Far From Neutral Notions - Philippine politics, culture and stuff

Former Pantera guitarist, 3 others killed by gunman

Now I know how the fans of Randy Rhoades must have felt like when his plane crashed, of all places into their tour bus. Or all the Lenon fans. I have a long list of musicians who died an untimely death (aren’t they all?), from Duanne Allman, Cliff Burton, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Jim Morrison, and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Karen Carpenter, but I’ve never actually had anything more than a slight twinge of pity. I wasn’t around (or aware) when they died, and while I appreciate their music, I wasn’t of their generation, and I never saw them live their lives.

Dimebag, though, is another matter. Heavy metal music, of which Dimebag’s Pantera and later Damageplan are veritable pillars, has done much to influence me and mine. It was while listening to Cementery Gates (Pantera) and Master of Puppets (Metallica) in a dank dorm room in Iloilo five years ago that I finally decided that I wanted to play the guitar. It is while listening to the metal underground bands like Pentavia, who are very much influenced by Pantera, that I feel most alive, feeling the rush take over. And it is while playing the guitar, chugging out riffs and running through licks that are more often than not inspired by “Dimebag” Darrel Abbot, that I at last can be me.

Not to belabor the obvious, but his death is a tragedy; not in the same vein as the loss of a loved one, but a great loss nonetheless. The loss isn’t personal and it’s not earth-shaking, but it’s like the death of Superman all over again: you’re not saying goodbye to a person, but an institution, and it all seems so unreal.

I remember reading something Dime once said, that on his funeral, he wanted everybody to be either drunk or stoned. Well, cheers pare \m/

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