In Memory of...

[SymphonicX]

On this day in the past, there have been at least three significant and tragic moments in music history. December 8th 2004 saw Damageplan featuring legendary guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott play the Alrosa Villa in Ohio. Less than five minutes into the set, a paranoid schizophrenic stormed the stage with a handgun and tragically cut short the life of one of heavy metal's most prolific and legendary guitarists. Shooting him in the head three times, he turned the gun on members of the audience and security team who rushed to stop the carnage. 4 other people died that day, as well as the gunman Nathan Gale who was gunned down by a police officer responding to the scene. 1966 - 2004 Dimebag Darrell RIP. Also, on December 8th 1980, John Lennon was entering the Dakota Apartment building in New York when he was infamously shot four times in the back with hollow point bullets. Tragically cutting short one of music's most revered and respected artists. December 8th 1943 was also the birth of Jim Morrison. RIP to yet another musical legend. So a significant date, especially for me as a big Pantera fan. It seems it's a day of both celebration and mourning, and I hope you join me in passing a thought to the beautiful and influential creations of these great men. RIP.

[Mike70]

what happened to dimebag is such a sad story. but at least the scumbag who did it got what was coming to him, the business end of a shotgun. this is an interview with james niggemeyer, the cop who responded to the 911 call. it has quite a bit of footage that i'd never seen. the vid quality is rather crappy. embedding disabled. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZFJ22OZZLQ

[DjfunkmasterG]

Thanks for sharing the link. Man, what a fucked up situation for dimebag, the club goers. and the cop

[krakenslayer]

There are lot of eerie parallels between the Dimebag and Lennon murders. I guess the Damageplan gig shooter probably saw some significance in carrying out his deeds on that day.

[bassman]

Was it ever revealed why the guy shot up the Pantera show? I mean....other than he was mentally unstable. Did he leave a note or tell someone what he was going to do?

[SymphonicX]

what happened to dimebag is such a sad story. but at least the scumbag who did it got what was coming to him, the business end of a shotgun. this is an interview with james niggemeyer, the cop who responded to the 911 call. it has quite a bit of footage that i'd never seen. the vid quality is rather crappy. embedding disabled. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZFJ22OZZLQ Unfortunately most of that footage is staged. There is only one angle of Dime's murder and that was from the first shot of Dime in that video - where he is in a red square. The rest is reconstruction, unfortunately. ---------- Post added at 01:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:53 PM ---------- Was it ever revealed why the guy shot up the Pantera show? I mean....other than he was mentally unstable. Did he leave a note or tell someone what he was going to do? Having read various books and pages on the subject - there was no note found - the only thing that was found was a prophetic suicide note penned months earlier by Gale. Apparently he tried to get into a band and turned up with Pantera's lyrics, trying to pass them off as his own. He was considered weird and an oddball by people in his hometown - he was shunned from social groups and even the military, he managed to lie on his application for military service about his mental health, where he was trained to use firearms, and as a present his mother bought him the gun that killed 4 people on that night. No one really could have predicted it - there are millions of slightly odd people in the world, and some of them are bound to be in the military at one point. The trouble is that his paranoid schizophrenic status was pretty much ignored or not looked into by all and sundry, and this catalogue of error allowed him to kill one of my favourite idols.

[MikePizzoff]

Was it ever revealed why the guy shot up the Pantera show? I mean....other than he was mentally unstable. Did he leave a note or tell someone what he was going to do? I recall reading about him being so insane that the reason he killed Darrell Abbott was because he felt Darrell was the reason why Pantera wasn't getting back together. I don't know if that's true or not, though.

[capncnut]

I'm just happy I got to see the man in his prime - Pantera, Glasgow Barrowlands, 1992, Vulgar Display of Power tour.

[MoonSylver]

RIP to all. Sad losses before their time all of them. Happy birthday to Mr. Mojo Risin' wherever you are

[SymphonicX]

I'm just happy I got to see the man in his prime - Pantera, Glasgow Barrowlands, 1992, Vulgar Display of Power tour. I saw 'em on Reinventing the Steel tour, 2000 - would have loved to see them on that tour though!!