Dimebag Darrell Abbott Was Killed 17 Years Ago Today

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I guess I'm still a little traumatized over this and I think a lot of people are.

Pantera, Damageplan, Dimebag and Phil all were on the tip of our tongues around this time 17 years ago. Dime had just landed Damageplan, which everybody agreed was pretty kickass, but they were also very unhappy that there didn't seem to be a way forward for Pantera. Phil and Dime traded snipes in the music magazines. A week before the killing, Phil had said that Dimebag "deserved to be beaten."

So I woke up early on the morning of December 8th, 2004 and walked bleary-eyed into my kitchen to see a really long note written by my wife. Local artist Lynn Day (a friend of the bands) had called her to tell her what had happened. I kept reading and reading and I couldn't even really comprehend what the words were telling me. Finally, it sunk in and I confirmed the information. To this day, when I see a note on the table, I immediately assume it's the worst possible news.

Three other people were killed in that attack. The scumbag who shot Dimebag was also killed, but he can just burn. The only thing known was that the gunman said something about Pantera before killing Dimebag and opening fire on everyone else. You can read more about the mayhem here, but I'll warn you it brought back some very vivid memories for me that I'd rather not have.

These shootings were just so pointless that it's hard to talk about. For the most part, all I did was read a note, but I had just had Damageplan in the studio* for a great visit so it was like I lost friends. The area of the studio that Dimebag stickered up (and the band signed) on this visit is the first thing you see when you walk into the room, so none of this is ever too far from our thoughts.