Dimebag Darrell stands at the origins of popular bands Panther and Damageplan. His virtuoso guitar playing cannot be confused with that of other American rock musicians. But, the most amazing thing is that he was self-taught. He had no musical education behind him. He blinded himself.
The news that Dimebag Darrell died in 2004 from a bullet from a man suffering from schizophrenia touched millions of fans around the world. He managed to leave behind a rich musical legacy, and it is thanks to this that Darrell is remembered.
Childhood and youth
The celebrity's date of birth is August 20, 1966. He was born in the small provincial town of Ennis (America). At birth, the boy was named Darrell Abbott. It is known that he has an older brother.
Darrell repeatedly thanked the head of the family for pushing him to study music. The fact is that his father was a popular producer and composer. Sometimes he took the children with him to the recording studio, where they could watch the music being recorded.
Thus, he decided on his future profession in childhood. He tried to learn to play the drums on his own, but when his older brother sat down at the installation, he threw the idea away. Then Abbott fell into the hands of a guitar, which was given by attentive parents for his birthday.
As a teenager, the guy learned from his mother not very good news. The woman said she was divorcing her father. Together with their mother, the children moved to Arlington. Despite this, both sons maintained a warm relationship with their father. They often saw dad, and he contributed to the development of Darrell's creative career.
During this period of time, he mastered the guitar to the level of a professional. Since that time, the guy often attends music competitions, catching himself thinking that among the participants he has no equal. He easily got victories in the competition. As a result, Darrell no longer performed on stage, but took a comfortable chair in the judging panel, and evaluated the performances of young talents.
At one of these competitions, he received a crimson Dean ML guitar as a prize. He would later sell a musical instrument to a close friend to buy a Pontiac Firebird. The guitar was bought by celebrity friend Buddy Blaze. He redesigned the instrument slightly and eventually returned it to Darrell's hands. He called the guitar Dean from Hell.
The creative path and music of Dimebag Darrell
Darrell's professional career started at the time of the founding of the rock band Pantera. This event happened in the early 80s of the last century. Another interesting fact: at first, only the older brother of the musician was invited to the group, but he said that he was ready to join the line-up only with his brother Darrell. A few years later, Dimebag Darrell himself set the same condition. He opted out of Megadeth without Vinnie.
In "Panther" the musicians "made" worthy of glam metal. Over time, the sound of the band's tracks became somewhat heavier. In addition, the band's focus shifted to Darrell's powerful guitar solos. The frontman of the group did not like such tricks, he began to rebel. The rest of the musicians did not understand the antics of the vocalist. They asked him to leave the musical project.
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal. It combines elements of punk rock as well as complex hooks and guitar riffs.
The musicians' debut LPs cannot be called successful from a commercial point of view. But with the release of the album Cowboys from Hell, the situation has changed radically.
Moreover, with the release of the presented LP in the creative biography of Darrell himself, the long-awaited coup came, this coup was extremely positive. The presentation of the disc Vulgar Display of Power lifted the musicians, and they found themselves at the top of the musical Olympus.
New changes
Around this period of time, the musician formed his own style. Before the public, he began to appear with a dyed beard and a sleeveless shirt. In addition, he changed the old creative pseudonym to a new one. Now he was called "Dimebag". The changes, and how they were accepted by the fans, inspired the musician to continue working on recording new albums.
The guys released longplays, which regularly hit the top 10 of the world charts. Despite the fact that they were the idols of millions, in 2003 the team broke up.
Darrell refused to leave the stage. Together with his brother, he founded a new musical project. We are talking about the group Damageplan. In addition to the brothers, Patrick Lachman and Bob Zill joined the team.
Almost immediately after the creation of the group, the guys presented their debut LP to the public. The record was called New Found Power. On the wave of popularity, the musicians began to create a second collection. Due to the death of the guitarist, the guys did not have time to finish work on the second studio album.
Details of the personal life of the musician Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag has repeatedly said that he is not ready to burden himself with family life. Despite this, he had a lady of the heart. He met a girl while still at school. At first, the guys were just friends, but then sympathy arose between them. She was never a public figure, but despite this, she supported the musician in everything.
Darrell's girlfriend's name was Rita Haney. After the musician got back on his feet financially, he invited Rita to live together. The girl agreed. Until the death of the artist, the lovers lived under the same roof.
Interesting facts about the musician
- The guitarist's father was a popular composer and producer. He owned the recording studio Pantego Sound Studios in the Texas town of Pantego.
- He literally idolized Ace Frehley. Ace's autograph was tattooed on Darrell's chest. He was his idol and personal muse.
- Darrell was a very cheerful person. He came up with practical jokes for his friends, loved to hang out and often hung out in a strip bar. The girl was not an obstacle to visiting such establishments.
- The musician's body was buried in KISS' signature coffin.
- He loved Dean guitars. When the company temporarily stopped making instruments, he collaborated with Washburn. Shortly before his death, the artist restored cooperation with the company that returned to the market and even started developing the Dean Razorback author's instrument.
Death of musician Dimebag Darrell
The life of a celebrity ended unexpectedly. He was at the height of his popularity when a gunman took away his right to enjoy life. It happened during a performance by Damageplan. A man ran out of the hall and shot at the musician. The artist died on stage. The bullet pierced the artist's head.
Several more people became victims of the armed killer. It was later revealed that the killer's name was Nathan Gale. The man was killed by a police officer. Based on the recordings of a dangerous killer, the book A Vulgar Display Of Power was later published. Nathan suffered from schizophrenia and was sure that the musician wanted to kill him.
The artist passed away on December 8, 2004. The grave of the popular American musician is located at the Moore Memorial Cemetery.
