, where some deranged idiot jumped on the stage at a Damageplan show and killed four people, including lead guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell:
A gunman charged onstage at a packed nightclub and opened fire on the band and crowd, killing top heavy metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and three other people before a police officer shot him to death, authorities and witnesses said.
Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio identified three of the victims of Wednesday's shooting as Abbott, who played for the band Damageplan, and two other men, Nathan Bray and Erin Halk.
I heard the story this morning without realizing who Damageplan was (which just goes to show how far removed I am from being "with it"). Dimebag was quite the guitarist and a hell of a nice guy, by all accounts. His former band, Pantera, got plenty of play in my neck of the woods as a young man, seeing as how they were from Dallas. My favorite story about them is probably the one where the Stanley Cup got dented at a party Dimebag's brother Vinnie Paul threw for the Stars when Guy Carbonneau decided to lob it from a balcony into the pool.
Pantera, known for its brutally hard, fast and aggressive sound, recorded four albums in the 1990s. They attracted a massive cult following and the band's third release, "Far Beyond Driven," debuted at No. 1 in 1994, surprising chart-watchers and critics alike.
Of course, before they were known for their "brutally hard" sound, they were known for wearing leopard skin tanktops and playing hair metal. "Dimebag" even used to go by "Diamond" Darrell, which I always thought was hilarious.
Tonight I need to dig out my cassette of Vulgar Display of Power and listen to it while pondering why Ashlee Simpson still walks the earth.
you see us comin' and you all together run for cover...we're taking over this town...
there's a dimebag darrell-shaped hole in my heart today.
First Pierre Berton (I am canadiann)then my mom and dads cat gets put to sleep(he was old)
That has to be the best title of a post in the history of blogging.
What a horrific story. I've never been a big fan of metal, but I have always had respect for good musicians regardless of their genre. What a senseless loss.