Journal sielwolf's Journal: Dimebag Darrell dead [Updated] 16

Goddamn... the slaying guitarist from Pantera and Damageplan was killed last night in Columbus, OH after a gunman rushed the stage.

Damn damn damn. This sucks. Its right up there in the incomprehensibility of someone shooting Jam Master Jay. Really, what was the gain of this? And the fact that the killer after getting on stage, just started firing into the crowd.

Pantera had two unbeatable albums (Cowboys from Hell, Vulgar Display of Power) and two excellent albums (Far Beyond Driven, Southern Trend Killer) that pretty much set the bar for a lot of metal out there. They shredded in a classic Motorhead/Slayer kind of way (such speed exercises as "Primal Concrete Sledge" or "Fucking Hostile") with a growning sludge now and then (that has been parodied countless times by lesser bands). You can probably go out there and find Pantera's late 80's work where they were a straight up hair metal band. And although idiotic and unnecessary, I think that dalliance with 80's glam gave Pantera another dimension. Just check out "Cemetery Gates" with its slow anthemic qualities, the high octave wail of Phil and the fugue it formed with Darrell's guitar. What was interesting was that Pantera took that and pushed it so the whole thing just wailed. It was less of a lead and more of a howl.

Pantera did it all and to this day a lot of metal is compared in aggression to these North Texas boys. And, well, they broke up a year ago. And now this. You never want to have something stay too long, to become devoured by sentimentality (countless reunion tours. Fleetwood Mac. VH-1 weep fests) but what happened yesterday was such a pointless waste. An unrevocable act that only creates sadness, doubt, and questions about the future. It is a tragedy. Pantera was a watermark in metal. And as pointless or irrelevant as that might seem to some, their influence will be reflected for some time.

This is what my brother wrote back to me upon hearing the news:

I saw something on CNN this morning but they never said the band or band member name of the deceased. Odd that it ended up being Dimebag. This last weekend Dave and I drove around the OSU campus to see all the changes. We eventually drove south on High Street past the Newport concert venue. My one regret when I was at OSU was that I missed Pantera playing there for the Cowboys from Hell tour that 3rd quarter there. So when CNN said that there was a shooting at a heavy metal concert in Columbus Pantera was the band that I thought of. Strange.
 
I can't believe with all the patting down that they do when you enter a metal concert that someone with a gun could get through. It's amazing that only 4 people were killed in such a crowded venue.
 
So much for that Pantera reunion. bummer