"Dimebag" Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20 1966 – December 8, 2004) (also credited as Diamond Darrell) was the lead guitarist in the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan.

Abbott was born in Dallas, Texas, USA. His father was a country songwriter and owned a recording studio in Pantego, Texas, where Abbott watched many blues guitarists play. This early influence can be heard in many of Pantera's songs. At an early age, Abbott began entering statewide guitar competitions. By the age of 16 he was banned from entering because he had won too often. It was through the prizes he won at these competitions — including the guitar that later became his trademark — that he was able to start Pantera.

Among his other influences were Eddie Van Halen and Ace Frehley. In addition, he cited many of his contemporaries among his influences, including Slayer's Kerry King, Zakk Wylde, Metallica's James Hetfield, and Helmet's Page Hamilton.

Abbott frequently graced the pages of guitar magazines, both in advertisements for equipment he endorsed and in the readers' polls, where he frequented the top ten metal guitarist spots. He authored a long-running Guitar World magazine column, which has been compiled in the book Riffer Madness (ISBN 0769291015).

His brother, Vinnie Paul, played drums in Pantera. The brothers teamed up with country singer David Allan Coe in a project called "Rebel Meets Rebel". In the aftermath of the Pantera breakup they started a new band, Damageplan, with Patrick Lachman and Bobzilla . Their debut album, New Found Power, reached number 38 on the charts in 2004.

Abbott's murder

Abbott was murdered while performing on December 8 2004 at a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, Ohio, entered the nightclub at about 10:00 p.m., just after the performance began, after scaling an eight-foot fence and being chased into the building by club security. He entered the left side of the stage and proceeded across to the right where Abbott was standing. Gale then grabbed Abbott and shot him twice in the head with a Beretta pistol at point blank range. Abbott received a total of 5 to 8 gunshots.

Three others were killed in the shooting: attendee Nathan Bray, 23, of Columbus; club employee Erin Halk, 29, of northwest Columbus; and Damageplan security guard Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40, of Texas. The band's drum technician, John Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were also injured.

According to police, Gale fired a total of fifteen shots from a Beretta pistol, taking the time to reload once, remaining silent throughout the shooting (although early reports indicated he made disparaging remarks about the breakup of Pantera). When security staff and audience members climbed the stage to try to stop him, Gale fired at them, killing Halk and Thompson and wounding Brooks and Paluska. Gale then took a hostage, holding him in a headlock position. When the hostage moved slightly, Columbus police officer James D. Niggemeyer shot and killed Gale with a 12 gauge police issue shotgun in the back of the head.

During the rampage, nurse and audience member Mindy Reece, 28, went to the aid of Abbott. She and another fan administered CPR until paramedics arrived [1]. According to some reports, victim Nathan Bray was also attempting to render assistance when he was killed.

The shootings occurred on the 24th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon, but there is no indication that this was a factor in Gale's actions.

External links

• Official Pantera website
• Vinnie Paul and Dimebag website
• Official Damageplan website
• Dimebag Darrell Tribute Site