December 8th, 10 p.m., Dallas Texas based metal band "Damageplan" began their set at Alrosa Villa Nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. During the first song, a gunmen sporting a hooded sweatshirt began yelling about Pantera. The fans thought he was a part of the
act until the unthinkable happened. The gunmen began firing several times at Legendary axe-man "Dimebag" Darrel Abbott at point blank range, killing him.

The gunman shot a bouncer who had pulled him off the musician, while fans flooded the exit. The gunman then fired into the crowd of more than 200 people. Officer arrives within two minutes Officer James D. Niggemeyer, patrolling nearby, arrived within two minutes of hearing the call. Niggemeyer, 31, saw one person lying dead and the suspect holding onto another "pretty much in a
headlock," Sgt. Brent Mull said.

He said the hostage, "probably a fan, maybe someone who worked with the band," was able to maneuver out of the way before the officer fired."If the officer wasn?t as close as he was, I think this would have been a lot worse," he said. "It was a chaotic scene, just a horrific scene." The gunman was 25-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, Ohio. Besides Abbott and Gale, police said the dead included Nathan Bray, 23, and Erin Halk, 29. Police said the name of the fifth person killed was being withheld pending notification of family.

Couch, a witness at the show said he believed the shooter had a plan. "It was definitely a grudge. It was against something," he said."We may never know a motive, unless he left a note, we may never know his motive," Mull said. Local detective will be examining an amateur video taken during the event for any clues. Gale has a minor police record in Marysville, said Police Chief Floyd Golden. He was pulled over for driving with a suspended license last month. Thursday morning, a dozen yellow roses, still in plastic wrap, lay near the entry to the low-slung beige building that since 1974 has hosted mostly heavy metal acts. The 641-person-capacity club, just off a freeway exit on the city?s north side, sits amid motels, small businesses and office complexes.

Dozens of messages were posted to the band's Web site (damageplan.com) after the shootings."The worst day in metal history. This is the worst day in metal history," one posting read."The metal world feels your pain," another wrote.Damageplan's debut album, New Found Power, which was released in February by Elektra, was produced by Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. Other band members are vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla.

Earlier, the brothers had been members of the Grammy-nominated Pantera, whose popularity soared in the early 1990s with a fast, aggressive sound." Damageplan carries on the tradition Pantera started, the ... hell-raising tradition we were all about," Vinnie Paul Abbott told The Dallas Morning News in October." It took awhile for some of the Pantera fans to accept it; we knew that was gonna be the case," he said." Change is something that people have a hard time accepting. But me and Dime intended on doing this our whole lives." The shootings came exactly 24 years after John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York apartment building by a deranged fan.

NOTE FROM JIMMY: I am a fan, and had the privilage of meeting "Dime"and the rest of the band. This day is truly a sad tragedy that will be remembered in metal history. These guys are the kind that work hard and play hard. Rumors are that Darrel has been cleaning up his act since the Pantera days. It really hits me hard because when you meet them, you realize these guys aren't in it for the money. Down to earth and real 24/7 no matter what anyone thought.... Dimebag will be truly missed. On the evening of the 8th, I don't remember one true metalhead that didn't cry about it. I just hope he is rocking out wherever he went. My condolences go out to the Abbott and Lachman familys along with Bob Zillas. Rest in Peace Dime.

DAMAGEPLAN w/ KIND - Review
Photo by: HESS of Juanitas

Juanitas - 8/4/04

For the in-depth old school fan, this show was something that brought out the raw and viciousness of a once known glorified band known as Pantera. The line of people that grew into an enormous cloud of hair and camoflauge clothing were indeed looking to let out some rage. Old patches from the "Vulgar Display/Cowboys From Hell" records rested on many studded jackets on some of the fans awaiting the opening of the venue. One bus was in plain view parked right at the front door with the u-haul connected at the back. I leaned against the window at the next door bar called "Midtown", a local hot spot for meeting rockstars at the afterpartys. Surely as I say this, Bobzilla, the bass player for Damageplan walked right past me into the club. He made a quick exit and waved at everyone still waiting outside the venue. Indeed very down to earth fellow.

It was now 7 p.m., security quickly surrounded the door and around the bus as fans poured into what would be a sweat pit. I was on the list, so I walked right on past everyone and got my spot against the railing. For Juanitas (the concert venue), they only set up the rail during something big....so I couldn't wait to see what was gonna happen onstage. This was the first time I had been to the mexican cantina/live music club since it had been remodeled. Very nice flat screen tv over the bar blaring the Rage Against The Machine dvd "The Battle Of New Mexico". More floor had been added to make viewing the live acts more convienent. First up would be Fayetteville based rap-metal band KIND. So much of Damageplan's equipment was onstage that Kind didn't have much room to work with. I stood about 2 feet from the bass player while the room blew up to the power of his bass. The drummer was setup on the left of the stage instead of in the center, which was something new for me. The bass amp was up really loud, making you get chill bumps from so much reverb....along with a digital kick drum that added to the effect. This band was all about demonstrating what they could do with pedals, except for a short grungey guitarist which rocked center stage without looking at anyone else. The singer clenched his metal mic spitting every five seconds after aggressive rapping along with melodic tones. They kept the crowd shaking which was good, because we need to be awake for what was to come. I would have to say KIND is indeed rap-metal, but they have matured into more of a rock band.

After about 30 minutes between acts, we made our way back to the rail. Our hearts beat faster knowing that metal gods were about to grace a 20 foot stage right in front of us. The music on the radio was only making me more ansy, wishing it would go off. Finally the lights dimmed and everyone began chanting Damageplan. Dimebag Darrell, the infamous Pantera Ax-man entered the room first wielding his custom Damageplan engraved Washburn guitar. The screams got so loud as he held a beer up to the crowd. Bobzilla walked in next, then the almighty Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul entered. People were clawing their way up to the stage by then. Finally the Vocalist formely of Diesel Machine graced the stage looking at us with death eyes. Quickly and damaging, they broke into their set with the single "Breathing New Life". The sound was massive and the feeling of people caving in was intense. Every word spit out was repeated by every face I could see in the room. The older guys throwing up devil horns while banging their heads showed that this show was what alot of the older generation had been waiting for. Bandanas and Tattoos flew in a sweaty frenzy in the pit that blazed behind me.

The band stated that this was the final date of Damageplan's tour before heading home for a well needed rest. So as a treat they busted out some old Cliff Burton style Metallica, then stopped only to play what people wanted to hear... Pantera material such as WALK and A New Level. The crowd went ape and another fight broke out. Vinnie and Dimebag walked on our side of the stage and yelled "Stop this fighting crap, this is a rock show, we are about unity here." It was quite a moment which raised alot of beers to cheer the band. The music went on and emotions ran high especially with the song "Save Me" which was dedicated to Dave Williams(deceased former singer of Drowning Pool). After the show, I ran into Tamsin and she came with me onto the tour bus. The meet and greet was really cool, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag were the two most down to earth people I had met that night. Signing promo pics and talking to me about a new dvd entitled Damagevision.

Spending the night at a spectacular rock show, hanging out with a girl I have really cherished for a long time, and meeting the metal legends made this evening one hell of a night. I have a new found respect for the band and it's sound....a new found power.

-Jimmy

Upcoming Reviews:
Finger Eleven w/ Thornley 8/6/04
Slipknot w/ Slayer and Hatebreed 8/9/04
Evanescence w/ Seether, 3 Days Grace, and Breaking Benjamin 8/14/04