From Pantera to Kill Devil Hill, bassist Rex Brown has come to personify the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle, and he's got the stories, the surgeries, and the scars – as well as the hard-won sobriety – to prove it.

“All I’ve ever known in life is bass,” Brown told Bass Player in 2017. “There’s not a lot else that l care to do, or be as good at, but I know the bass guitar. I know how to play them, how to fix them, how to build them, and how to break them.”

Standing toe to toe with Pantera guitarist Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott, wielder of one of rock’s most massive guitar tones, Brown asserted his own sonic identity while also keeping pace with drummer Vinnie Abbott’s jackhammer beats.

“With Pantera it was so hard because that guitar sound was so big, the reverb on the snare was so loud. Dime would hit at like, 3.5 to 4 kilohertz, and that's where I would try to get my bass attack.

“If it were up to Dime, he would have had me to play everything in unison. But being a bass player, I felt that there were certain variations I could play within the riff – and within the context of the riff – that made it unique.

“It would have been very easy for Dime to just pick up a bass and play along with his guitar tracks, but as a bass player who knows composition and how things fit together, I didn't want to do that all the time.

“I wanted to have a huge, monstrous sound underneath Dime, but we were flying at 188 beats a minute. I had to be articulate, and sometimes, you can't do that when you have a huge sound.”

What's the secret behind your distinctive tone?

I don't think I got my SVT until the first official Pantera record. But once I got my SVT stacks, that changed everything. For so many years, I had to play so hard to be overheard above the reverb of Vinnie’s snare and over Dime’s crazy guitars. That's probably where it culminated.

I also downstroke a lot, and I can play incredibly tight. I attack the bass; I don't just sit there and stumble around. When you hit a note, you gotta fucking hit it. That's your note – go get it, and don't pussyfoot around with it.

Has your bass playing changed over the years?

I still get up every morning and play the bass for 30 minutes. And if someone asked me to get onstage any open night, I would get up there and unleash it.

I’m not a Billy Sheehan type of player. I love Billy and he’s a good friend, but my mentality is more to push that bottom as much as I can and incorporate the riff into what I’m doing to lock it all down. However, at a point I got sick of being just the pocket guy, so l started stepping out and playing in different ranges, too.

What were the biggest things that sculpted you from your time in Pantera?

I don't have enough breath, and you don't have enough tape, for me to explain that even remotely. You have to all strive for a common goal, and eat, sleep, and breathe it until you reach that shit.

I was 17 when I joined the band in 1981, and it's been my life ever since. Vulgar Display of Power came out in 1992, which is probably my favorite record, and I remember finishing that album like it was yesterday.

How important are chops?

It's all about the song. It's not about ego or who's playing where. It's about knowing when to play, when not to play, and what's going to hold down that fort.

I can sit and play guitar all day long, but when it comes to bass playing, it's a totally different game. I have to keep that low-end so everything else can breathe and so that the vocals paint the picture.

But ‘The Riff’ is sacred, right?

When you're talking about very specific riffs – something like I'm Broken – you'd better believe it. But there's a certain way you can instil that main riff while still putting your mark on it.

It's all about knowing when to shine and knowing when not to. I definitely tried different things during the lead section, but not all over the song.

Some bass players these days play and play even when the vocalist is singing, and it just clouds everything up.

Did you guys work out how you'd support Darrell’s guitar solos?

Some of the Pantera basslines I'm proudest of happened underneath Dime’s solos. Sometimes l'd say, ‘Let me try a part for the solo,’ and we would just jam it; if it worked, it worked. Pretty much any time he’d go to the upper register, I'd keep it real solid on the bottom, down with the kick.

So if you notice in Rise, for example, it's me just playing straight 16ths or eighth-notes. And a lot of those times when he went in the upper register I would play eighth-notes or 16ths under him, and then when Dime came down, we would play everything in unison. But you know, we didn't even think about it back then. It was just second nature. It was magic.

After years of anticipation, Dime Guitarz has been officially launched by the man who built Dimebag Darrell’s most cherished guitars – and it’s promising to bring his iconic electric guitars into the modern era.

The collaboration between Dimebag’s trusted luthier, Dean Zelinsky, and the late guitar great’s girlfriend and estate trustee, Rita Haney, has a simple mantra: “To build the guitars Dimebag Darrell would be playing today.”

Throughout his life, the Pantera legend played a host of guitars made for him by luthier Dean Zelinsky, including the Dean ML from Hell – the pointed signature guitar with which Dimebag was most fondly associated.

When financial problems led Dean to cease production in the mid ‘90s, Dimebag moved to Washburn, where he continued to produce ML-style electric guitars before re-signing with a revived Dean just before he died in 2004.

In recent years, the relationship between the Dimebag estate and the current owners of Dean Guitars, Armadillo Distribution Enterprises, has soured considerably. Haney sued Armadillo in 2021, citing unlawful use of the Stealth and Razorback designs.

The most recent court ruling swung in Dean’s favor, but Haney soon responded, saying she would continue to “fight for the return of Dime’s guitars.”

So, the launch of Dime Guitarz, just days after Dean’s owners filed for bankruptcy, couldn’t be more timely. And the firm has come out swinging.

“There seems to be a misconception that Dime had a relationship with the Dean Guitars of today,” Haney says in a statement. “It simply isn’t true. He was killed three weeks after signing the deal. He had a relationship with Dean Zelinsky. That is who he wanted building his guitars.”

Dime Guitarz, then, sees itself as the rightful home of the ML-style guitar, and its launch comes some 15 months after the first model, the Culprit, was teased. With a rare design masterminded by Dimebag before his death, it was first teased back in March 2025.

Here, the Culprit comes in USA and Standard Series variants, ranging from $1,999 to $5,999. Both guitars pair mahogany bodies, flame maple tops with three-piece maple set necks, and 22-fret, 12-16” compound radius ebony fingerboards.

Of course, there’s Floyd Rose 1000 series tremolos, too, along with Grover-style tuners, with Seymour Duncan Dimebucker and ’59 pickups. They’re wired with a DimeBooster, which adds 15dB via a push/push Tone pot.

The most eye-catching feature, though, is the patented laser-engraved Z-Glide neck, which is designed to reduce surface friction by 72%, keep hands cool, and encourage lightning-fast shredding. It is, though, exclusive to the USA models.

A razor blade inlay at the 12th fret and some classic Dimebag-coded finishes, including Dime Slime and Dimebolt – the latter of which pays tribute to the iconic Dean From Hell – complete the look. Oh, and of course it has that classic winged headstock design.

“Dime played Dean Zelinsky’s MLs when he had braces on his teeth, and he died with one in his arms,” the statement continues. “Dime’s innovation for tech, his love and trust of DZ’s brilliance, this is what the direction of this company is, to fulfill those wishes”

“After everything I’ve accomplished in this industry, helping carry Darrell’s legacy forward may be the most meaningful work I’ve ever done,” Zelinsky adds.

See Dime GuitarZ for more.

Dimebag Darrell’s estate has issued a new statement in light of a recent court ruling that swung in favor of Dean Guitars owner, Armadillo Distribution Enterprises, amid the protracted legal battle between the two parties.

The late Pantera guitarist had designed two signature guitars, the Stealth and Razorback, in collaboration with Dean Guitars, using its ML model as their foundation. Dimebag’s employment of the guitars has made Dean’s X-shaped variants some of the most recognizable metal guitars on the planet.

Rita Haney, who was Dimebag’s longtime girlfriend and is now trustee of his estate, had sued Dean for “unauthorized fraudulent trademark registrations” regarding both guitars. She felt the guitars should be deemed as the intellectual property of the guitarist.

However, a court ruling in early May granted Dean a summary judgment that dismissed “the majority” of the Dimebag estate’s trademark, fraud, and breach of contract claims. Ultimately, that meant the guitars were deemed to be owned by Dean, not the In Dime We Trust estate, which Haney spearheads.

Now, a statement issued by In Dime We Trust states that it “respectfully disagrees with the Court’s ruling and believes the decision conflicts with the clear language contained in the agreement Darrell Abbott signed with Dean Guitars in 2004.”

The agreement was signed shortly before his death that same year. Dimebag had rekindled his relationship with Dean after a period with Washburn guitars, which resulted in the Razorback’s creation.

In Dime We Trust claims the signed agreement states “Dean “shall acquire no rights in the tradenames or designs Stealth Guitar or Razorback Guitar by virtue of this Agreement, and upon termination of this Agreement shall cease the production of Stealth and Razorback style guitars.”

“To the Trust, this language demonstrates Darrell Abbott’s clear understanding and intent that ownership and control of the Stealth and Razorback guitar designs would remain with him and would not transfer to Dean Guitars under the agreement,” it adds.

A Non-Disclosure Agreement, which the Trust states was “executed” two months before the wider agreement was signed, saw then Dean Guitars CEO Elliott Rubinson “acknowledge that the Razorback and Stealth guitar designs, along with the associated headstock designs, were created by Darrell Abbott.”

Put simply, the Trust is adamant that Dimebag “would never have signed away ownership of his designs,” believing “the documents clearly support that,” and that Dean “has repeatedly misrepresented the facts” regarding the matter.

It reiterates that “Dean Guitars did not make or sell a single Razorback nor Stealth before their formal relationship with Darrell... and in no way should they be allowed to make these guitars after the relationship was terminated.”

Consequently, Dimebag’s estate will appeal the court ruling.

“We continue to fight for the return of Darrell’s guitar designs as well as their unauthorized use of Darrell’s name, likeness, and intellectual property,” it says.

It will also pursue additional claims relating to Dean’s use of the “Dean From Hell” artwork, Dime’s number one guitar.

A federal court has issued a major ruling in the ongoing legal dispute between Dimebag Darrell’s estate and Dean Guitars owner Armadillo Distribution Enterprises, granting a summary judgement in favor of the defendant.

In 2021, the late Pantera guitar great’s estate sued Dean Guitars, citing unlawful use of the Stealth and Razorback guitar body shapes, and “unauthorized fraudulent trademark registrations” for the two.

In Dime We Trust, headed by Dime’s longtime girlfriend and estate trustee, Rita Haney, also accused Armadillo of breaching their terms of contract.

Both the Stealth and Razorback models were designed in collaboration between Dean and Darrell. The former was based on the ML, and Dimebag’s “Dean From Hell” variation is regarded as one of the most famous guitars in heavy metal history. The latter, meanwhile, was designed when Dean and Dimebag rekindled their partnership, shortly before the guitarist was tragically shot and killed onstage in 2004.

At the time of the original lawsuit, Dean Guitars' then-CEO & President Evan Rubinson released a statement on behalf of the company, calling the claims “baseless” and “without any merit”.

"Dean Guitars is proud to have played a role in ensuring Dime’s legacy not only survived, but thrived over the past 17 years. We have stood by the estate through good and bad,” Rubinson said.

“Ms. Haney’s claims – across the board – are baseless, without any merit, and not grounded in reality. We will allow the full truth to come out as the legal process takes its course.”

Now, in a new ruling, a federal court has issued in favor of Armadillo, granting a summary judgement that dismisses “the majority” of the Dimebag estate’s trademark, fraud, and breach of contract claims. That includes In Dime We Trust’s claims regarding the ownership of Dean’s guitar models.

“For almost two decades Armadillo was proud to work directly with the Abbott family under a relationship built upon mutual respect, shared purpose, and a genuine love for Darrell Abbott’s music and his love for Dean Guitars,” a press release from Armadillo reads.

“The United States District Court’s order is confirmation of what we have known all along: Armadillo's ownership of the Stealth and Razorback trademarks, the Razorback guitar design, and related intellectual property was earned through years of prior use and good faith commercial activity.”

In court documents published online, the ruling notes that the Trust’s motion for partial summary judgement is denied on 11 counts.

Those include: trade dress infringement and trademark infringement of both the Razorback and Stealth guitar designs and wordmarks; breach of contract; claims of fraud; and more.

The court documents also conclude that Armadillo has been denied summary judgement on two counts: the copyright infringement of Darrell’s “Dean From Hell” artwork; and false endorsement and false association, which, as the ruling notes, is concerned with whether there was “a likelihood of consumer confusion, mistake or deception as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of goods being sold”.

In a statement, Owner & CEO of Armadillo, Pamela Keris, said, “We are grateful for the Court's thorough and careful consideration of the law.”

In practice, this means that Dean has been given the green light to continue using both the Razorback and Stealth designs and wordmarks going forward, so don’t expect those to fall off the firm’s production lines anytime soon.

Dimebag’s estate, meanwhile, has been honoring the guitar great’s legacy through another operation, Dime Guitarz, which is currently producing Stealth-inspired builds under the ‘Culprit’ range name.

A copy of the ruling can be found at United States Courts website.

In Dime We Trust did not respond to a request for comment.

In the vast domain of rock guitar, there are few players with a resume or work ethic as impressive as Zakk Wylde’s. The man literally never seems to stop.

From Black Label Society to the recent Pantera Celebration tours, plus Zakk Sabbath; Experience Hendrix; teaching online courses; maintaining a guitar brand (Wylde Audio), a couple of pedal lines (MXR Wylde Audio and Dunlop Wylde Audio), and a line of guitar strings (Dunlop Zakk Wylde String Lab), the man is far beyond relentless.

And we haven’t even mentioned the Berzerkus Festival, nonstop social media, and a coffee brand (Valhalla Java Odinforce Blend, in partnership with Death Wish Coffee)!

With the release of Black Label Society’s latest album, Engines of Demolition, blazing on the horizon, Wylde took time out of his insane schedule to chat with Guitar World.

Engines of Demolition is the 12th album in Black Label Society’s 25-year history. When you first got the BLS ball rolling, did you think it’d roll for this long – and just keep on growing?

Without a doubt. When we first started doing Black Label, I figured this is the last stop – let’s do this. Then we just kept building it and building it one gig at a time. When we started, it was three people watching us in a bar and grill, and two of them were working behind the bar!

That’s what I always tell kids when they say they want to start a band – view it as your own mom-and-pop store, and then build on it. You might start with a hotdog stand on the corner and then you build it and build it, and it becomes a food truck – and then another one, and then another one and so on.

Then, when you look back on it, it was never work because you were doing what you loved. No matter if you’re all crammed in a van or in a car, you’re doing what you dig doing. That’s the advice I give to younger musicians – just do it! Go for it and be relentless.

I remember seeing BLS on your first tour. You played a hole-in-the-wall bar in Port Jefferson, New York, and you were literally setting up the merch table and moving gear around. You played to fewer than 100 people, but the gig was phenomenal and your passion was palpable.

I think it’s the same for any band that’s starting off, whether it’s Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, or the Beatles. They started off jamming in that little bar in Liverpool, the Cavern Club, and ended up selling out Shea Stadium. It’s just a matter of sticking with it. We all start at pretty much the same spot.

Of course, there are gonna be tough times, regardless of who you are; even the Stones played little gigs to begin with – and look at them now! You’ve just gotta keep putting another brick on the empire, every single day. It’s the same with bodybuilding. Dorian Yates [retired British bodybuilder] didn’t turn into Dorian Yates overnight!

Doom Crew Inc. was released in late 2021, and you’ve been busy since then with Pantera, Zakk Sabbath, Experience Hendrix, and so much more. What drives you to work so hard?

I have a good time with the stuff I’m doing. It’s no different than when we were 15 and starting a band. You practice as if your life depends on it, because it does. [Laughs] You save up lawn-mowing money so you can buy your first Marshall, and you put up fliers to let everybody know you’re playing a keg party. You have fun with it because you’re doing what you love. That’s my drive; do what you want to do. It’s simple.

You’ve got to play what makes you happy because that’s the only way you’re gonna thrive. You’ll only thrive if you’re playing what you love because that’s what creates the passion. Why would you be in a band if you can’t stand the music you’re playing?

I understand the business aspect of it – “If you sounded more like this, it’d be an easier sell.” But to me, the thing that naturally comes out of you is what you should be doing – because you’re not even thinking about it, you’re just doing it. JD [John DeServio, BLS bassist] and I were just talking about when we were playing in Zyris when we were kids.

One night we were playing the Stone Pony [a legendary Asbury Park, New Jersey, club] and they wanted us to do another 10 minutes after we got done with our set.

We ended up playing Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin, and I remember we were all looking at each other because we were having a blast playing it. I was like, “Why don’t our songs move me like this? This is super-cool shit, but the stuff we’re playing is contrived and not what we love.” That was a moment of clarity.

The band was trying to get signed, so we were playing what was popular at the time. I realized right then that wasn’t the way it really works. Labels don’t sign bands like that; you’ve gotta be true to yourself, not to a trend. A lot of that experience was Business 101 on how not to do it! Guns N’ Roses got signed because they were playing the music they liked playing; people gravitated toward it because they enjoyed it too.

And when there’s a line around the building, that’s when promoters, managers, and labels want to get involved. You’ve got to create your own success and situation, and that’s not really “work.” You can sit on the couch complaining or you could say, “Let’s go do this” and take action.

How would you compare Engines of Demolition to Doom Crew Inc.? Would you say it’s a natural evolution?

Of all the albums Black Label have made, this is one of them! And to be more specific, this is the next one! Let’s put it this way, if Doom Crew Inc. was Tuesday’s album, this one is Wednesday’s. Actually, all joking aside, the writing process on this one was definitely different.

Usually, it’s a bit of an implosion. I get told, “Zakk, you’ve got a month before the guys come out,” so I’ll write every day and get a bunch of cool riffs I’m happy with to work on with the fellas. But on this one, we took our time. We started work on it in late 2022, but there was no point putting it out while the Pantera Celebration was going on because all the focus was on that. So we waited.

In the end, only two or three of the original ideas made it onto the record because I kept on writing and working with the guys. It’s a musical ride through the peaks and valleys of the last four years – hitting some of the highest highs and lowest lows, plus everything in between.

A song that’s obviously going to garner a lot of attention is Ozzy’s Song.

I already had the music and the melody idea sitting around. Then, after Ozzy passed away and we’d laid him to rest [July 2025], I wrote the lyrics. As for the title, originally it had a title that was basically the chorus, but after it was recorded, [my wife] Barb would always say, “Put on the Ozzy song – the one you wrote for him.” That’s why I renamed it Ozzy’s Song. It makes sense; I mean, we’ve always called In This River, ‘Dime’s Song.’”

How different was your guitar setup in the studio compared to your live rig?

It’s the same exact thing; there’s no need to change it. That said, I only use the chorus pedal [MXR Wylde Audio Chorus] in the studio for certain things because double tracking the guitars creates a natural chorus sound anyway.

For certain dive-bomb things, though, I’ll put the chorus pedal on, double it, and it just gets huge sounding. Like at the start of Suicide Messiah, for example.

Are your solos on Engines of Demolition composed, improvised, or a bit of both?

I always sit down and come up with what I like. They’re all composed, unless it’s an outro jam, in which case I’ll invariably improvise. It’s almost like the Saint [Randy] Rhoads school of thought – or Neal Schon, where you have a melody thing and then maybe put the afterburners on near the end. They’re all pieces of music.

When you’re composing a solo, is it something you hear in your head or something you find and like when you’re jamming?

I can hear it in my head, especially when coming up with a melody. I’ll just sit down and work with what I call a homework tape of the backing track I’m soloing over.

As usual, the lead interplay between you and Dario [Lorina, BLS guitarist] is fantastic.

I love that kinda stuff. With Night Ranger you always had Brad [Gillis] and Jeff [Watson] shredding, which I thought was awesome. And then there’s all the other twin-lead guitar bands – whether it was Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman Brothers Band – where the guys would go back and forth and you could always hear who was playing what because they had such distinctive sounds and styles.

There are also certain lead parts where Dario doubles you or plays a harmony.

If I’ve written out something specific, that’s what we’ll do. Otherwise, I’ll just leave gaps and tell him, “Father D., just play whatever you want there.” After all, that’s the whole point – to let him do his own thing.

For Name in Blood, I pretty much had it all written out, so I was like, “Dario, why don’t you double this part and then we’ll do the harmonies at the end? You do the high part and I’ll go low.” Most of the time, though, he’s free to do whatever he wants.

Of the 13 songs on Engines of Demolition, are there any solos that stand out, or are they all your children and you love them all?

I obviously like them all. I’m really happy with the way the one in Ozzy’s Song came out, and I’m also digging the solo in Name in Blood – and it’s pretty lengthy, too. They’re all pieces of music, and like any piece of music it all depends on what mood you’re in at the time.

The upcoming BLS tour with Dark Chapel and Zakk Sabbath opening is unique in that all members will be pulling double-duty; Dario will kick off the show with Dark Chapel; then you, JD, and Jeff Fabb will do a Zakk Sabbath set. Then you’ll take a quick break before all four of you hit the stage together for BLS. That’s some heavy lifting. Looking forward to it?

Yeah. The only thing I’m worried about are the Diana Ross clothing options for the tour; that’s my main concern! Will we have enough makeup and wardrobe cases? If I don’t change my costume in between sets, the audience will think it’s the same guy up there for both bands. They’ll see right through it!

You’ve become renowned for finishing a show and then heading straight to the bus to do a workout. Does double duty with Zakk Sabbath and BLS mean two workouts every show day?

I guess it just means I can eat an extra Reece’s in between sets and then burn it off during the Black Label show before hitting the weights! [Laughs]

You’ve been pretty much nonstop for the past few years. Are you ever gonna take a vacation?

No. I just love doing it. I’ve never been like, “I can’t wait to go home; I don’t wanna do this anymore.” When you’re on the road, that’s the very reason you’re doing it. That’s the reason you had pictures of Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, Saint Randy, and all the guys on your bedroom wall when you were a kid.

When you look at our musician friends – if they’re lifers, then it’s just part of what they do. I’ve got friends who still play at bars purely because they love playing with their buddies; it’s not a financial thing. It’s the same with bands like the Stones; they definitely don’t need the money. They’re still out there doing it because that’s what they love to do.

I saw the Alice Cooper and Judas Priest co-headline tour last year, and during the show it dawned on me that the combined ages of Alice and Rob added up to more than 150 years. Both guys are clearly still doing it purely out of their love for music, not the almighty dollar.

Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. Alice doesn’t need to do it. If he wanted to retire, chill, and play golf, he would. He likes going out on the road and hanging out with the band and crew because they’re his family and they always have a great time. Why wouldn’t you do that?

It’s like when people ask Keith Richards, “When are you ever gonna retire?” And he goes, “Retire from what?!”

I mean, if you enjoy drinking coffee while reading a good book, are you gonna retire from that? Music is the same. For sports, I get it; if you can’t perform at the same level, you say, “I’m done.” But then you move into coaching, managing, commentating, or whatever, like Dana White [CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship].

That way you’re still around the thing you love. It’s like brushing your teeth; it’s something you automatically do every day – except when you’re out with Black Label, of course!

You’ve already offered some guidance, but if you had a couple of sentences of advice to give to someone who’s just starting out, what would they be?

Play the music that moves you. Play what you love. That’s that – it’s the truth. People are always going, “It can’t be that simple,” but it is. Don’t complicate things.

If you enjoy it and it’s moving you, that’s what you should be doing. Why would you be playing anything else? That would be like telling Joe Pass, “You need to be doing more pop stuff.” And he’d just go, “I play what I love!"

• Engines of Demolition is out now via Spinefarm.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Ola Englund joined some elite metal musicians for the recent Dimebash event, a tribute show to the late Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, during which he wielded some of Dime’s actual Washburn electric guitars.

The Swedish guitarist, YouTuber and Solar Guitars founder was famously in the running for the Pantera gig when original members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown opted to reform the band in 2022. Dime-obsessed YouTuber Kayla Kent also made the band’s shortlist, but it was Zakk Wylde who eventually got the nod.

Last year, Dimebag’s Dean From Hell made a special return to the band in the hands of Phil Anselmo, and, during the recent NAMM 2026 weekend, Englund was offered the chance to play another one of Dime's guitars at the Dimebash in Belasco in Los Angeles, California.

For the set, he performed alongside Charles Benante – who plays drums in the new Pantera lineup – Nevermore's Attila Vörös, and ex-Megadeth man, Chris Broderick.

“A couple of days ago, I got a text from Grady Champion, Dimebag's former guitar tech,” Englund explains in a vlog charting the events before, during, and after the show. “He said he had set up Dimebag's personal guitars for me and Attila to use at the Dimebash.

“He sent me a bunch of pictures, asked me what string gauge I wanted them to have, and at first I thought he was on about the new Dime Guitarz, but then I re-read the message…”

Indeed, a new guitar company, Dime Guitarz, launched its first eye-catching model last year after years of teasing. It would have been the ideal gig to show off those builds, but Englund was being offered the real deal.

Those three guitars were the Washburn Dime 3 “Southern Cross,” which was immortalized on Reinventing the Steel; the green-and-yellow sunburst “Dime Slime”, which had an upside-down Volkswagen sticker beneath the bridge and a Seymour Duncan SH1-N’59 in the neck; and the metal-plated “Stealth” axe.

“What the hell, man. I don't know what to do with this information,” he says before heading to a rehearsal. There, he says, Atilla's main axe for the show would be the “Dime Slime,” while he plugged the “Southern Cross” into the brand-new Quad Cortex mini for a blend of vintage and modern.

Songs played by Englund on the night, “Southern Cross” in hand, include Hard Lines Sunken Cheeks, Floods, and the face-contorting classic, Five Minutes Alone. And yes, there were plenty of pinch harmonics throughout.

Back home reflecting on the gig at the end of the video, he says, “The gig itself was amazing; the vibe, the love, everything was on point. Atilla, holy shit, what a guitarist, he nails the solos.

“I've gotta pinch my arm that I did all of this playing Dime's guitars. I'm insanely lucky to have gotten to do this. I still can't believe it.”

In related Pantera news, Zakk Wylde has previously said there have been talks about writing new music from old Dimebag demos. It wouldn't be the first time material from Dime's unreleased archive gets unearthed, though. One of his solos ended up on a Nickelback record.

Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell recently looked back on the first time he met Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell and his brother, Vinnie Paul – a day that will be forever marked in his memory due to what he describes as Dimebag’s “otherworldly” talents.

It was back in 1985 – right after Cantrell decided to quit college and move to Dallas to join a band with a couple of friends.

“We would work all day, and we just spent all night in the club – we would just watch bands,” he recalls of those heady days in an interview with Gibson.

“We worked about half the year in Dallas and half the year in Houston. In Houston, there was a smaller club called Cardi's. And I loved that place because they had great acts coming through there.

“I saw Yngwie Malmsteen with Talas opening up on Rising Force. I saw Pantera roll through there when they still had Terry [Glaze, former Pantera singer], before Phil [Anselmo, Pantera’s longtime lead vocalist] was in the band. That's how I met Dime and Vinnie – in ’85 at that club.”

Describing what he remembers from the formative experience, Cantrell says that he's a “fan of anybody who is a master of their instrument [but] I'm more a fan of people who are who just have an innate thing that is just unlike anybody else. And Dime is one of those guys.”

He describes how the two, who happened to be around the same age, hit it off “right away” – thanks to a spot of gear talk.

“After that show, going up to him and introducing myself and asking him about his amps and his tone, because he was just otherworldly,” he enthuses.

“And he's a huge Van Halen fan, and you could tell that by his playing. But he was also into heavier shit too, and that's why you got the kind of blend of what Dime was – but there's really nobody like him.”

He continues, “I started hearing about these guitar contests that he would enter every year in Texas, and he was the best guitarist for six years running. I think early on he just had talent, and he had an otherworldly thing, and he was just a great dude.”

In more Jerry Cantrell news, the Alice in Chains founder recently looked back on his involvement in Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning – or what he calls the “walk-off home run” of Ozzy Osbourne’s final show.

Late metal guitar legend Dimebag Darrell and Guitar World go way back, with the Pantera shredder once contributing 42 “Riffer Madness” columns to the magazine. In one of these now-iconic columns, Darrell harked back to his roots – and reflected on how his dad, country music producer Jerry “LD” Abbott, was instrumental in his guitar (and Pantera’s) journey

“One day, when I was learning to play guitar, I was stomping around the house all pissed off because my playing was in a bit of a rut,” he wrote. “My dad, who’s a great guitarist, said something that I’ve always remembered.

“He asked me, ‘Can you learn a new lick today?’ I said, ‘Of course I can.’ Then he said, ‘Well son, if you decided to learn just one new lick a day, how many would you have at the end of the year?’

“The possibilities are staggering. Shit! If I knew a lick for every beer or Black Tooth I’ve had, I can’t even imagine how much extra knowledge I’d have!”

The importance of consistency and improving your skills every day wasn't the only thing that Abbott taught him. Indeed, in a 2010 interview, the legendary axeman's dad recalled Darrell was “pretty doggoned serious [about guitar] right out of the gate.”

“I still remember him at a talent show they had at his school when he was about 12 years old,” he remembered. “They opened the curtain, and there he was – him, his guitar, and a little amplifier, wearing Ace Frehley makeup and the Kiss costume that he and his brother had come up with. I think he played Rock and Roll All Nite, and the kids just loved it. Yeah, he was hardcore into it quick.”

As for the first song that he showed him, it was Runnin’ with the Devil by Van Halen, although Dime and his brother Vinnie [Paul, Pantera’s drummer] had already jammed on Smoke on the Water for “three hours straight” by then.

Elsewhere in Guitar World's heartfelt interview with Jerry Abbott, he talked about producing all four of Pantera's albums released on the band's own label, as well as the songs he considers Darrell's best work.

Pantera have announced they will be canceling some of their tour dates to allow time to mourn for the late Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away last week.

In a statement posted to social media, the band – which features former Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde in its ranks – confirmed that a handful of dates will be rescheduled, while others will be cancelled, to give “time and space to grieve”.

“Ozzy wasn’t just a legend who shaped the very foundation of heavy metal and inspired Pantera from the beginning – he was family,” the post reads. “A mentor, a brother, and a constant presence in our lives both on and off the stage. The bond we shared with him ran far deeper than music.

“In light of this profound loss, we need time and space to grieve – to be with our families, our crew, and each other as we process and honor the life of someone who meant so much to us. Out of respect, and to allow members of our team the time to mourn, we will be rescheduling the following shows.”

Pantera’s July 28 show in Saratoga Springs has been shifted to September 9, while their July 31 show in Holmdel will be moved to September 8.

As a result, three later shows – July 19 in Gildford, NH; September 8 in Birmingham, AL; and September 10 in Virginia Beach, VA – have been cancelled.

Ozzy Osbourne died at the age of 76 last week, mere weeks after returning to the stage and reuniting with his Black Sabbath bandmates for his Back to the Beginning farewell show. The announcement prompted an outpouring of tributes from all corners of the music world, as well as heartfelt tributes from Ozzy’s Sabbath bandmates – Geezer Butler included.

Likewise, Wylde – who was recruited by Pantera to step into the shoes of the late Dimebag Darrell in 2023 – has also paid tribute to Ozzy in an emotional new interview with Guitar World, in which he looks back on their final moments together on stage.

Wylde’s deep-rooted connection to Ozzy traces back to the late 1980s, when he was given the unenviable task of filling a role previously held by Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee. He would go on to become Ozzy’s longest-serving guitarist, and was by the singer’s side when he performed his last solo set at Back to the Beginning.

Dimebag Darrell’s legendary Dean From Hell electric guitar has made an unlikely return to the stage in the hands of Phil Anselmo for Pantera’s recent show in Cleveland.

The sticker-laden Dean ML was originally maroon-colored when it ended up in the possession of Dimebag, who first won it in a competition in 1981.

Dime temporarily sold the instrument, but, knowing that he'd soon want the electric guitar back, Texan luthier Buddy Blaze repainted it, upgraded its hardware, and presented it to Dime as a surprise.

It became Dimebag's Number One guitar, and is the axe most commonly associated with the late guitar great, despite the fact he pivoted to Washburns in the 1990s and put the DFL into retirement.

Over three decades later, Pantera guitar tech Grady Champion has reflected on his “surreal” experience of getting the iconic guitar stage-ready for Anselmo to use on Goddamn Electric.

“I’m messing around with the OG,” he’s heard saying in a clip posted to Instagram. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is Dimebag’s number one guitar. She’s gonna have some new life tonight, [and] Philip is gonna be surprised.”

There’s a poignant moment when Champion drapes the guitar over Anselmo’s shoulder. He had no idea that the guitar was going to be handed to him as the track, from 2000 LP Reinventing the Steel, reached its riff-infested final throes.

The lightning design paint job is one Zakk Wylde – who is filling Dime’s shoes in the band for their current tour – has had wrapped around one of his Wylde Audio Warhammer guitars in tribute to Dime. In Cleveland, it met the real deal.

Clips from the social posts show clear war wounds across the Dean From Hell. Its headstock, especially, wears its history proudly on its sleeve, having helped turn Pantera from fresh-faced upstarts to one of metal's biggest acts by the time it received a well-deserved retirement.

It’s not clear if the DFL will get further stage time during the shows ahead, but either way, its rare appearance in the wild is something to celebrate.

Pantera's legacy may also be set to live on in other ways. Zakk Wylde says there have been talks of turning unfinished Dimebag demos into new songs, while Pantera superfan Kayla Kent is looking to start a new band, and her first demo shows Dime’s spirit is very much alive and kicking.

Zakk Wylde may have gotten the nod to fill Dimebag Darrell's shoes in the newly reprised Pantera, but Kayla Kent is proving once more she would have been a stellar pick for the job, nailing Dimebag's style during a phaser-drenched take on Eddie Van Halen's Ice Cream Man solo.

Kent was in fact in the running for the Pantera gig, and while Wylde turned to Guitar World buyer's guides for Dimebag tone tips, Kent probably needn't have gone to such measures, such is her insane tonal connection to the late shredder.

The YouTuber has made her name by channeling Dimebag's sonic spirit and tackling classic solos, such as Symphony of Destruction, as if Dimebag himself had performed them. This time, she’s giving one of Dime’s biggest influences the same treatment.

John Brim's blues cut was covered by Van Halen on the band's 1978 debut record, and it showcased (as every track on the album did) Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary chops, which Kent has handled with aplomb.

Interestingly, Kent's note-perfect performance also shows just how many tonal cues Dime took from his hero, the fast descending run early on morphing from EVH to Pantera tones each time she changes strings. It's wild.

Of course, there are whammy bar dives and squeals aplenty – two other tricks Dime loaded into his arsenal after falling in love with Van Halen – and Kent’s apparent effortlessness while killing it is a source of envy.

“I think Pantera might've talked about this in Hot and Heavy,” Kent writes in the video's description, “but I'm not totally sure.”

After several years of shreddy antics, Kent recently announced she wants to form a band and put out an open call to vocalists around the world. She also shared a demo of a work-in-progress track for singers to play with, and it sounds eerily like a long-lost Pantera demo.

At the time, it seemed Kent’s Pantera-esque group might represent the closest thing to new Pantera-sounding music. However, Wylde has confirmed that the current iteration of Pantera may use Dime’s raw riffs to cook up a new record.

Dimebag and Eddie had a lot of love for one another, and Eddie even offered to hand-paint him an EVH Bumblebee guitar for him. That, sadly, never came to be, as Dimebag was killed just weeks after the exchange. The guitarist was then buried with Van Halen’s original black-and-yellow-striped Bumblebee guitar.

Zakk Wylde has hinted at the possibility of Pantera releasing new material based on unfinished riffs that were recorded by the late electric guitar great, Dimebag Darrell.

The Black Label Society axeman has been serving as Pantera’s guitarist since 2022, when it was announced that the metal greats would be reforming with a new-look lineup comprising original members Rex Brown and Phil Anselmo, as well as Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.

It was first conceived as a live project that would serve as a celebration of Pantera’s music – and a tribute to both Dimebag Darrell and his late brother, Vinnie Paul – but, according to Wylde, there have been some informal, tentative talks to take the new lineup into the studio and cut new material.

And this new material could potentially bring to life unfinished songs and riffs that had once been tracked by Dimebag Darrell on a tape recorder.

When asked by Guitar World's Andrew Daly whether new Pantera music was in the pipeline, Wylde reflects, “I remember there were talks about stuff because Dime recorded tons of unfinished riffs, and there were things he had lying around.

“Like songs, or incomplete songs, or whatever he was jamming on, you know? It was just him putting stuff on a tape recorder, jamming a riff, and it coming out of an amp.”

Expanding on how Pantera could treat this unearthed material, Wylde goes on, “The way I look at it is, it’s just like if Eric Clapton was playing Mitch [Mitchell] and Noel [Redding], and honoring Jimi [Hendrix], and calling it the 'Jimi Hendrix Celebration', and they went out, and Eric was playing Jimi’s stuff with Noel and Mitch.

“And then, it’s like if they were like, ‘Bro, we have these songs that Jimi never finished. There’s one called Purple Haze, another called The Wind Cries Mary, another called Manic Depression, and another called Little Wing.’

“And it’s like, you know, ‘Jimi never… it’s just him on a tape recorder, with a rough outline of the song.’ So, it would be like if Eric, Noel, and Mitch went in there and recorded Purple Haze because Jimi had [demoed] it on acoustic guitar. It’s already written, you know what I mean?”

“It’s still the songs that Dime and Vinnie had written,” Wylde continues. “It’s just that they weren’t recorded [professionally], it was just on a tape recorder, you know? Anything like that would still be what it is: a celebration of them and a tribute to them.”

Despite the tease of new Pantera material based on old Dimebag demos, Wylde is quick to downplay expectations, and stresses there is no timeline on when – or even if – it will ever come to fruition.

“It’s just talks of it, like, if the guys would ever want to do something like that, you know?” he asserts. “And they have so many songs in their catalog, so if the guys want to do new songs and mix it up, then we’ll throw some dark horses and hidden gems out there.”

It wouldn’t be the first posthumous use of archive Dimebag Darrell gems – one of his unused solos once ended up on Nickelback’s best-selling album.

Keep your eyes peeled to GuitarWorld.com for the full interview with Zakk Wylde.

Goddamn! I just got done reading every one of the over 500 letters you’ve sent to my “Feedback Sack.” Thanks for all the cool things you’ve said about the column.

Over the past 19 issues, we’ve covered a hell of a lot of techniques, ideas, riffs and licks. Now, because a bunch of your letters included some really good questions, I’m gonna spend the next few columns answering some of them.

The most common one of all was about my gear and how I get my tone, so let’s kick off with that bad boy.

I really dig your column; it’s got megs gonads! How about some advice on getting ripping sound like yours? I’d also like to know exactly what pickups, strings, amps, pedals and rack gear you use. Thanx for all the killer lessons. Walk! – Matt Loene, Syracuse, NY

I’m more than happy to let everybody know exactly what I’ve got going on in my rig, but I’m not gonna tell you how I’ve got it all wired up! The order in which you put your shit definitely makes a big difference, and that’s something you should dick around with for yourself. For example, if you run your wah before all your forms of gain, it’ll sound different than if you place it after a distortion or EQ pedal.

It won’t sound as ferocious or effective. It also makes a big difference if you put certain units in front of your amp instead of in its FX loop and vice-versa.

For example, my bud Kirk Windstein from Crowbar uses basically the exact same rig as I do, but he wires it up in a completely different way, and he’s got an awesome sound that’s way different to mine! So I suggest that you take some time and try to wire up your shit in all the ways you can think of until you get the tone you dig best.

Another thing I recommend you dick with is using different forms of gain. There are very few amps that you can get as distorted as you want by themselves, so you’ve usually got to heat them up a little bit with a pedal of some kind.

Anyway, even if your amp has all the gain you need right out of the box, if you put another form of gain in front of it then you’ll get a completely different type of crunch or distortion. It doesn’t have to be a distortion unit either; anything that can give you more gain cool – like a clean boost or EQ pedal.

I use a little blue MXR 6-band EQ pedal I got from a pawn shop for some of my gain. The cool thing about using a graphic EQ is you can decide what frequencies you want to add crunch to by pushing those particular EQ bands up more. With a distortion or overdrive box though, the overall tone tends to get distorted. That’s why I like to use gain units rather than distortion pedals.

Altogether I run three types of gain before I even hit the amp – a hot pickup (a Bill Lawrence XL500L lead humbucker), my MXR graphic EQ and a Furman PQ-4, which I use for EQ and gain. Because I’ve got all this gain going on, my Rocktron Guitar Silencer is very important to me. I’ve got to have something that’ll shut my shit down or there’s too much hiss and uncontrollable feedback – kinda like my Feedback Sack!

Anyways, in addition to the stuff I’ve already mentioned, here’s what I use: modified Dean ML guitars; Randall Century 200 125-watt solid-state heads; Randall 412JB straight 4x12” cabinets loaded with 80-watt Jaguar speakers, for my dirty sound; and Randall 412CB straight 4x12” cabs loaded with 70-watt Celestion speakers for my clean sounds; DR strings (.009-.046 for regular and drop-D tunings; .009, .011, .016, .028, .038, .050 for guitars tuned down a whole step); an MXR Flanger/Doubler rack unit; two Digitech Whammy pedals – one on stage, one backstage – see next question); and a Vox wah. I also use a Yamaha SPX90, and a Korg G3 for my clean shit.

Just so you know, even if you get all the gear I use and wire it up the same way I do, it won’t be my sound exactly. Having said that, the rig’s there, and it’s definitely doing something! The bottom line is this: try to emulate your favorite player’s sound only as a basis to find your own tone.

“And don’t be afraid to experiment with different amps, pickups, effects, wirings, axes, etc. Try anything and everything – give it all a chance. Most important, get your rig set up the way you want it to sound. [Editor’s Note: The date of Dime’s answer to the above question was November 1994.]

I thought you used a pedal to get that high squeal during the main riff of Becoming, but when I saw you playing the song live you weren’t stepping on anything. What’s the trick there, bro?! – Ken “Z Man” Zemanek, Chicago, IL

The trick is to have a bad-assed tech like Grady Champion and let him work the Whammy pedal back there for you, so that you can dance and jam to the groove, instead of being strapped to a pedal.

That riff smokes, man, and there’s no way I could just stand still on stage in one place and play it. Grady, if you’re reading this, you @#$in’ rule 88 bud! Jimmy Johnson plus DDS pushing 12 with your name on it. Right back at ya!

I’m completely blown away by your sound and technique, and, like any guitarist, I wish I could do more on the fretboard than I can. Like you, I’m a spazzer who can’t sit down for shit and teach myself scales and things. I just like to jam! Are there any tricks of the trade you know that could give me some new lead ideas? – Wayne “Farm Boy” Farmer, Coppers Cove, TX

One word, Farm Boy – chromatics! I think a lot of people are really intrigued by all those different modes and shit, whereas I’m kinda more inclined to take a lick and then try and move it up or down the neck chromatically, one fret at a time. It’s the simplest thing in the world to do, and it can sound killer!

Try it, man – sit there and burn on a lick like the simple A minor one shown in the first bar of Figure 1. Then, start moving it chromatically up the fretboard, toward the bridge, like in bars 2 and 3.

Although I take this lick up an entire octave (12 frets) here, you don’t have to do that; you can start and stop wherever you like ’cause, for the millionth time in Riffer Madness, there are no rules!

I mean, you could just stop at the 10th fret, like in Figure 2. Moving a lick chromatically down the neck works really well too. Check it out. Figure 3 is just me flipping the previous lick around on its head.

Moving a riff chromatically can also be a good way of adding tension to a song. I do this sometimes, like in the middle of Shedding Skin (Far Beyond Driven), for example.

How did you make the cool-sounding chirping noise that ends your solo in Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks [Far Beyond Driven]? – Tom Gillis, Seattle, WA

What I’m doing there is bending the G note on the high E string’s 15th fret and then tapping the same string at the 22nd fret with the edge of my pick, while gradually releasing the bend. I start off making a straight up and down ‘chopping’ motion with my pick that gets smaller as the ‘chirp’ gets faster.

Then, once I’m ‘chopping’ as fast as I can, I start going back and forth with my pick, kinda like I’m sawing the string. If your pick is beat up a bit and has some small grooves in it, that’ll help too. To make the trill jump out a little more on the album, I overdubbed a harmony part to it.

I think it’s great how you use part of your songs to make points in your column lessons. After listening to This Love [Vulgar Display of Power], I’m curious how you control such wide bends. I tried to figure it out but was unsuccessful. Help! – Jake Kouns, Centerville, VA

To be accurate when you’re doing big-assed bends like the ones in This Love, you’ve gotta use your ears, man – it’s all a matter of pitch and control. Another thing that will help give you more control over your bending is using more than one finger to do the bend.

For example, when I bend a note with my little finger, I help it out with my other three fingers. The guys at Guitar World tell me that the correct term for this is reinforced bend fingering.

Do you use your pinkie a lot? I haven’t been playing long, and whenever I use mine, the tip of it hurts like hell. I’ll work on it though, if you think it’ll make me play better. Thanx, man, lata! – Scott Scholze, Silvedale, LA

I’d definitely advise you to use your pinkie, bro. I use mine all the time! On wide-stretch ideas, you’ve gotta have it there, and it comes in real handy when you’re jamming on a riff on the low E and A strings too. If you don’t use it much, try throwing it in there ’cause you might come up with something cool that you’ve never done before.

I mean, the A minor blues lick in Figure 4 would be pretty tough to play if you don’t use your pinkie. Using your little finger definitely opens up the neck more, so why limit yourself? Don’t be one of those people that goes: ‘Oh, my pinkie’s weak; I ain’t gonna use it.’ It’s there, so why not use the #$%*er?

My all-time favorite Pantera cut is Use My Third Arm [Far Beyond Driven]. It totally crushes! I’ve managed to figure out how to play all of it except for one single *#$in’ chord, and it’s driving me crazy! What’s the shape you use during the intro and verse? I’ve tried everything, and nothing sounds right. Please help me before they lock me in a padded cell and throw away the key! – Wayne Stevens, Phoenix, AZ

That’s a real *#$$ed up chord and, to be honest I don’t even know what it’s called. For that song, my guitar is tuned to D standard (low to high: D G C F A D), so everything sounds a whole step lower.

The chord shape you’re talking about is shown here in Figure 5 [below]. I guess it’s an inverted Eb power chord with an F, the 2nd, on the low E string, if there is such a chord! Remember, there are no rules! If something sounds good, run with it, bro!

If you have any tips on getting a record deal or anything else to do with making it in the business, I’d be grateful if you shared them. Thank you, from an aspiring guitarist. – Jason Tousignant, Corinth, NY

Two words, man – time and perseverance. That’s what it takes to get anywhere in this business. My bandmates and I were jamming together for eight or nine years before we got signed.

“So hang tough, and give your shit to as many people as you can! The main thing is to have your own style, and that kinda thing doesn’t happen overnight. Hell, it took us nearly eight years to find ourselves and get our Cowboys from Hell identity together. It is possible to get a deal though, I swear – I’m living proof!

I’ve been playing for just over two years now and can wail on pretty fast riffs, like the ones in Cowboys from Hell. But I have trouble nailing some of your slower, simpler-to-play power grooves. I don’t understand this, man! Slow riffs should surely be easier to play than faster ones, right? – Terry Herrington, Sydney, Australia

That’s a good question, bro. Some people think that playing fast takes a whole lot of talent, but I’ll tell ya: playing real slow and being able to keep in the groove while not rushing the beat is the shit too!

My buds in Crowbar jam on some really slow, heavy riffs, and they definitely ain’t as easy to play as they may seem. You gotta pay real close attention to the groove and resist the tendency to rush. Hang loose, hold back and let your ears decide when you should hit the next note, not your fingers!

Could you please explain how you do that cool “cross-handed sliding trick” in the second half of your epic solo in Walk [Vulgar Display of Power]? – Tommy Himes, Angola, IN

A bunch of you have written in, asking about the fake echo technique I use about two-thirds of the way through my Walk solo, so here goes.

It’s real simple, actually: all I’m doing is repeatedly sliding up the G string from the 2nd fret to around the 14th fret, alternating hands. Figure 6 is an A minor lick similar to the one in Walk that incorporates this fake echo technique. Here’s how it goes:

• While you’re doing the bend at the beginning, reach over with your right (pick) hand and “capo” (barre) the G string at the 2nd fret with your middle finger (see PHOTO A), before you do a pull-off with your left (fret) hand.
• As soon as you pull-off your LH, start sliding your RH middle finger up the G string towards the bridge.
• While your RH is sliding, fret the G string at the 2nd fret with your LH index finger.
• When your RH slide gets to around the 14th fret, pull-off your RH finger off the string and then start sliding your LH finger up the neck.
• While your LH is sliding, fret the G string at the 2nd fret with your RH middle finger.
• Pull-off your LH finger when it reaches around the 14th fret and start sliding your RH finger up the G string.
• While your RH is sliding, fret the G string at the 2nd fret with your LH index finger.
• When your RH slide gets to around the 14th fret, pull-off your RH finger off the string and start sliding your LH finger up the neck.
• Stop your LH slide at the 14th fret and add some vibrato.

Got it? If you don’t, check out the Walk video ’cause there’s a close-up of me doing it during the solo. And remember, there are no rules, so dick with shit, experiment and let’s get it out here. Lata!

But first, a brief backstory by Nick Bowcott! Back in 1993, GW’s editors decided to run with an idea that would become a mainstay of the magazine to this day – monthly artist columns.

Two bona fide guitar heroes, Kirk Hammett and Eric Johnson, agreed to do six installments each, but the editors wanted to enlist one more columnist, ideally an up-and-coming player.

Because I had been commissioned to work with said artists on putting together their columns, I was asked if I had any suggestions. My answer was instantaneous – “Diamond Darrell of Pantera. He’s the one!”

I had previously interviewed the guitarist for a one-off lesson article for the magazine and was blown away by his playing, personality, passion and unique and colorful way of explaining things, which the guys at GW and I came to lovingly refer to as “Dimebonics.”

He and I had also become good friends, so I knew working with him would be a blast. Editor-in-Chief Brad Tolinski agreed and, thankfully, so did the Texan Tornado. And so Diamond Darrell’s “Riffer Madness” column was born.

NOTE: Up to and including Pantera’s pivotal sophomore major-label album, 1992’s Vulgar Display of Power, Abbott’s nickname was “Diamond Darrell.” But when Far Beyond Driven was released in 1994, his name was listed as “Dimebag Darrell.” Said album reached Number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, and the rest is history.

As already mentioned, the initial plan for Riffer Madness was a six-issue run. But due to the enthusiastic reader response to the first few installments, he was soon asked if he’d like to continue the column.

Thanks to all the positive feedback he was getting, plus the fact that he genuinely enjoyed writing the column, he happily agreed. As a result, that first run of monthly columns totalled 28, all bearing his Diamond Darrell name.

Then, in 2000, the celebrated guitarist-turned-columnist returned with another 14 installments, this time as Dimebag Darrell. His plan was to return for a third run in 2005, but, tragically, that never happened.

To celebrate the amazing 42 Riffer Madness episodes that Darrell selflessly gifted us with, here’s a collection of column highlights that focus on the all-important arts of riffing and rhythm work. So, as Dime stated when Riffer Madness debuted in the April 1993 issue of Guitar World, “Let’s plug in and start wailin’!”

Without further ado, I hand the pen over to Mr. Abbott.

Riff rap

To me and my band, guitar riffs are what it’s all about. We know that every time we jam on a great riff, we’ve got a fighting chance of writing a great song. You don’t have to go to G.I.T. or know a bunch of weird-assed chords and scales to come up with killer shit, Jack.

But, you’ve gotta be totally into what you’re doing. Check out Judas Priest’s British Steel if you don’t believe me. It’s packed full of god-like riffs, and most of them aren’t hard to play. If you don’t already own this album, buy it – it’s essential shit, man! Here are a couple of ideas that might help you get the most out of a good, heavy riff.

Octave repeats

One of our audience’s favorite riffs is the main one in Cowboys from Hell. It’s a pretty easy one to play ’cause it’s made up of one of the first rock scales we all learn – the E minor blues scale (see Figures 1 and 2).

The first time you hear this riff is in the intro, where I play it an octave higher than I do during the rest of the track. Hearing it an octave higher is like an appetizer – it introduces you to the riff and makes you hungry for more. It also makes the full-blown version sound really heavy when it kicks in. I guess you could say the intro is the “body blow” and the main riff is the “knockout punch.”

My buddy Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains does the same sort of thing on Would? [from Dirt]. He starts off by playing the verse riff in a higher register then slams you in the teeth when the vocals hit by playing it an octave lower.

To give the main Cowboys riff even more power, I play open-string root-5th power chords on the E and A notes (Figures 3 and 4) instead of just playing single notes, as I do in the intro. I also add some low-end “chunk” to the riff by applying some heavy-duty palm muting (P.M.).

I use the idea of repeating a riff in different octaves during the bridge of Cowboys, too. This definitely makes that part sound cooler than if I had just played that [descending] run in the same register twice.”

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Dime also often used this compositional technique of repeating a musical motif an octave higher or lower when playing lead, like at the start of his epic solo in the aforementioned Cowboys from Hell and also the one in Psycho Holiday (Cowboys from Hell), to name but two. Check them out. It’s an idea well worth embracing!]

Texas-style half-step bends

Using string bends instead of just playing regular, unbent notes can definitely help give certain riffs a cooler, heavier vibe.

• Note: For Figures 5 to 13 guitar is tuned down one whole step D-G-C-F-A-D

Take the opening riff to Walk, for example. I guess you could play the notes “straight” without the “greasy” string bend-and-release (Figure 5 illustrates said “straight” approach), but the “real way” sounds way better to me, man! It’s much heavier and nastier, and that’s what we’re looking for, bud – weak riffs are out!

I do the same kinda thing on the opening riff to Revolution Is My Name (Reinventing the Steel). Here’s the twist I put on it… I call it “Texas style!” What I do is scoot back a fret from the notes I heard in my head and then bend up to each one from a half step below while also adding a pick squeal (Figures 6a and 6b).

When I was jerking around with the original riff idea, I figured it would sound way more interesting if I did a slow, deliberate half-step bend up to each one, because as soon as each bend starts, your ear wants to hear the note come up to pitch.

Some people do this sorta thing a lot when they’re playing lead, but most of ’em don’t bother to do it at all when they’re riffing out on the low strings.

For some reason, a lot of guitarists who can play killer leads get real sterile on their rhythm stuff; they don’t bend notes, and they’re all too careful about playing their chords dead straight. Then, when they cut to lead, they start bending notes and adding vibrato all over the place.

Lead rhythm and bending chords

The way I’ve always looked at my rhythm playing is almost like I’m playing lead on the big strings anyway. Because of this I use vibrato and bends on the big strings as well as one the little ones… and not just on single-note stuff, either. Sometimes throwing down a bend or some vibrato on a power chord is cool, too! For example, let’s take a fairly mediocre riff like Figure 7a.

To make it more evil and interesting sounding, try this: instead of using a regular G5 power chord, bend an F#5 shape up to G5, like in Figure 7b. Bending two different notes up exactly half-a-step at exactly the same time is kinda difficult at first, but stick with it ’cause it sounds great when you get it down. You can hear me doing this at the end of Hollow (Vulgar Display of Power).

Don't skitz – hang tough!

The breakdown riff at 2:05 in We’ll Grind that Axe for a Long Time (Reinventing the Steel) has got some [root/5th power] chord bends happening, too, and they’re actually whole-step bends. To do each bend, I pull the low E string (which is tuned down to D) with my index finger and the A string (tuned to G) with my pinkie, with some help from my ring finger (Figure 8a).

The bend raises the pitch of the chord the same as if you were to slide it two frets up the neck (Figure 8b), but it’s smoother sounding. That’s why I chose to go with the bend instead of the slide. Half the trick of this move is trying to keep the chord decently in tune while you’re bending it.

If your 1st finger bends more than your pinkie, then the chord is gonna go sour. Don’t get me wrong – it’s cool to get a little out of whack, but at the same time you’re trying to hold the chord in tune as much as possible while the bend is going on. It’s a total ear/feel thing – your ear is wanting to hear something and is telling you where to go while your fingers are feeling and controlling the bend.

Don’t freak if you can’t nail these chord bends right away. Just keep hanging with it and it’ll come. Because you’re bending the big strings here, you might have to do it a few times to build up some strength in your fingers, if you’re not used to doing it. There’s a lot more mass down there, compared to the thinner strings!

Also, you obviously have to bend the low strings by pulling them into your palm rather than pushing them upwards, like you normally do with the little strings, so that might take some getting used to, as well.

The fact that my guitar is always tuned down a hair lower than a quarter step below concert pitch, plus down an additional whole step in this case, helps with the looseness of the strings. But it’s still a pretty big bend. It doesn’t have to be perfect, though. So just catch a vibe and roll with it.

Unique tuning offset

Editor’s Note: Per Darrell’s renowned, long-time guitar tech, Grady “Dragon” Champion, here’s the scoop on Dime’s unusual guitar tuning offset: Whether it’s down a half step (Eb standard), drop-D, drop-C# or some other variant, it was always an additional 60 cents flat of concert pitch (slightly lower than a quarter tone, which is 50 cents).

Says Grady: “To us, E is really D# plus 40 cents. Likewise, A is really G# plus 40 cents, D is really C# plus 40 cents, and so on.” Now you know why it’s so hard to tune to a lot of Pantera songs.

Sinister slides

Sliding from one power chord to another can also help make a riff sound more sinister. I got the idea from listening to Tony Iommi in Black Sabbath, and I do it a lot.

For example, check out Mouth for War (Vulgar Display of Power). So, if I wanted to make a riff like Figure 9a sound nastier, I’d probably throw in a chord-slide and maybe a chord-bend too (Figure 9b).

Which one sounds better? C’mon, there’s no contest! Figure 9b kicks Figure 9a’s sorry ass! Like I’ve said before, sometimes even the simplest shit can be really bad-assed… as long as it’s played aggressively. It’s all about attitude, man – meaning playing it like you mean it!

Long, single-note slides

There are two things you have to remember when doing really long slides that don’t have a set starting place, like this one, “from nowhere in particular” to the 10th fret on the 6th string (Figure 10), which is along the lines of what I do in the verse riff of Goddamn Electric (Reinventing the Steel).

First, you’ve gotta let off the strings a tad with your fret hand and just let them slide under your fingers. If you press too hard on the strings when you’re doing a long slide up or down the neck, it probably won’t come out right.

It's about the destination, not the journey

The other thing to remember when you’re sliding a long way is this: it’s the destination that’s important, man. It doesn’t really matter how you get there or where you start the slide.

The trick is knowing where to stop and making sure that you don’t get there too early or too late. So, keep your fret hand loose, use your ears and eyes and, with a bit of practice, you’ll be nailing long assed-slides like the ones in the Goddamn Electric verse every time.

Rules? There are no rules

My musical knowledge is pretty limited, scale-wise. I know the major scale, the minor scale, the pentatonic blues scale and the chromatic scale, but that’s about it, man! If I can learn a new scale somewhere I’m definitely open to it. I’m not down on scales, it’s just that I’m more into riffing and jamming as opposed to book-school theory reading.

“Be raw” – that’s what I always say. I’m always experimenting with new note ideas because in my style there are no rules. Always remember this, and never be afraid to cut loose.

Hell, if you find yourself hanging on a bad note, you can always tighten it up by bending, sliding it, or dumping or yanking your whammy bar… don’t skitz on this though, just keep an open mind and experiment. Whatever the song calls for and whatever you’re hearing is fair game.

Chromatic man

In case you don’t know what chromatic means, let me explain: it means every goddamned note! So, to play chromatically, all you do is move up or down a string one fret at a time.

Simple shit, but it can sound really cool. I use chromatic movement a lot in my riffs because it adds a pushing/pulling kinda tension. It almost reminds me of running up and down a flight of stairs, one step at a time – 12 steps to the top, and 12 steps to the bottom.

A chromatic passage can add mood and aggression to a part. If you’ve never dicked around with this idea, then check this out. Say you have a simple riff like Figure 11. Instead of just going from E to G and then back to E, try moving between them chromatically, like in Figure 12.

You can do this between any chords or notes. It just depends on what you wanna create. This is a simple idea, but it kicks ass.

Scope it out and then take it further. Good examples of riffs based on chromatic thinking are the main one in A New Level (Vulgar Display of Power), the pre-chorus of Cowboys…, the first bridge riff of This Love and pretty much all of the riffs in We’ll Grind That Axe for a Long Time. That last cut is big-time chromatic.

Hopefully this will inspire you to jam out some cool chromatic-based riffs of your own. Keep shredding ass and hang raw!

Palm muting tips

Palm-muting a note or power chord by resting the heel of your picking hand on the strings as they go over the bridge is a pretty basic and essential metal guitar playing technique that, if done correctly, can add a shitload of ballsy chunk to a riff. But there are a couple of things you have to watch out for when doing this.

For me, the best place to palm-mute the strings is right where they go over the bridge or just a hair in front of that. If you go too far forward though, you’ll choke the string so much it’ll just be dead-sounding and will make a racket rather than a note. Also, you don’t want to go too far back the other way either, otherwise you’ll end up muting jack shit. So, dick around until you find the sweet spot that hums – you’ll definitely know when you find it.

Don’t be too heavy handed when palm-muting, especially if you’re using light strings and you’ve got your action set low. Some nights when we’re playing live, I’ll be really fired up and will be playing so super-hard that I won’t even be aware that I’m just crunching down on my muting so hard that it doesn’t even sound like I’m playing notes anymore.

This happens because I’m pushing the strings down so far that they start kinda hitting the frets and making a weird, clanking noise. Whenever this happens, I’ll walk back to my rig and my tech Grady [Champion] will go, “Ease up, son; you’re killing it!”

Seeing as guitar playing is either muscle or finesse, if you’re gonna strangle it then use heavy-assed strings with an action that’s set high enough, so you have more room to lean into the strings. If you choose to go this route, you’ll be able to pretty much mute as hard as you want. Keep in mind though, that setting your guitar up this way will also make it much more difficult to play.

If your axe has a whammy system, like a Floyd Rose, and it is set up to be “floating,” so that you can pull notes up as well as push them down, that’s another trick you’ve got to master.

With a floating bridge, you have to be real careful when palm muting because, if you rest your hand too far back on the bridge, then you’re gonna push the back of it down and make your strings go sharp. Of course, this isn’t a problem if your guitar has a fixed bridge or a non-floating tremolo setup.

Choking up on your pick

Another thing to watch out for when you’re chunking on a fast riff is not to stick your pick too far into the strings. Think about it. You can’t really haul ass if you’re pulling a big piece of the pick across the strings, can you?

Also, doing this can make the string start flapping too much and, if you’re not careful, that starts messing up the pitch of the note.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you pitter around and play wimpy. I’m just saying that it’s a good idea to “choke up” a little bit on your pick, clasping it a little bit closer to its pointy tip, so that too much if it isn’t sticking out past your fingers.

The ups and downs of picking

To make sure I get maximum chunk happening on the palm muted low-string sections of a riff, like the pre-verse riff of Revolution Is My Name (Reinventing the Steel), I play ’em using downstrokes only.

Actually, that first bar, which is eighth-note triplets played at around 140 beats per minute, as in Figure 13, is pretty close to my breaking point. If it were any faster, I’d probably switch to alternate (down-up) picking. I’d imagine that’s true for most people… unless, of course, you’re James Hetfield! That dude is the king of down picking, no question about it.

As I’ve said a lot of times in interviews, I don’t necessarily try to play everything using just down picking as a rule anyway, because I do a lot of up picking in songs like Cowboys… and whatnot. Although downstrokes are more consistent, mechanical and machine-gun like.

But sometimes I feel I can get more chunk and grind by using upstrokes too, so I’ll alternate pick. Upstrokes definitely have a different attack than downstrokes, and this can suit certain riffs better.

One of the cool things about upstrokes is, when you’re doing them on your low E string, you can dig in deep with your pick and hit the string real hard without having to worry about hitting another string.

Also, the way I do upstrokes is almost like I’m doing a pick scrape. As opposed to just picking straight across the string, I kinda drag the pick across it to get a “scrap” happening just before the note sounds.

Pick scratching, not scraping

When I play live, I jump around like an idiot for 90 minutes under a lighting rig that’s hotter than hell. This makes me sweat like a pig and makes it really hard to keep a firm grip on my picks, even those that are supposed to be non-slip.

Losing control of your pick on stage sucks, so either I or Grady scratch some deep Xs into both sides of my pick (see photo above) with something sharp like a dart. Doing this makes your picks look like shit, but at least you won’t look like a nincompoop when you drop one in the middle of a solo!

Learning from others by listening

Some folks tend to get really intimidated when they come across someone who really rips on guitar. But not me, pops. I get inspired! As far as I’m concerned, playing is not a competition. Hearing someone smoke always lights my fire and makes me try out new ideas and learn new shit.

I don’t sit down with a pile of records and try to cop licks, though. What I’m into is checking out the player’s overall vibe and approach and learning from that. Use your ears and learn all you can from anything. Listen!

Pinkie power and EVH

When I first started playing guitar, one of my biggest influences was Eddie Van Halen. I kept seeing pictures of him doing big-assed left-hand stretches, and that inspired me to start dicking around with some wide-stretch ideas of my own, like the two E minor licks in Figures 14 and 15.

Another thing I learned from studying those pictures was the importance of my little finger. It’s there, so use it! It definitely gives you more reach!

Awkwardly cool symmetrical runs

As I got to know my guitar neck better, I realized that there was an E note at the 19th fret on the A string – HOW ’BOUT THAT! Then, when I was jamming around one day, I thought to myself: “Hey I know some wide-stretch E minor licks (like the one in Figure 15) that also use the 19th fret, why don’t I try moving that fingering pattern idea across each string, from high to low, until I finish up on the E note at the 19th fret of the A string (Figure 16)?”

Since the fingering pattern in Figure 16 is exactly the same on each string, a lot of guys call this kind of thing a symmetrical run. It’s simple, but cool. To be honest, I have no idea what the hell scales this run uses because I’m not a cat that’s heavy on theory.

All I know is it sounds awkwardly cool in the key of E minor, and that’s all that matters. Listen closely and let your ears decide what notes are right or wrong! Anyway, because this idea worked, that’s how I got into futzing around with symmetrical runs in a major way.

Rut busting

Whenever you feel like you’re stuck in a playing rut, always try and remember two things: one, you ain’t the only player that gets hit with this shit; we all go through it from time to time. And two, you’re not always gonna be stuck there, so don’t freak out!

The only way that’ll happen is if you let it. So don’t get bummed out and go, “Fuck it, I quit!” That’s a dumb-assed, loser attitude. Instead, get to work, man. If you want to get out of a rut bad enough, you will. But it’s up to you. No-one else is ever gonna do it for you.

Fatherly advice

One day, when I was learning to play guitar, I was stomping around the house all pissed off because my playing was in a bit of a rut. My dad, who’s a great guitarist, said something that I’ve always remembered.

He asked me, “can you learn a new lick today?” I said, “of course I can.” Then he said, “well son, if you decided to learn just one new lick a day, how many would you have at the end of the year?”

Think about it, man! The possibilities are staggering. Shit! If I knew a lick for every beer or Black Tooth I’ve had, I can’t even imagine how much extra knowledge I’d have!

The importance of others

To me, a sure-fire way to get into a rut is to sit around and play by yourself all the time. You’ve gotta get out there and jam! You don’t have to necessarily be in a band. All you need is a couple of buddies who play.

And they don’t have to be guitarists either, jamming with a bassist or a drummer is cool. Jamming with other people creates energy and excitement. You can feed off that, and it will help push you to do things you’d never dream of by yourself.

Be yourself, by yourself

If you have no buds to jam with, you can always record a rhythm part yourself and then wail a lead over it. I used to do that all the time. Don’t always jam over the same sort of stuff though, or you could fall into a rut.

Whenever I’d get tired of soloing over heavy riffs in E, I’d come up with something in a completely different key that had a completely different feel to it. Sometimes a change of mood and key can help you find fresh lead ideas. This laid-back, bluesy B minor riff in Figure 17 is a good example of what I’m talking about here.

Signing off

Hopefully I’ve helped open some ears and eyes! Let all the ideas I’ve put in your heads come as they will – subconsciously and naturally. And remember. It’s all good; everything goes; and there ain’t no damned rules nor boundaries. So, get off! Tear it a fresh ass. Tear it hard. Rip gaping holes in it. Make tracks – leave marks!!!

Forever, Stronger Than All.

Pantera-obsessed YouTuber Kayla Kent has shared a demo of her new band in the hopes of finding a singer – and she channels the spirit of Dimebag with grace and power.

Her hero-mirroring talents even saw her in the running to be part of Pantera’s much-anticipated reunion, eventually losing out to Dimebag’s close friend Zakk Wylde.

Perhaps Kent's near-miss has inspired her to push her chops down a more creative avenue, however, with a new band in the works. The shredder shared a demo of their first song, entitled Big Groovvy, and it sounds like an unreleased cut from Reinventing The Steel, full of sleek turns, chunky power chord riffs, and squealing licks.

The tone is impressively close to Dimebag’s signature scooped sound, and there’s a delicious wah-soaked solo for good measure.

It certainly fills the void Pantera left – even if former producer Sterling Winfield says it's “entirely possible” the current tribute lineup will release new music.

However, Kent’s new venture is currently missing one vital ingredient.

“I really don't want to do this this way, but I pretty much have no choice now,” she says in a new video. “In my two years of experience doing covers on YouTube, I get asked constantly 'Where's all your original music?'”

“We're primarily focused on just writing bangers,” she continues. “We're looking for someone who has the same thing in mind. The music that we wanna write is exactly as you'd expect. I like metal that has grooves and hooks, and that's what we're gonna set out to make.”

As much as her unwillingness to go public with her search is understandable, it isn’t a bad move, either. The Smashing Pumpkins did exactly the same thing when looking for a Jeff Schroeder replacement. An incredible 10,000 guitarists applied with Kiki Wong emerging victorious.

She points out that she has been publishing original music content on her channel, but after making “cute indie tracks” with the help of Garage Band MIDI drums, she's ready to go full-bore metal with a proper band.

The foundation for the band comes from herself, and her friends Matt and Renee on bass and drums, and, impressively, they've been jamming for 30 years now.

“In that time we've written some really cool stuff, but it's remained unfortunately unfinished because we don't have a singer,” the guitarist expands. “I've been trying to find a singer in private for a while now, and I've been really disappointed. Finding a singer is really fucking hard – it took years for Pantera to find Phil [Anselmo] after Terry [Glaze] left the band.”

Kent, then, is on the hunt for an “aggressive” vocalist who “fits the same vibe that we do”. However, the trio isn't looking for the band to take over their lives, with gigs here and there, the only real goal.

Kent may not get quite as many singers applying, but it is likely to make her search much easier.

Singers who like the sound of the project can email their audition tapes (read: WAVs) to kaylakentplaysguitar@gmail.com with the subject ‘BIG GROOVY AUDITION’.

Last year, Kent’s online fanbase helped her build her own Dime-honoring Kramer guitar after the luthier refused to get involved with her project, and the results were pretty damn impressive.

One of Dime’s many great recorded solos, the one in Floods – from Pantera’s The Great Southern Trendkill – is one of the most celebrated and beloved. And we’re not just talking about his stunning, emotive lead break in the song.

Let’s not forget about Dime’s hauntingly catchy a capella outro passage, which he painted with moody musical perfection on a sonic thunderstorm tapestry.

In fact, when Zakk Wylde plays this arpeggiated outro live, it’s one of the most emotional moments of the electrifying Pantera Celebration concerts. And the enormous impact the outro has on the sold-out arena crowds is made even more powerful by the video montage of the late Abbott brothers, Dime and Vinnie, that’s projected on-screen while Wylde pays homage to his dear friend.

Built around what Dime would refer to as “the Police chord,” in reference to the wide-stretch,“spread-eagle” root-5-add9 chord shape guitarist Andy Summers used extensively in Message in a Bottle, you may have noticed that the Floods outro has a different tone from the rest of the track.

To find out why, read on. I’ll briefly set the scene and then let Dime flush out the Floods outro backstory, one that I keep in my “You just can’t make this shit up” file.

It was about 5:30 in the morning and I was pulling an all-nighter, working on a crunch deadline for the Dimebag “Destroyer! Pantera Returns” cover story for the June 1996 issue of Guitar World. I was busy transcribing the tapes of the lengthy interviews I’d done with Dime at “Camp Strapped” (his nickname for his Texas home), when the phone rang.

“What freaking jack-off would call me at this time of the morning?” I thought to myself as I hit the pause button on my tape recorder and listened as my answering machine picked up. To my amazement, the voice I heard was the same one I was transcribing – it was Dime!

“Hitchcock! Pick up the damned phone,” he shouted. Needless to say, I took the call immediately.

“Nicolas Cage! [one of Dime’s nicknames for me, alongside “Hitchcock”] I’m sorry to call you at such a fucked-up time, but I need your help!” he said. “We’re in New York mastering the album, and I need to re-cut a part this morning. Trouble is, I don’t have any of my shit with me. Is there any way you can get a guitar and a Korg G3 [a digital multi-effects pedal Dime not only liked but endorsed] to me by 9 a.m. today?

“I wrote down Darrell’s hotel room number, the studio address, plus the tuning and string gauges he wanted and promised I’d do everything I could to make it happen. Dime said a Les Paul would definitely do the trick. The only problem was I’m a left-handed player, so one of my guitars wouldn’t cut it, and I didn’t have a Korg G3 at home either.

I poured through my address book and was lucky enough to get ahold of Steve Pisani from Sam Ash Music on 48th Street in New York City. Not only was Pisani fine with me calling him at home (I was nice enough to wait until 7 a.m.) at the crack of dawn, he also was happy to help and stepped up to the plate like the true champ he is.

As a result, a Les Paul (set up and intonated for Dime’s string gauges and tuning) and a G3 were picked up and delivered to the mastering studio by 9 a.m., per Dime’s plea. Phew! If you’re reading this, Mr. Pisani, thanks again; you rule, my friend!

Scene set. As promised, I now hand this over to the words of the late, great Dimebag Darrell, as they will fill you in on the “before and after” segments of this unusual tale.

“This is a pretty good story,” laughed Dime when we chatted about it a few days later. “What happened was this: I remember I was all buzzed-up at the studio one night while we were recording Floods.

“It was really late, and I’d been working all night, but I just wanted to record that ending part that goes over the rain, so that I could hear how it worked with the song as a whole. So I just grabbed this guitar that was lying in the corner and laid the part down on tape in one take.

“The trouble was, that guitar was way out of strobe [intonation] and I remember it sounding kinda sour and messed-up when the part starts to go higher up the neck. I heard it right away, but I didn’t care at the time because I had intended to go back later and re-record the fucker on a properly strobed-out [intonated] guitar. All I wanted to do at the time was hear how the part fitted before I crashed for the night. Somehow, though, like a jackass, I forgot to fix the thing!

“So, there we were, sitting in the mastering suite in New York. I hear it and go, ‘Oh, fuck, I forgot to fix the son-of-a-bitch… I can’t live with that.’ I just plain freaked out. I mean, how could I possibly let such a sour-sounding, outta-tune thing slip by?

“We were on a really tight production deadline, and it was really late, but I had to redo it, no matter what. So, we worked through the night and mastered pretty much everything except that one song. Then we split to get a few hours of sleep before finishing up, and that’s when I called you.

“First thing in the morning, a runner came into the studio with the loaner guitar and the Korg G3 pedal you’d set up, and I went, ‘Okay, I’m gonna record it straight to my DAT [Digital Audio Tape] machine and then we’ll fly it in.’ This dude from the record label was there and was totally freaking out.

“His voice was all shaky, and he went, ‘You’re gonna record a part when we’re mastering? You can’t do that! It’s never been done, and I have to have the whole album finished up immediately. There’s a car waiting downstairs and it’s gonna leave in 45 minutes with the mastered album to get it printed. You don’t understand – it’s the Elektra way! We have to have it right away!’”

“I said, ‘No dude, you don’t understand! This is the Pantera way – whatever it takes!’ I set up my shit in another room and went to record the part, but this dickhead from the label had gotten me all wound up. There I was, early in the morning, hungover, trying to record this laidback, mellow part when I was anything but laidback and mellow.

“It just wasn’t clicking. So I slugged back a few beers and a Blacktooth Grin or three [one of Dime’s drinks of choice, consisting of a healthy dose of Crown Royal or Seagram’s 7 whiskey with a splash of Coke], got in the groove and went for it again. I plugged straight into the G3 and played the part two or three times, direct to DAT.

“I then took it into the mastering room, got Vinnie to choose the one he liked the best, and we flew it in. And the record company man got the finished album on time, too. Goddamn! That’s one hell of a story, even though I say it myself!”

“With Pantera the thing is that their crew was such an important part of the band,” says legendary Pantera producer Terry Date. “They were like family, too.”

If you’ve seen the infamous Pantera “Home Videos,” you know just how true Date’s statement is.

As you can see below, we managed to track down a few of the original Pantera road crew to ask them what made Dime a true one-off.

Grady Champion (Dime’s guitar tech)

“Dime was just so special – not only as a guitar player, but also in the way he treated people. It was always next level. Nobody was a stranger, everyone was a friend. And his playing was pure passion and skill.

“He always played from the heart and soul, and I don’t think that’s lost on anybody who listens to him play. As a guitarist and a guy, he was absolutely the complete package.”

Guy Sykes (tour manager)

“I think the biggest thing is the way Dime plays with so much feeling. Every note just resonates. It’s as if he took Jimmy Page, Brian May, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Ace Frehley, Billy Gibbons and so many more and threw it in a blender with his own unique playing style and a bit of Texas shuffle. His playing seems vaguely familiar but is absolutely unique.”

Sterling Winfield (ex-bass tech, engineer and co-producer of Reinventing the Steel)

“As Eddie Van Halen said, Dime was an original. It takes an original to know an original; Eddie recognized that, and I think we all knew it, too. I think things like that endure; they stand the test of time.

“All these people you hold in high regard – Eddie, Hendrix, Page, Clapton and Iommi – they’re originals; and I think there’s a continuing timelessness to any original, when you hear them, you immediately know who it is.

“The same is true of Dime; when you hear that sound and that style you immediately know it’s him. That’s why Dime endures; no-one did it before him. A million afterwards, but no-one before him.”

Sonny Satterfield (lighting director)

“I first saw him at a very young age. He was 16 or 17, and he was already jumping on people’s tables with cocktails on them, flipping the guitar backwards while playing it; what a showman and an amazing player he was. He was doing all these tricks while playing the songs and licks perfectly. So, even back then I knew he was destined for greatness.

“I think that just like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen, his legacy is going to carry on for generations, because Dime is in the same category as the other four gentlemen I just mentioned.

“His playing and his music stand the test of time – you can see it at the Pantera Celebration shows today. Me and Grady are there, and we see guys our age with their kids and their grandkids! And the 9-year-old is rocking out with their 60-year-old grandpa!”

• Special thanks to Rita Haney for her help gathering quotes.

World-renowned metal producer and engineer Terry Date hasn’t just amassed a profoundly impressive discography (Soundgarden, Deftones, Prong, White Zombie, Slipknot, Dream Theater, Limp Bizkit); he was also the man behind the desk for Pantera’s first four major-label albums – Cowboys from Hell (1990), Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Far Beyond Driven (1994) and The Great Southern Trendkill (1996).

He looks back at his fondest memories of working with Dimebag Darrell in the studio – and why sometimes he was just trying to keep up…

How quick was Dimebag in the recording studio?

“He was incredibly fast. Walk is a really good example of the way he worked in the studio. Once we were done with Vinnie’s drums, Dime laid down his first rhythm track really quickly; I mean, he probably did it in about half an hour. Then it took us the rest of the day to do the double and then the triple of it.

“We spent massive amounts of time making sure the double was the same as the first one. All the attacks were exactly on time, and all the palm-mutes on the back of that main riff were also dead on time. This way, when you listen to that riff, the thump when he palm-muted the strings at the end of it almost becomes three-dimensional.”

“In fact, if you’re sitting in the right spot, you could almost hear it behind your head. We spent hours making sure that was exactly right, and then we had the triple to do on top of that. And then Rex came in and basically quadrupled that riff on the bass. [Laughs] That song took a whole day to do the rhythm guitars and bass, I believe.

“That’s typically how it went as far as his rhythm; the first track would be recorded pretty quickly, and then mirror imaging took longer because Dime wanted it so tight. Plus, because we were recording on tape, you couldn’t get it close and then use a computer to manipulate it. This was real hands on strings, so it took a while. But it sounds real too, and that’s always a good thing!

“All those years I worked with Pantera, we recorded those songs on 24 tracks of tape, and that was it; we didn’t link two machines together. I was looking at the track sheet for Walk the other day, and it was pretty amazing – seven tracks of drums, three tracks of rhythm guitars, one track of lead, maybe three tracks of vocal and a bass. And that was it!”

What was the recording approach when it came to Dime’s solos?

“On the early records I’d be with him while he did them, and Vinnie would be in the room, too. On later ones, I would back off a little bit and let Vinnie and Dime work together, because their level of communication was non-verbal.

“Dime would play a part; Vinnie would just give him a look and Dime knew exactly what he meant! Or Vinnie would go, ‘Do that Randy Rhoads part there,’ and Dime would know exactly what he was talking about. So I was like, ‘I’m not getting in the way of that!’

“I’ll sit in the back of the room and make sure the technology was on their side, but that brother-to-brother communication was really special. That probably started on Vulgar, and it was definitely Vinnie and Dime working on the leads together on the next two.”

“Our basic formula – the way we worked on his solos – was always the same. And, once again, remember we were working on tape. We would dedicate four tracks for the lead and get three really good takes of the whole thing. We would then go through them and comp the best parts of each of those takes onto the fourth track.”

“It was always a comp situation; you and I know what that means, but the kids nowadays probably have no idea what I’m talking about! [Laughs] [Note: Comping means to combine the best parts of multiple recorded performances onto a single track.]

“We’d always be experimenting, too. I remember one time he wasn’t getting a sound he liked for a solo, so I said, ‘Maybe we get a different pedal.’ Dime goes, ‘Gimme 15 minutes.’ He ran home and came back with a grocery sack full of old, rusty pedals he had lying around his rehearsal place at his mom’s house. He just plugged them all in, turned them all on and goes, ‘How does that sound?’ And, I said, ‘That’s perfect!’ [Laughs] It was that kind of shit.”

What was your favorite moment working with Dime in the studio?

“The one that always sticks with me is probably more of a ‘me’ thing than a ‘him’ thing, and I apologize if it is! Somewhere around Vulgar he would occasionally get frustrated with me because I couldn’t keep up with what he was doing, guitar-wise. He’d be playing a part, and I wasn’t able to recognize what notes or chord he was referring to.

“Even though I don’t play guitar, I’d watched so many hands over the years I knew what was going on; but Dime was so far beyond me musically, I was doing everything I could to just keep up with him and make sure he was moving as fast as his mind worked. For the most part it was fine, but there were times where I’d get stuck and hold him up.

“So, one day Dime finally said, ‘Alright, every night from here on in, after we’re done recording, I’m gonna give you guitar lessons.’ I said ‘OK,’ and we started that night. We sat down and he started to teach me how to play Johnny B. Goode. We did it for about five minutes and he looked at me and said, ‘Fuck it, we’re done!’ [Laughs]”

It has been 20 years since we lost one of the electric guitar’s all-time greats, Dimebag Darrell.

We have been celebrating his legacy, asking a host of star players why he remains so relevant today, two decades on from his untimely passing.

But the mission for this article was simple: ask as many of Dime’s friends, bandmates, peers and evangelists to spotlight their favorite Dimebag Darrell guitar solo. Here are their answers.

Zakk Wylde

“Walk, just because, like with Randy’s stuff, it’s so memorable and the note selection is so great. You could play Dime’s Walk solo to anybody, and they’d go, ‘Oh, man. This guy’s great.’”

Kerry King

“I’m sure most readers know I had a guest slot on Goddamn Electric [from Reinventing the Steel]. And no, I’m not picking my own! I always told Dime I had no business playing on his record.

“My spin is this: Every time Pantera came through my town, or I was in a place they were playing in the ’90s, I’d go up and play Fucking Hostile with them, and it wasn’t too long before I started playing that lead. So I’m going to go with that one because I got the chance to play it with them, and it was fun as hell! Thanks to Dime for being so unselfish!”

Alex Skolnick

“This Love. I’m sure it would have been easy for him to just wail a bunch of licks over the heavy riff; instead, he took the challenge of playing over the clean verse section. Although the dynamic is softer, he still plays a ‘screaming’ solo with effective use of space and melody, capturing the intensity of the song.”

Rob Halford

“Darrell’s solo in Cowboys from Hell hit me like lightning with his totally personalized sound and phrasing that leaves the hooks and melodies ricocheting in your brain.”

Nita Strauss

“I love the classic Cowboys from Hell solo – so much so, in fact, that we cover this song with my solo band! It’s melodic, shreddy and super-fun to play.”

Phil Anselmo

“The Sleep. It’s long and has so many interlocking moments of intensity throughout.”

Rex Brown

“Planet Caravan. He thought it sucked, and I told him to leave it alone, so he comped it and stayed with that one. I was literally in tears.”

Ola Englund

“The Sleep shows the hunger of a young Dimebag before he took over the world. It has everything – melody, shredding, drama and tone – and [is] filled with all the Dime tricks. It’s a perfect example of Dimebag playing from his heart.”

Mark Morton

“The solo in 10’s from The Great Southern Trendkill, which is probably their most underrated album. It’s just sort of bluesy, and I think it exemplifies Dime’s genuine understanding of blues guitar.

“But it still sounds like him playing; his touch and his voice on the instrument remain ever apparent. It’s a really bluesy solo – and then he plays over the change into this soaring, kinda major lick that rides over the chords, and it’s just such a beautiful, memorable moment.”

Blues Saraceno

“Cowboys from Hell. As soon as I heard the first track on that album, I knew it was game on!”

Ritchie Faulkner

“Walk has the perfect blend of bluesy swagger mixed with those killer slides and bends that make it 100 percent Dime. Classic, flawless execution and original. Him in a nutshell, really.”

Jose Mangin

“Domination. That solo and breakdown is the most significant guitar part of any Pantera song. It’s hard to look beyond that solo. I love Floods, too, and I know he loved that one; hell, he had that one in his back pocket since he was a teenager. But I still keep coming back to Domination. It will forever be ingrained in my metal heart and soul.”

Mark Holcomb

“10’s from The Great Southern Trendkill. There are so many underrated late-era Dime solos because I don’t think he was concerned with cramming in as many notes as possible anymore. Cowboys and Vulgar had some iconic solos, but from Vulgar onward, he started to mess with effects, dissonance, minimalism, these big, cartoonish bends and really wide, exaggerated vibrato.

“The 10’s solo exemplifies all of that; the entire thing just drips emotion, feel and confidence. He played with a lot more soul than he got credit for, and this solo illustrates just how perfect his feel was. Putting just the right amount of touch on those slow, wide bends is one of the [hardest] things to do – and Dime could do it effortlessly.”

Matt Heafy

“Floods. You feel every note played in this solo. You feel the emotion as if it were a person singing you the very notes being so emotionally wrought from the strings.”

Scott Ian

“Floods has got it all. In a catalog of fantastic solos, this is the one that moves me the most.”

Gary Holt

“Cowboys from Hell. Signature song, signature solo, my favorite work of his. And I’m ultra partial to that first record since we took them out for their first tour for that along with Suicidal Tendencies. What madness that tour was!”

Charlie Benante

“Floods and The Sleep are two really emotional leads that always hit me hard. The way he expresses it through his Dean was just so him. His personality was this larger-than-life party figure, but he was one of the warmest, generous and loving people I knew. I think that side of him comes out a lot in his playing.”

Bill Kelliher

“A New Level is a bluesy, speed-metal, articulated shred-fest that will leave your jaw on the floor.”

Chris Caffery

“The Sleep is un-Dime-niable! I think it’s probably one of my favorite guitar solos, ever. Like Summer’s Rain by Savatage and Hotel California, it’s right up with my favorite guitar solos!”

Grady Champion

“We’ll Meet Again, which is on Power Metal [Pantera’s fourth independent album; released in 1988, it was the first one with Phil Anselmo on vocals]. That one hit me hard because it was just so melodic and heartfelt. You could just close your eyes and it fitted the song perfectly. All his solos blew me away, but that one just stuck to me for some reason – and has done since 1988!”

Jake Bowen

“Throes of Rejection is often overlooked. It’s played over several weird rhythms and doesn’t have too many traditionally melodic moments that Dimebag solos are known for. It’s unpredictable and dissonant at times, but it still remains groovy and tasty.

“My favorite moment of the solo is when you think it’s reaching its climax; it fakes you out and goes into a second section, finally culminating into a flurry of licks with drum fills to match. It sounds like pure chaos.”

Ben Eller

“His phrasing in Cemetery Gates is so lyrical. He plays over the changes beautifully, and it builds perfectly with just the right amount of shred toward the end. Classic!”

Frank Bello

“He told stories in his solos. He had all this technical greatness and could speed up with the best of them, but then he had those beautiful bends. It’s gotta be the solo in Floods because it’s just so tasty, and he was telling this really beautiful story in it.”

Kayla Kent

“Psycho Holiday. The whole song is my favorite groove to jam to, and the solo is the pristine cherry on top. Not many solos can hold their own without a rhythm guitar track underneath, but that solo definitely can.”

Satchel

“Let’s go with Psycho Holiday, ’cause it makes my nipples hard.”

CJ Pierce

“Floods is such an epic song, and the solos have so much depth and feel. Dime was a genius and played with such passion. That definitely comes through on Floods.”

Chris Broderick

“I’m Broken starts off with some country bends straight into a diminished riff! Who else could do that except Dime? And he follows it up with this crazy descending intervallic sequential riff, into sliding 3rds. So cool! Need I say more?”

Guy Sykes

“The Sleep has so much feel and is one of his longer solos. There were so many amazing solos on that record, and it gave the world the perfect introduction to just how talented Dime was.”

Dean Zelinsky

“Cemetery Gates. It’s a guitar-playing masterpiece. You can’t just talk about the solo without mentioning the playing that leads up to it; it’s a crescendo of fine playing that sets up this incredibly tasteful solo. Melodic playing was clearly in Darrell’s wheelhouse – and what he laid down when recording.”

Rabea Massaad

“I’m Broken is filled with a bit of everything – wild bends, licks, attitude, bluesy moments, chromaticism, tension, release and the big victory bend at the end!”

Dave Davidson

“Throes of Rejection is dripping with attitude, and the licks are blazing hot. This solo combines the best elements of what make a great Dime solo. It’s got memorable phrases, but it also has those inhuman sections where it sounds like he’s flying by the seat of his pants, ready to go off the rails at any moment – but it always stays perfectly in the pocket.

“From a compositional standpoint, it’s cool to hear what the rhythm section is doing underneath Dime’s solo. They keep building up in intensity, adding different layers and feels that all climax leading back to the chorus. It’s truly awe inspiring and speaks to Dime’s ability to not just write great solos but to also write great rhythm parts to solo over.”

Attila Vörös

“The Official Live: 101 Proof version of New Level. That was my first Pantera song and album (I was 11 at the time), and it changed my life. That solo speaks to me; it’s heavy, cheeky, funny and super-energetic, and it gives me the energy like nothing else.”

Phil Demmel

“Rise. It’s such a rad blend of 1/4, full and 1 1/2 bends. The Floyd Rose magic dives and pulls that follow the syncopated fills in the riff. All that coupled with the drum/bass accompaniment gives it such a live feel.”

Tommy Victor

“Drag the Waters. I like the way it starts out on its own during a break and then into a breakdown. It kind of reminds me of an old-school-type solo like Jimmy Page. It’s not all shredding; it’s got this biting blues thing going on. Very cool and very different.”

Jon Donais

“I heard The Sleep on the radio last week, and I didn’t want the lead to end. That’s a lead that just takes you away. It has skill, feel and is just as important as the rest of the song. A grade-A lead in my book.”

• Special thanks to Rita Haney for her invaluable help on this one!

In 1990, a band from Texas unleashed their debut major-label release upon an unsuspecting metal-loving world. That band’s name? Pantera. The album? Cowboys from Hell.

The result was a sizable and powerful wave that quickly grew into an unstoppable tsunami once the band’s next two long-playing salvos – Vulgar Display of Power (1992) and Far Beyond Driven (1994) – hit the streets. At the epicenter of this Texas tornado was a six-string whirlwind who many consider to be the world’s last true guitar hero, a guy named Darrell Lance Abbott. He was better known as Dimebag.

Armed with a solid-state stack, an ungodly amount of gain and an angular Dean ML ax adorned with a lightning bolt, Dimebag took the guitar world by storm with the help of his fellow cowboys from hell, Vinnie Paul (drums – and also Dime’s brother), Rex Brown (bass) and Philip H. Anselmo (vocals).

And as jaw dropping as his highly creative, lightning-fast chops; innovative whammy bar work and searing yet soulful soloing was, the ace up Dime’s sleeve was his world-class riff-writing ability. Coupled with Pantera’s patented and genre-creating “power groove,” riffs-ridden songs such as Walk, Mouth for War, Becoming, 5 Minutes Alone, Cowboys from Hell and This Love are rightly hailed as timeless metal classics.

Sadly, after a live album – Official Live: 101 Proof (1997) – and two more studio offerings – The Great Southern Trendkill (1997) and Reinventing the Steel (2000) – Pantera unceremoniously imploded and parted ways in 2003. Dime and Vinnie went on to form the criminally underrated Damageplan.

Then, on December 8, 2004, a previously unthinkable, inexplicable nightmare happened. A deranged lunatic managed to get on stage with a firearm and take Dime’s life while he was playing. Millions of metal fans across the globe mourned in a state of shock and disbelief.

Thanks to his influential playing and timeless riffs, Dime’s legacy not only lives on, but continues to inspire new generations of aspiring guitarists. Darrell’s work also still impacts many of his friends and peers, to whom we posed the following question: “Why is Dimebag still so far beyond relevant 20 years after his death?”

Here are their answers.

Alex Skolnick (Testament)

“Dimebag is relevant for many reasons, but I think the one that best describes it is Pantera’s album title, Reinventing the Steel. By the time the band broke through in the early ’90s, most heavier bands were following the Judas Priest/Iron Maiden/Scorpions template of twin guitars.

“This included the ‘Big Four’ of thrash (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax), related acts (Testament, plus Exodus, Death Angel, Overkill and others) as well as the extreme-metal scene spawned by another fallen guitar hero, Death’s Chuck Schuldiner. Yet Dime figured out a way to match the heaviness and intensity of all of our groups – not just in the studio but live – with just a single guitar, creating a whole new approach to riffs and tone.

“Two guitars is still the norm because it’s still so rare for anyone to achieve that kind of heaviness in a single-guitar band. Yet Dime managed to do so, inspiring generations of players in the process.”

Mark Holcomb (Periphery)

“When I first heard Pantera in the ’90s, Dime was the first guitarist I’d ever known of that had the virtuosity to hang with the super-shredder, G3 crowd if he wanted to. Instead, he played in the heaviest band on the planet, and the emphasis was 100 percent on these massive riffs and songs. Then, when he had a window to show off his technical prowess via a solo, he’d just floor it – and it was a reminder of just how insanely gifted he was as a lead player.

“He epitomized the idea of writing powerful riffs and memorable songs, all against the backdrop of having this insane technical ability that he always had in his back pocket. That was a rare combination in the ’90s, but nearly all modern metal bands chase that duality now. It’s cool to be good at your instrument and write really heavy, caveman music, and I think it’s fair to attribute that, in large part, to Dime.”

Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black label society, Pantera Celebration)

“Pantera is and always will be the gold standard of the extreme metal/power groove genre they created. Obviously, Saint Dime sits at the table alongside the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen because, just like them, his playing will always be far beyond relevant.

“He breathes the same rarified air as Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page when it comes to world-class riff writing. Ultimately, I think that’s Dime’s legacy, just like with all the great guitar players we love. It’s what he wrote.”

Kerry King (Slayer, solo)

“Once you establish yourself onto the scene, most people can’t get enough of what you’re doing. And there’s generally a bunch of young axe-slingers looking to unseat you. But with Dime, not only was he taken away from us way too soon, but I’ve yet to see that next ‘it’ guitar guy.

“I’m sure there are some out there, but none that stormed the scene like Dime did. Very much like Rhoads, Eddie, etc., Dime was completely effortless and completely crushing, all at once.”

Rob Halford (Judas Priest)

“Darrell’s style of playing was a badly needed game changer in the guitar world. He created a powerful magnet that drew all kinds of guitarists into his uniqueness. His flair for breaking the mold will appeal to countless generations.”

Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest)

“In addition to having a perfect blend of melody, technique and feel, the whole sound of the band was a massive contrast to the hair metal that came before it. Pantera’s music never felt over produced and was always raw sounding.

“There were some exceptions, but for the most part it was the solos over crushing bass and drums. No rhythm tracks. I think it just made it raw and real. Along with his melodic sensibilities and technique, it stands up to this day.”

Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest)

“Darrell is still relevant because he helped pave the way for a new style of lead guitar playing, influencing many players along the way.”

Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down)

“Why is Dime still relevant? Because he is one of the greatest players of all time, hands down.”

Rex Brown (Pantera)

“Dime is one of the most recognized guitar players of all time. From his tone to his phrasing of his riffs, to the way he incorporated all of it together, it was in a class all of its own. It was so special being there in real time – and that spirit is still shining bright. He was a glowing beacon of light in so many people’s lives with his personality and generosity.”

Marty Friedman

“Dime is more than just a guitar player. He represents a good dude, a happy and fun guy to be around, a bro who lives and breathes guitar and heavy music. He was the opposite of the stereotypical egomaniac guitarist, and that’s what all of us hopefully aspire to be.

“On top of this, his playing is capable of melting your face beyond recognition! He left us with music that brings people immense joy, even when channeled through other super musicians who are compelled to spread his music throughout the world. That makes him extremely relevant in my book.”

Nita Strauss

“I can’t think of another guitarist who has the combination of stellar technique and reckless abandon that was exhibited by the great Dimebag Darrell! That’s something that so many modern guitarists aspire to but can never duplicate.”

Jim Dunlop (Dunlop, MXR)

“He was completely dedicated to his craft – his playing, riffs, arrangements, solos and tone. It was almost like you took Eddie, Randy and Jimi and put them in a blender, but what came out sounded like Dime and no one else.

“He was a master of not only his guitar but his entire rig; he’d take things like the MXR Flanger/Doubler and use it in a subtle but unmistakable way that was instantly recognizable as his sound and no one else’s. His playing took you on a journey, from the brutal sledgehammer world of Walk and Domination to the brooding beauty of This Love and Floods. He’d not only take you there; he’d leave you there – and you were all the better for it.

“Just like Randy, Dime was a master of crafting a melody within a melody, but in his own way. No one sounded or played like him, and no-one ever will. He was so damned pure and honest in everything he’d do.

“He was also one of the coolest people I’ve ever been lucky enough to hang with, and he genuinely loved and respected his fans. He never phoned it in, no matter how tired or hungover he was. He was always ‘on.’ The glass was never half-empty with Dime; it was so full, it was overflowing. You could see it in his eyes at every single show. No exceptions, ever.”

Mark Morton (Lamb of God)

“Dime’s relevance is rooted in his authenticity. Of course, his technical skills were top notch; but it was his ability to blend elements of Black Sabbath power, ZZ Top swagger and Van Halen fireworks into a voice that became uniquely his own that sets Dime apart as one of the greats. We love you, Dimebag!”

Blues Saraceno

“Dime represented all the best parts of all that music we love. The phrasing, passion, imagination, aggression, execution, tone, kindness and fuck-yeah attitude with just the right amount of Texas swing mixed in. Unduplicatable. The Abbott brothers were originals. Anybody who had the good fortune to have them in their lives was better for it. I sure know mine was.”

Jose Mangin (Satellite radio metal ambassador)

“His spirit. His attitude toward life and metal. He left a lasting legacy and was truly the most unique metal personality to ever come from our 54 years of music. His riffs, his music, his passion is what makes Dime still relevant. He’s the greatest metal guitar player of all time, and after all these years the world still feels the same. In fact, I think his reputation is even greater now than it was 20 years ago.”

Cody Jinks

“What will live on, along with Dime’s incredible music, is his love for his fans. As a fan, I saw how important it was to him to treat everyone right. Every day, I try to show my fans the love that Dime showed us. That’s as beautiful as his music.”

Matt Heafy (Trivium)

“Great guitar playing is typically measured in terms of what one can do on lead guitar; but rhythm guitar needs to be equally weighted in importance. Dime had written some of the most iconic rhythm riffs – whether as simple and understated (yet perfect) as Walk or as intricate and unique as the rhythm parts in Shedding Skin or New Level. Dime also wrote some of the most powerfully heavy riffs, like Domination and This Love. The list goes on.

“That doesn’t even scratch the surface of Dime’s lead playing. He was capable of shredding and out-shredding any of the virtuosos of the time while having this incredibly soulful solo style that was emotional, memorable and singable. He was masterful with tone, gear, showmanship, writing, rhythm/lead… He had it all and then some.”

dUg Pinnick (King’s X)

“With Walk, he made one of the most incredibly simple yet complex and groovy riffs that anyone has ever come up with. 20 years later, he’s still inspiring the next generation.”

Gary Holt (Exodus, Slayer)

“The riffs. Riffs live forever. Some of the most gloriously heavy breakdowns and so much more. The man could take three notes and create one of the most memorable riffs of all time, Walk. But also the way he lived – always up for a good time, always positive. People remember that.”

Terry Date (Pantera producer)

“Darrell was an extraordinary talent, somebody whose guitar was part of their body and who was miles above any other player of that genre. When you combine that with Dime’s charismatic personality, that made everybody feel like they were his best friend; it translates over generations. The legend carries on. Dime was totally unique. He was a one-of-a-kind guy.”

Charlie Benante (Anthrax, Pantera Celebration)

“Dime was continuously learning and developing skills and Ideas. He was so ahead of his time that guitarists are still blown away when they hear him for the first time. I don’t think anyone doubts that Dime was one of the last guitar players that revolutionized guitar playing and guitar style.

“For me, he was the rockstar guitar player. Besides Van Halen, it’s him. Dime’s personality was this larger-than-life party figure, but he was one of the warmest, generous and loving people I knew. That side of him comes out a lot in his playing too."

Ola Englund (YouTuber, the Haunted)

“There are guitar players that rip and tear, but few did it like Dime, and that’s why he’s always going to stay a legend. He lived and breathed guitar and poured his heart and soul into his craft. And with that he left a true legacy.”

Bill Kelliher (Mastodon)

“Dimebag will go down in history as one of the most badass Southern metal guitarists of our generation. His distinctive testosterone-driven riffs and face-melting solos will inspire legions of future metalheads to pick up the guitar. He was ahead of his time, bending strings and notes beyond the limits of human aptitude.”

Scott Ian (Anthrax)

“Darrell’s ability, tone, style, approach, musicality, aggression, rhythm chops and smile changed guitar playing in the same way Eddie did a generation before him. Darrell’s sound is unmistakable and his influence on the four decades that came after is inescapable.”

Tommy Victor (Prong)

“The technical proficiency of his playing is undeniable. It was pretty much spot-on consistently. A lot of guys through the years practiced to Dime because he was so good – his rhythm playing and his solos. But beyond that, I think he fused a lot of styles together.

“If you really listen to all his work, there’s blues, there’s old-school metal, there’s thrash and there’s hardcore punk there. Some of that New Orleans sound is in there as well. He accomplished the pure elements of rock into one package.”

Frank Bello (Anthrax)

“Dime was a gift to all us metal fans. I’m proud to say I was a friend of his and got to gamble, drink and tour the world with him. He was a really great person, and I think that’s what I think people miss. I’m glad there are those great videos [that show] how much fun he was to hang out with, because that was all in one package!

“Imagine this: an amazing guitar player, world-class riff-meister and great soloist – and then he’s this great guy on the other side. It draws you in; you were always drawn to Dime.

“It’s fun watching the new generation be turned onto Dime, because there’s a whole new flock of guitar players and metal fans that are finding out about him and wanting to know everything about him. And they should, because Dime was the real deal.”

Dean Zelinsky (DBZ Guitars, luthier, designer of the Dean ML)

“Darrell is one of the most influential players of all time and was also the most genuine person I ever met. He was kind to the core, had a huge heart and loved to entertain. While fans were watching this incredible guitar player onstage, they were falling in love with his infectious persona and smile.

“This transcends the music, it transcends time. He clearly inspired hundreds of thousands, possibly millions around the world to want to play guitar. Everyone wanted – and wants – to be like Dime. He was a pioneer in what metal became. His playing is unmatched, even today.”

Jake Bowen (Periphery)

“We’re living in an age where it seems legendary artists are getting harder to come by. By legendary, I mean artists who breathe unique energy or a signature sound into the scenes they inhabit. Darrell ‘Dimebag’ Abbott was a force on guitar very much in the way Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads were.

“Like the aforementioned, Dime played his instrument in a way that is instantly recognizable, when you hear one note, one bend, or even just the guitar tone you know exactly who you’re dealing with.

“While we wait for the next generation of legendary artists to take hold, I believe people will look back to the past and realize that we had something amazing when Dime was with us. Hopefully the younger generation realizes this and figures out the formula to their own unique sound the way Pantera was able to.”

Satchel (Steel Panther)

“Why is Dime still so relevant? This is a subjective question, and I’m going to give my very opinionated opinion on this, because speculating is what we do when given speculative questions… and also, I give no ducks. And that right there, I believe, is the answer: Dime gave no ducks.

“And he played guitar like he gave no ducks. And that, you kids out there, doesn’t mean Dime didn’t care; he cared about the music, the tone, the riffs, the bends, the vibrato and the motherduckin’ conviction with which he played. That’s why he sounded like a beast every time he picked up a guitar. That’s why he put the time in to become a virtuoso and also why he never hit a bad note – because he played every note with so much conviction that it was impossible for it to be a bad note.

“He ducking cared a lot, but when he started playing, he gave no ducks. He didn’t give a duck who didn’t like it. He didn’t give a duck if it sold a million records. He didn’t give a duck if he never won a Grammy. He gave zero ducks. And he still sounds ducking killer 30 years later. We can all learn from Dime after all these years. Play guitar like you give no ducks. When your teacher asks where your homework is, tell her you have no ducks to give about homework.

“When your mom asks you to clean your room, tell her you ran out of ducks to give about cleaning your damn room. When the IRS shows up at your door looking for your receipts for 2018, tell them to ask someone who gives a duck. Then crank up some Pantera.”

Kayla Kent (YouTuber)

“The vibrato, the hick bends, his insanely clean legato and pick attack. Couple that with his original style in his music with the groove metal, and his original style aesthetically – using exclusively ML‑shaped guitars. He was original at his core in the best way possible, and he always stuck to his guns.”

Ben Eller (YouTuber)

“Attitude will never go out of style! Players like Dime and EVH had a sincerity and ferocity to their playing that will always be relevant and timeless because it’s the real deal, and people can hear, feel and smell [it]!”

Chris Caffery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

“There are very few guitarists who actually attached a sound to their legacy. Tony Iommi, Michael Schenker, Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen and Angus Young all had that special quality where it changed the history of guitar and almost created its own category. This is why I use the term ‘un-Dime-niable.’ After he came along and Pantera rose to the top of the scene, there was a new sound.

“Dime placed himself among Hendrix and Jeff Beck and any greats that can be used as one of the ‘he sounds like’ guitarists! Or the ones people will say, ‘I was inspired by…’ 20 years from now I can only see this legacy growing. There is and always will be a Pantera sound and style. Very few bands can say this.”

Chad Kroeger (Nickelback)

“Every generation needs a guitar hero to inspire the new flock of players. Thank God every generation will be able to look back at what Dime did for guitar playing and be able to call him a hero.”

Rabea Massaad (YouTuber)

“His approach to ‘heavy’ is pretty much timeless. The tight, palm-muted chugs and tonal choices in his riffs still don’t sound dated, they just sound heavy! On top of that, I think his style and attitude toward his playing is infectious.

“It was more than just ‘shred,’ he had soul in his playing, attitude and a charisma that made me wanna learn the parts and experience feeling what it’s like to try to play those parts. He influenced a lot of guitar players from more than one angle. Riffs and lead, writing and how to be a stand-up dude with a good attitude to being a guitar player.”

Chris Broderick (In Flames)

“1. His playing had so much of his personality and bravado in it that you can’t help but connect with it in a guttural way.

“2. Between his technical prowess and the unique blend of Texas shred, he and his brother could groove so hard!”

Dave Davidson (Revocation)

“As I sit here listening to Vulgar Display of Power, pondering Dime’s legacy, a few words come to mind. Attitude. Virtuosity. Soul. Dime had all those qualities and more. His blend of aggressive riffing and guitar acrobatics were combined so perfectly that his music continues to resonate with fans of metal, young and old.

“Dime had a unique voice on the guitar; you can hear five seconds of a riff or a solo and can just tell it’s him by his tone and feel. If you’re just picking up a guitar today and want to play metal, you’re going to be influenced by him in some way. His influence was that great on the genre. Thanks for the inspiration, Dime; you changed the way I looked at the guitar.”

Sully Erna (Godsmack)

“Most people would say Dime is one of the best metal guitarists in the world. That’s a bit vague for me. I’d put Dime in the top three against any metal guitarist. But it’s beyond his playing that makes him an icon.

“His character and loyalty as a friend, brother and human being is what separates him miles from any other person I’ve ever met. And when you have talent and genuine care for people and life, that’s what makes you unforgettable!”

C.J. Pierce (Drowning Pool)

“Dime was a one-of-a-kind, natural talent, a completely original musician like no other. His writing style and solos define Southern metal at its finest. I believe it says in the dictionary the definition of metal is Pantera! The music Dime created with Pantera pushed the limits and will forever live on and be relevant.”

Eric Peterson (Testament)

“Dime’s riffs are still heavy hitting, perfect riff frequencies that abduct you to the bone and reflesh you! My favorite thing about his solos is they don’t 'over shred'. They fit the vibe of the songs, and he wasn’t afraid to make some noise, either! Don’t get me wrong though; there is shredding going on when needed, it’s just very well-controlled and always fits the demeanor of the songs.”

Attila Vörös (YouTuber)

“It’s the way in which Dime could express himself through his playing. His riffs and leads are like a language everybody can understand, simply because it’s never just notes being put after one another; it’s always done with intention and depth. Dime was totally real and honest, and people feel that.

“Then, of course, there’s the person he was, which, needless to say, touched and resonated with so many – and still does. Dime was like a big brother, even though I never met him.”

Jon Donais (Anthrax, Shadows Fall)

“Dime is what a I call an MVP guitarist. He had the riffs, songs, solos and the rockstar charisma and presence. It’s rare to find someone who can check all those boxes.”

Phil Demmel (Category 7, Kerry King)

“Dime, EVH, Rhoads, SRV and Hendrix were dedicated to their craft from all angles, including technique, note selection and performance. But it’s the instrument and the equipment that is their conduit to the listener and makes him so relevant. Players are chasing his guitar setup and his tone, and that’s all thanks to him putting in the time to develop that signature sound.”

Billy Graziadei (Biohazard)

“In 20 years, there hasn’t been a single person who comes close to touching Dime. He is to our generation what Jimi Hendrix was to his! Beyond his killer guitar skills and style, Darrell put so much heart and soul into everything he did! He set the bar so high that there will never be anyone that can come close to filling his shoes! He is the best there ever was.”

Rita Haney (“Dimebagzhag”)

“I think it was his outlook on life and his way of life. He was totally genuine, and that came out in every single thing he did, including genuinely caring about people. To me, his 333 percent genuine heart is why he still matters so much today.”

NAMM 2025: Pantera bassist Rex Brown has joined forces with Morley on a new signature wah pedal based on his long-serving Pro Series II unit, ‘Old Blue’.

Brown has been using Morley pedals since the 1970s, but reportedly picked up Old Blue at some point in the 1990s. Since then it’s found use on Pantera records, including The Great Southern Trendkill and Reinventing the Steel and has been a pretty constant feature on his live ’board, to boot.

“Old Blue is more than just a pedal,” states the press release. “It’s been Rex Brown’s trusty sidekick for over three decades.”

The new signature wah build is available exclusively from Sweetwater and offers a “modified recreation” of Old Blue.

As such, it features the same through-hole circuitry and componentry of the 1990s Pro Series II, but is modded per Brown’s preference, to offer an “intense monstrous sweep” more in keeping with the brand’s ’70s builds.

“It is virtually immune to outside noise and EMI [electromagnetic interference],” notes Morley. “You can also get phase shifter-like tones when slowly rocking the treadle back and forth.”

The advantage of the ’90s build – and one of the key selling points of Morley’s design ever since – is the wah’s switchless activation. This means it can be engaged by simply moving the rocker (as opposed to the Cry Baby-style under-toe switch) and bypassed when you step off it.

Then there’s a wah-level knob offering an additional 15dB of volume, a premium buffer circuit, an LED indicator and a glow-in-the-dark foot plate grip.

Further personalization comes in the amusing redesign of the logo, which sees a small Rex taking the place of the traditional Morley Man icon.

The demo video also showcases the wah’s capabilities when paired with guitar – and it’s said the late Dimebag Darrell was also known to borrow Old Blue in the studio.

Tantalisingly, Morley pitches Old Blue as the first in a series of Classic Series pedals that it plans to unveil this year, so it looks like we can expect more vintage-inspired signature models and reissues to come.

“That’s my little secret weapon... Old Blue,” summarizes Brown – and, for those willing to part with the necessary $179 to secure one, it can be yours, too.

Head to Sweetwater for more information.

A while ago, a limited-edition version of the Dimebag mini Warhead 40-watt head was unleashed – with only 333 being available. Dime evangelist, YouTuber and all-around good guy Ola Englund did a video on the compact crusher, and as hoped, it sounded really freaking good and looked pretty darned good, too. Plus, the price was, er, right. And, as the Swedish six-stringer sensibly predicted, the 333 sold out instantly.

That said, if – like me – you’re a Dimebag Tone Chaser, and you missed out, don’t fret; a regular production model is coming soon, and it will not be limited. In fact, I just got my eager mitts on one. Here’s the skinny.

It’s a one-channel, 40-watt, solid-state head with a series FX loop on its rear panel. Its front panel controls are the “usual suspects,” namely, from right to left: Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence and Master Volume. On plugging in – without any stompboxes – I was easily able to dial in a nice, tight, Dimebag-like tone with that signature upper-frequency “fry.”

The amp’s fast, punchy response immediately inspired me to butcher all the Dime riffs I know, and I had an absolute blast doing so. Its sleek, black, snakeskin vinyl is a nice touch, too.

According to the Dime camp, this amp is a two-year “labor of love.” Dime’s OG gear was used, and their tonal benchmark/goal was “the Randall RG100 [head] with the parametric and 6-band [graphic EQ] built into the preamp with Darrell’s main settings.” And, obviously, Dime’s legendary tech, Grady Champion, was intimately involved. Respect.

My conclusion? Mission accomplished, team Dime. This is a good-looking, compact, no-frills, Dimebag-inspired tone machine that boasts his iconic signature and a price tag that might surprise you ($529 at the time of writing).

As Champion summed up so succinctly, “Dime would be so proud of us right now. Getcha pull!”

• For more information, head over to Warhead Amps.

Record producer Terry Date has worked with a who’s who of hard rock and heavy metal, lending his expertise and sensibilities to acts like Soundgarden, Dream Theater, Deftones, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit.

However, his work on Pantera’s first four major-label albums – Cowboys from Hell (1990), Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Far Beyond Driven (1994), and The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) – is particularly notable for capturing Dimebag Darrell’s mastery and distinctive tone on record.

As Date reveals in the latest issue of Guitar World, recording Dime's legendary solos was a fairly linear process. However, it did involve keeping an open mind to different tones, and a healthy dose of experimentation to achieve the best result.

“Our basic formula – the way we worked on his solos – was always the same. We would dedicate four tracks [on tape] for the lead and get three really good takes of the whole thing,” he explains.

“We would then go through them and comp the best parts of each of those takes onto the fourth track. It was always a comp situation.”

The super-producer also recalls a memorable anecdote from his studio time with Dimebag, when the Pantera guitarist wasn’t quite achieving the tone he had hoped for and decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I remember one time he wasn’t getting a sound he liked for a solo, so I said, ‘Maybe we get a different pedal.’ Dime goes, ‘Gimme 15 minutes.’ He ran home and came back with a grocery sack full of old, rusty pedals he had lying around his rehearsal place at his mom’s house.

“He just plugged them all in, turned them all on, and goes, ‘How does that sound?’ And, I said, ‘That’s perfect!’” he says with a laugh. “It was that kind of shit.”

For more from Terry Date and the ultimate Dimebag Darrell tribute, pick up issue 587 of Guitar World at Magazines Direct.

Dimebag Darrell’s legendary guitar playing and pioneering heavy metal style is powerful enough to bring a tear to anybody’s eye, but for Rex Brown, the late Pantera electric guitar hero’s playing once made him cry for another reason altogether.

In the new issue of Guitar World, the Pantera bassist and former Dimebag bandmate was asked – alongside a huge array of other big-name guests – for his favorite Dimebag guitar solo.

Brown didn’t have to think hard for his answer, and cherry-picked Dimebag’s lead effort from Pantera’s famed cover of Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath, which featured on Far Beyond Driven in 1994.

However, as he recalls, the solo ended up bringing a tear to his eye when he had to fight Dimebag from cutting it altogether.

“Planet Caravan,” Brown answers when asked. “[Dimebag] thought it sucked, and I told him to leave it alone, so he comped it and stayed with that one. I was literally in tears.”

Brown’s affection for Planet Caravan shouldn’t come as a surprise. In fact, he’s previously spoken at length about just how much he appreciates Dimebag’s display on that particular track, and admitted he had to “leave the room” while he was recording because of how good it was.

Speaking to Tone-Talk in 2022, Brown recalled, “We actually learned the song in about 15 minutes. I played fretless bass on it, and played synthesizer on it. Vinnie played the bongos.

“Now this is very, very important. Dime, when he went to play that lead, the first one, I had to leave the room because it was so fucking good.

“Planet Caravan, it’s like an E9 kind of a chord, and just the way that Dime played, it was the perfect chording for him to play over,” Brown expands. “And the way he put those notes together, just off the fly. You know, he always came in with something, but we cut this so quick that, I think we’d gone out to dinner and he just came back and let it let that one have it.

“It was like... I won't say Eruption, because that changed fucking everything for everyone. But I will say that it was one of those moments for me, of listening to that and being right next to my best friend [who] just played it. So [I] keep that in my heart.”

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World, which features a full tribute to Dimebag Darrell.

Heavy metal veteran Nick Bowcott of Grim Reaper fame has reflected on his friendship with Dimebag Darrell, and recalled the time Eddie Van Halen promised to personally paint a Charvel EVH Art Series electric guitar for the Pantera titan.

Dimebag’s respect and affection for Eddie Van Halen is well-documented. Not only did he and his brother, Vinnie, recite the words “Van Halen” before shows together, Dimebag also routinely listened to Eddie’s playing before heading out on stage.

Further still, the Pantera guitarist met Eddie at a Van Halen gig weeks before he was killed during a Damageplan concert, and was later buried with Van Halen’s original black-and-yellow-striped Bumblebee guitar, which can be heard onVan Halen II.

It was a fitting tribute: Dimebag utterly adored that particular guitar. In fact, he loved it so much that, during his meet-up with Van Halen, he asked Eddie and his team if he could buy one of the limited-edition Art Series EVH guitars, which were created by Charvel and inspired by the OG Bumblebee.

Eddie agreed, but under one condition: that he personally stripe it himself.

Bowcott – who worked with Marshall and EVH throughout his career – was a friend of Dimebag’s, and as he explains in a new interview with the Van Halen Stories Podcast, Dimebag phoned him up after the encounter to tell him “the whole story about how great Ed was”.

“He tells me this whole story about how he and Vinnie flew out to meet Van Halen at Eddie’s invitation,” Bowcott begins. “Eddie had just done the Art Series. People were putting in preorders and they sold out instantly because there were only a certain amount of each.

“Dime said to me, ‘If you could get one of those, which one would you get?’ I said, ‘It would have to be a black and white one. What about you?’ He goes, ‘For me, it has to be the Bumblebee,’ because Van Halen II was his record.”

As Bowcott relays, Dimebag then told him how he asked Van Halen’s tech Matt Bruck whether it’d be possible to get a Bumblebee Art Series guitar to add to his collection.

“He said, ‘We were with Matt, and I said, ‘I know they’re all sold out, but if someone cancels and there’s no one ahead of me in the queue, is there any chance I could be on that list for one of the black and yellows? I’ll pay whatever. I know it’s a slim chance, but is that possible?’

“Matt said, ‘Yeah, let me speak to Ed. I'm sure we can put you on the list.’”

Not long after, Dimebag reconvened with Van Halen and Bruck backstage, and was given a piece of good news. He wouldn’t just be getting an Art Series guitar – he’d be getting one personally painted by Van Halen himself.

“[Eddie Van Halen] goes, ‘I hear you want to get a black and yellow Art Series?’ Dimebag goes, ‘Yeah, Ed, but I don’t want to jump the queue. I know they’re sold out, but if someone cancels and there’s not someone ahead of me… I'll pay the full list price, because I know it’s collectible.’

“[Van Halen] goes, ‘Number one, you can have one. Number two, you’re not paying for it. Number three, there’s one condition: you have to come to my house and I’ll stripe it for you personally.’”

As Bowcott notes, the exchange tragically never happened. Mere weeks after that meeting, on December 8, 2004, Dimebag was murdered during a Damageplan concert. At his funeral, Van Halen arrived with the original Bumblebee, which was buried with the late Pantera guitarist.

Recently, Guitar World unearthed the final interview that Dimebag carried out with a local school newspaper.

NAMM 2025: Rex Brown has rejoined Spector as a signature artist mere months after the Pantera bass guitar player launched an Epiphone signature guitar.

The NY-based luthier has championed Brown’s “unparalleled talent,” calling him a “pivotal figure in the heavy metal scene”. Notably, the high-profile return comes after the long-awaited release of his first Epiphone build earlier this year.

The bassist’s low-end contributions were a key component of Pantera’s success, underpinning Dimebag Darrell’s groove metal fireworks. Spector basses were his weapon of choice for the band’s last three records, Far Beyond Driven, The Great Southern Trendkill, and Reinventing the Steel.

Brown switched up his rig for his latter days with Down, the doom-laden project he started with Phil Anselmo in the wake of Dimebag’s death, 20 years ago this December. He pivoted to Warwick for a signature in 2015 and dropped his first Epiphone Thunderbird signature at the start of 2024.

However, when Pantera reunited in 2022, Brown brought his collection of Spector basses along for the ride as he entered his fourth decade of using its instruments, which have starred at the shows alongside his Epiphones.

“Spector Basses have been a staple of my sound since ’93,” Brown beams. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play ’em and beat the hell out of ’em for all of these years. The tonal mixtures of their basses have grown into legend. I couldn’t be happier to come back to Spector after all these years, a company on the cutting edge of brilliance.”

“Rex Brown and Pantera changed heavy music forever, becoming icons in the metal genre,” says Spector’s Taylor McLam, believing it was “instrumental in achieving the band’s signature sound”.

Intriguingly, a final comment from the luthier – “I’m excited to see what we can create as we head into 2025” – and a press tease that says, “This collaboration promises exciting future endeavors, including the development of signature models in 2025” – all but confirms that another Rex Brown signature, perhaps one that harks back to the height of Pantera’s powers, could be in the pipeline.

As for how this all affects his relationship with Epiphone and Gibson, it remains to be seen. Dual-brand partnerships are not uncommon these days, so Brown could perhaps continue to endorse both companies in the new year.

Visit Spector for more.

After well over a year of waiting, Dimebag Darrell’s legendary Warhead guitar amp – which was at the foundation of the late guitar great’s influential metal tone – has finally been resurrected.

News of the Warhead’s revival first made its way online in July 2023, when it was confirmed Dimebag’s flagship Randall amp would be making a much-anticipated comeback.

However, that initial announcement teased that the Warhead would return at some point by the end of 2023 – a timescale that, obviously, wasn’t adhered to.

But now the Warhead is officially back – but it’s taken on a form that many probably weren’t expecting.

Rather than resurrecting the fully fledged amp head, the Warhead has been reimagined as a smaller, portable 40-watt lunchbox amp, which has been masterminded by KHDK Electronics’ David Karon.

Karon – who worked at amp’s original maker Randall, and had collaborated closely with Dimebag on his amp designs – partnered with Dime’s former guitar tech, Grady Champion, and Rita Haney to make this new Warhead.

What's more, the new Warhead was officially signed off after it was put through its paces and rigorously tested by Zakk Wylde during Pantera rehearsals.

In a launch video, Champion says the compact repro of the original Warhead amp was built by closely studying some of Dimebag’s original gear, and was a true “labor of love” to get over the finish line.

“It’s like having a little piece of Dime with you everywhere,” Champion notes. “Dime would be so proud of this right now.”

Launched under the new dedicated Warhead brand umbrella, the Warhead lunchbox amp arrives with a no-nonsense control set that comprises Master, Gain and Presence parameters, as well as a three-band EQ.

Under the hood, it promises “authentic sound engineering” with the same pre-EQ circuits and identical settings to deliver “pure, unfiltered Dimebag tone”.

“You’re getting the same 40-watt, single-channel, solid-state power amp, crafted with input from Dimebag’s closest crew,” a statement on the Warhead website says. “Building on the heritage of the original early 2000s Warhead, the new mini amp is a heartfelt tribute and a celebration of Dimebag Darrell’s timeless influence.

“More than two years in the making, it is a true labor of love and our homage to the man who has deeply touched all our hearts.”

The Warhead’s original limited launch edition has already sold out, but the standard Black Edition is available to pre-order now ahead of a November shipping.

Notably, the Warhead weighs in at $529, which, by today’s standards, doesn’t make it just a competitively priced high-end lunchbox amp, but also one of the most affordable – and conveniently sized – signature amps you could hope to find.

Head over to Warhead to find out more.

Aside from an incendiary approach to metal guitar, an addiction to pinch harmonics and tones so gritty they could skin an elephant, Dimebag Darrell has been long associated with whiskey.

In particular, he loved a blacktooth cocktail – which is essentially a shot of whiskey (typically Crown Royal) with a drop of cola to give it a metal black color and help it go down easier. Its name comes from Megadeth’s Sweating Bullets. 

Now, Blacktooth Beverages has been created, serving a range of Dimebag-inspired drinks, promising a taste “that embodies the raw energy and unparalleled creativity” of the metal great. 

The company was established by Rita Haney, Dimebag’s widow, and trustee of his estate. The roster of premium handcrafted beverages includes a seven-year-aged American Rye Whiskey blended with artesian spring water from the Rocky Mountains, and Blacktooth Blended, offering a “classic whiskey with a unique edge”, thanks to the addition of “ultra-smooth vodka”.  

There are also Blacktooth Grin pre-mixed cocktails which come in leaded and unleaded (sugared, and sugar-free) versions. 

The American Rye Whiskey costs $69.99 for 750ml, while a bottle of Blended is a little more affordable at $33.99, also for 750ml. The pre-mixed 355ml cans cost $15.99 for a four-pack.

A public launch event for the brand will take place at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles on August 20, Dimebag's birthday.

Meanwhile, the wait goes on for the release of Dimebag's Warhead signature amp after its revival was teased last year.  

There were meager-at-best details to go off at the time (July 2023), but the choice “coming soon” phrasing insinuated that, 13 months on, the wait would long be over.  

At the time, it felt like the amp's arrival was right around the corner, with speculation that a new Razorback would be next.

Indeed, Dimebag's estate sued Dean Guitars in 2021 (and, tellingly, the promo picture for the new whiskey range features Dimebag holding a Washburn guitar). It was believed the lawsuit would pave the way for Dean's founder, Dean Zelinsky – now operating his own brand, Dean Zelinsky Private Label – could be reviving the signature line. The wait for both continues.

But hey, at least we can toast Dimebag's legacy in the meantime, with Zakk Wylde  “beyond honored” to be paying homage to Dime during the recent Pantera reunion. 

Head to Blacktooth Beverages to learn more about the new drinks. 

Pantera began life in the early ’80s as a glam metal band, before recruiting Phil Anselmo on vocals and becoming the much heavier band that forged the groove-metal genre. 

Much of the band’s weight can be attributed to Dimebag’s rhythm guitar work. His combination of aggressive tone along with precise muting made way for tight, powerful phrases. 

To fill out the sound, Dimebag interjected high melodic motifs and low, chromatic power chord sequences alongside the main riffs. This brought variety to his rhythm parts while giving the impression of a second guitarist filling in the gaps.  

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 3, Treble 8

For an aggressive tone, use your bridge pickup and add a decent amount of gain on your guitar amp. Dimebag had a lot of bite to his sound, so leave your bass setting at 12 o’clock, cut some of the middle and boost the treble on your amp’s EQ. To keep things tight, turn your reverb off.

Example 1

This study uses swung eighth notes to create a heavy shuffle feel. Alternate picking is used for the main phrases, as this helps to maintain the groove at high tempos. Down picking is reserved to add weight to the chromatic powerchord sequences or single-note lines at the end of each phrase.

Example 2

This study uses eighth-note triplets to establish pace, while the blues scale brings familiarity to the fills.

To get the pinched harmonics in the fourth bar, angle your pick at 90 degrees towards the floor, and brush against the string with the side of your thumb after the plectrum strikes the note. Experiment with where along the string the harmonics jump out best.

Take note of the slides within each phrase, as they maintain the fluidity while changing fretboard position.

February 10, 2024, marked the 20th anniversary of Damageplan’s New Found Power – the only album by brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott outside of Pantera. It began as Dimebag’s solo album but grew into a band effort when Paul joined on drums, and the siblings brought in vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla.

New Found Power was recorded over 18 months at the Abbotts’ Chasin’ Jason studio with help from producer/engineer Sterling Winfield, who had years of experience with Pantera. He’d met the musicians in 1993 and came to know them as colleagues, friends and family – a personal and professional relationship that he describes as “a seamless melding of the two things.

“One minute we were living the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle; the next we were playing putt-putt, going to the movies, or having dinner at home – Vinnie was an unbelievable cook. Dime and Vinnie walked and talked rock ’n’ roll. They were consummate professionals, but they were everyday people, too.” 

Winfield considers New Found Power one of his most difficult projects for many reasons. It received minimal label support and came to a close with the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell on stage with Damageplan in 2004.

20 years on, Sterling Winfield has looked back at the making of Dimebag’s final album, and his friendship with the brothers. What follows are his recollections in his own words.

The making Damageplan’s New Found Power, by Sterling Winfield

Dime had wanted to do a solo project for years. He’d been stockpiling songs and had some good demos. Originally he was going to have guests play on it, and I was excited about the prospect of working with all these different musicians. 

We’d get together at Chasin’ Jason and Vinnie came by every night to see what we were up to. He was like, “I sure want to play drums on this.” Dime would say, “I don’t want it to sound like a Pantera record. This is my record.” They would have these brotherly discussions.

We used a drum machine for some of it and one of Dime’s buddies drummed on one or two songs. Finally, Dime told Vinnie, “I need you, but we’re going to do this my way.” Vinnie was totally onboard.

Whenever Dime and Vinnie got together in the studio, there was an unspoken organic thing that happened. They each knew how the other one worked and which musical direction to head in if one of them got stuck. As soon as Vinnie came in, things started moving forward at a quicker pace.

In 2002, we were about four songs into the project. Down was on tour; Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown weren’t answering calls. It was very odd and it got worse and worse. Things were said in the press; we didn’t know what was going on. 

That was the turning point: the brothers knew they couldn’t move forward with Pantera, and they made the very difficult decision to dissolve Pantera and continue with a new band, which became Damageplan.

It went from, “This is a fun thing we’re doing” – and Dime saying, “This is something I need to do on my own” – to, “Everything just got real serious. This has to be the best we can do.” Which it always was when working with Dime and Vinnie.

The atmosphere in the studio went from jovial to headstrong, tenacious and determined. They wanted to show the world, show the fans, that they could do this on their own.

At the same time there was a lot of sadness. Pantera was Dime and Vinnie’s baby. They nurtured it for a long time, and to not have it there anymore was difficult. On top of that, in the midst of the sessions one of our very best friends, Dave Williams of Drowning Pool, passed away.

We took a month off to deal with the loss, grief and sadness surrounding us. It was a tumultuous time, but musicians and artists know how to channel those emotions into their art.

The album took a long time to finish because there was so much second-guessing and worrying about sounding like Pantera. Dime and Vinnie were unbelievable musicians who could play anything they set their minds to, but many times we had to steer away from what sounded even a little like Pantera. 

We did things intentionally to take the guys out of their comfort zones, but that took longer than what they had done normally for decades. We tried different guitars and amps, along with Dime’s usual Washburns and Randall RG100s, different rig setups, and a smaller drum kit for more punch in the low-end. We tried sequencers and effects for flavors. It was a conscious effort to steer away from anything Pantera would have done.

When the album came out, it had no critical success and it certainly didn’t get any help from the record label. They wanted another gold album from Pantera, but Dime and Vinnie told them at the listening party that there was no more Pantera; this was the direction the Abbott brothers were moving in.

The label did the minimum, probably thinking it would lead them to reform Pantera to continue making money – but that wasn’t going to happen. Dime and Vinnie weren’t doing it for money. They were doing it to prove a point and doing it for the fans.

Pantera fans are brutal. They’re rabid, honest, loyal – and they felt wronged and betrayed that all this bullshit had gone down and they were left with Down and Damageplan. So there was little support for the album from fans or label, with people thinking, “Pantera will be back.” And boy, they were not.

To this day, New Found Power is one of the best things I ever worked on. It’s some of Dime and Vinnie’s best playing, period. I believe it stands the test of time. As disliked as it was by loyal fans back then, today I run into some of them and they’ll say, “I went back and listened, and it’s a badass record. It’s one of my favorites.”

That album is like a time capsule for me. I listen to it and immediately go back to sitting in the studio with those guys. It didn’t sell a whole bunch or get a lot of attention – but I don’t care. I got to be a part of it and I’m still honored.

Dime was taken away from us that year and it was a bad time for all of us. It’s not something you want to remember; it’s not something you want to deal with, but you do. You have to talk about it, otherwise you’ll never get through it.

There’s nothing we can do about the past except try to move forward in a better way, and that’s where I am now. I look back and remember all the fun, happy stuff I got to be a part of. I’m grateful that they welcomed me into their world.

Known as one of the originators of the “groove metal” sound pioneered by Pantera in the early '90s, Rex Brown leaves his mark no matter what band he’s playing bass with, often flirting with the guitars long enough to keep the riffs tight before throwing something unexpected into the mix. It helps that he also throws down some of the heaviest string bends this side of Geezer Butler.

Unlike most bass guitar players, at least those outside the thrash metal scene, Brown has been required to hone a precision-engineered picking technique over the years. This was largely thanks to the superhuman downstrokes of his late colleague Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott.

“On some of the really tight songs that we did, Dime recorded guitar tracks on left and right and a double in the centre,” Brown told Bass Player. “So when we were rehearsing, we would turn the drums off. I'd play with him, just guitars and bass, which sounds weird – but that was how we got it so tight. Nowadays you could sit there and get it perfect with Pro Tools, but I'd rather get it right beforehand.”

Since the early Pantera days, Brown has become more focused on heavyweight jams, a radical departure in that the bass now has more space to move around. "Yes sir, and I've enjoyed that! These days I'll listen to the demo on the day we go into the studio, rather than cram myself with it. I just go off instinct.”

He adds: “I love the feeling of recording naturally, rather than bouncing around with Pro Tools and all that. I'm not into that. Sure, Pro Tools is a necessary evil at different times: you can always take those recordings off the floor and move them just a hair. Sometimes it makes sense to do them that way, but I would rather get it right the first time. I hate punching in stuff. If you don't have your basslines down, man, you shouldn't be doing what you're doing.”

Over the course of Pantera's celebrated 1990 major-label-debut Cowboys From Hell, and four more studio albums, including Vulgar Display of Power, Far Beyond Driven, The Great Southern Trendkill, and Reinventing the Steel, Brown refined a brutally fast style and a midrange-heavy approach that proved metal bassists didn't have to live in the shadows.

Dimebag Darrell's murder in 2004 put an end to Pantera’s 23-year career. But the wiry Brown – always restless, always working – has never been one to be idle. His discography includes stints with Down, in which he joined Pantera vocalist Philip Anselmo; Crowbar, which he produced; Alice In Chains guitar hero Jerry Cantrell; the Sepultura/Soulfly-related Cavalera Conspiracy; melodic Dallas rockers Arms of the Sun, and the hard-rocking Kill Devil Hill.

In December 2022, Pantera reunited for their first tour in over 20 years. The new lineup features guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante.

Fans may have noticed that Brown still wears protective tape on his fretting hand when playing live. This stems from a dog bite over three decades ago. “That injury is still there, and it's gonna be there forever, because my dog bit through the nerve. First I used Band-Aids on it, and then duct tape, but I started looking around for something tougher because those things didn't work. 

“Back then we were playing arenas, and a lot of them were hockey venues, so I found this hockey tape: the kind that players put around their hockey sticks. I went through tons of that stuff: I found a really cool roll in Kansas that had skulls and crossbones on it! I usually wrap that finger in three layers of tape, and when I get off stage, which is usually after an hour and a half, that tape is worn all the way down to the very first layer.”

Over the years, Brown has come to personify the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, and he's got the stories, and the scars – as well as the hard-won sobriety – to prove it. His action-packed memoir, Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera, co-written with Mark Eglinton, is chock full of tales about Pantera's off-the-charts debauchery, but it also serves as a cautionary tale about what can happen to four extremely driven people who reach every goal they set out to achieve.

Epiphone has partnered with Rex Brown to release a more affordable version of the Pantera bassist’s Thunderbird signature bass guitar.

Notably, the latest addition to Brown's humble line of signature guitars is also his debut Epiphone offering, and arrives nearly two years after the flagship Gibson Thunderbird iteration debuted in 2022.

Cosmetically near-identical to its $2,799 four-string sibling, the Epiphone variant of the flagship Brown bass retains the muted-yet-classy gold-on-black aesthetic, though drafts in a few functional appointments that help bring the overall price down.

This time out, Epiphone has opted for a slightly different body composition: rather than utilizing a mahogany body, a nine-ply neck-through-body mahogany and walnut neck combination – which is finished with a C-shape profile – is favored. 

Some more unsurprising spec sheet inclusions include a standard 34” scale length and mahogany body wings, as well as an 20-fret Indian laurel fingerboard, which in turn relegates the Gibson model's rosewood alternative.

Some tonal sacrifices have been made, and as such the RexBucker pickups found on the Gibson template have been swapped out for a set of standard Epiphone ProBucker 760 bass pickups.

Accordingly, the control circuit has been suitably simplified: gone is the push/pull active/passive switch of the Gibson, and in its place are standard passive electronics – two volume controls and a master tone knob, to be precise.

The bridge has also been changed, altered slightly from a Hipshot bass bridge model to a Babicz FCH 3-Point alternative.

Finishing touches include all gold hardware – including the Thunderbird logo-embossed gold pickguard and Mini Clover tuning buttons – a reproduction of Brown’s signature and a doodle of the Pantera legend's logo on the rear control cover.

“Rex Brown, renowned for his electrifying stage presence and transformative impact on rock and metal with bands like Pantera and Down and his hard-rocking solo album, is a rhythmic powerhouse fueled by an unwavering passion for the bass,” Epiphone wrote in a statement.

“Rex forged his career anchoring the rhythm section of one of the most iconic bands in history, and now he is thundering his way into the Epiphone core lineup.”

Now the moment you've all been waiting for: the price. Well, as expected, it's comfortably more affordable than the Gibson version, weighing in at $1,299. And, as an added bonus, it also comes with a Rex Brown signature hardcase.

Head over to Epiphone to find out more.

Darrell Lance Abbott was born in Texas in 1966 and was tragically murdered onstage in 2004, age 38. ‘Dimebag’ Darrell made a huge mark on metal between 1990 and 2000, when Pantera popularised groove metal. 

His guitar style features tight, syncopated metal riffing with inventive lead playing. In this lesson we will look at some of the key approaches Dimebag used for his lead work and will focus on fast blues scale-based alternate picking, sweep picking and legato licks, wide stretch shapes and singing natural harmonics.

Example 1 shows two approaches Dime used with the E blues scale (E-G-A-Bb-B-D]. The first half of the lick is an alternate-picked pattern using six repeated notes and some string skipping to add a wider interval jump. The second half employs pull-offs and upward sweep picking for a southern, country-influenced descending pattern.

Our second example demonstrates a wide stretch descending legato sequence. This lick uses a three-notes-per-string fingering by combining two traditional pentatonic shapes, with some additional chromatic passing notes to add some extra colour.

Example 3 shows how a repeating lick can be used to create rhythmic interest. In this case an eight-note melodic pattern is played in a 16th-note triplet feel, which means each repeat of the phrase falls on a different beat.

Our fourth example has an F# Phrygian dominant (1-b2-3-4-5-b6-b7) flavour and focuses on the use of single-string stretches.

For the final example, we look at Dimebag’s trademark harmonics. To perform these, make sure you use a lot of gain and perhaps try Dime’s trick of engaging a wah pedal in the ‘toe forward’ position to help isolate the harmonics. Here we’re on the third string, but the concept works with any string. Start by placing your fretting finger directly over the fretwire at the 5th fret, then pick the string and release the finger simultaneously.

The natural harmonic should sound clean and sustain healthily; although you can use a delay effect to increase the sustain too. The key to clean harmonics is accuracy, with a tolerance of less than a millimetre and the nearer the nut you move, the more accurate you will need to be.

Once you can locate the ‘node’ points you can introduce the whammy bar to add scoops, pitch bends and vibrato to manipulate the harmonic. You could also try depressing the bar to slacken the strings, then quickly returning your whammy bar to its original position. 

The quick ‘snap back’ of the string, coupled with a finger touching the harmonic is the typical Dimebag technique, but will require practice to perfect.

For all the examples, start slow and relaxed, and focus on accurately placing your fingers. Only then you can gradually speed up in small increments in order to build up the required speed and dexterity. 

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 9, Bass 7, Middle 5, Treble 7, Reverb 2

Dimebag’s tone was famously provided by solid-state Randall guitar amplifiers and is characterised by a lot of gain with plenty of low end for punchy palm mutes and boosted highs for cutting pick attack, while the mids are scooped. For our examples, we’ve added a stereo doubler and a subtle chorus pedal in order to widen the sound.

Example 1. Blues scale picking and slurring

Start by alternate picking the initial six-note blues scale pattern, making sure your downstroke is synchronised with your first finger. In bar 2 use upstrokes in a sweep picking motion to play the descending figure.

Example 2. Descending legato

After pulling off with the fourth, third and first fingers on the first string, use a fretting-hand fourth-finger tap to play the 16th fret before returning to the first string and continuing through the wide stretch scale shape in a sequence of three.

Example 3. Sextuplet based blues scale phrasing

This F# blues scale lick is based on a repeating eight-note pattern using even hammer-ons and pull-offs. Play the eight-note pattern in a sextuplet phrasing so the lick moves against the back beat in a rhythmically interesting way. See if the economic picking motions shown work well as you increase from slow to 120bpm.

Example 4. Alternate picking on a single string

Use alternate picking throughout this single-string lick. This example will progressively increase your fretting-hand stretch throughout. Keep your thumb low on the neck (ie in the middle of neck’s back) and experiment with angling your hand to find the most comfortable position for you.

Example 5. Screaming harmonics

Use the first bar to locate the harmonics on the third string and lightly touch the string at the node points indicated, using your pick to sound them. For bars 3-4 use your whammy bar to scoop into each harmonic. You can pick the notes, or use your finger to touch the harmonics too.

Thanks to her eerily accurate Pantera covers and ability to channel the spirit of Dimebag Darrell’s playing style, Kayla Kent has fast become a household name among the heavy metal electric guitar community.

Not only has she showcased her Dimebag-style chops by covering the likes of Walk and Cowboys From Hell, Kent has also taken it one step further by recording Megadeth’s Symphony of Destruction solo in the style of her late guitar hero.

In 2023, few (if any) are harnessing Dimebag’s ultra-nuanced playing approach as successfully as Kent has managed to do across her YouTube channel, and in recognition of her fretboard feats, the Pantera superfan was recently invited backstage at one of the band’s shows by Dimebag’s guitar tech, Grady Champion.

Pantera reformed last year with Zakk Wylde as their new guitarist for a mammoth world tour – though prior to the Black Label Society axeman’s appointment, the band reportedly considered numerous names for the gig.

The players we know of include Ola Englund and Mark Tremonti, and now another name can be added to that list: Kayla Kent herself.

In a video documenting her gig experience, the Kramer-wielding YouTuber recalled how she bumped into the band’s frontman Phil Anselmo, who told her a piece of news that she “will never forget”.

“He knew who I was, and he came up and hugged me, and had super-flattering things to say about my guitar playing and he wanted a picture,” Kent recalled. “We got chatting and then he told me something I will never forget: he told me that I was on the list of potential Pantera guitar players. I just could not believe it.”

Naturally, Kent was so floored by the revelation that she thought Anselmo was joking – but, of course, he wasn’t: “He was like, 'I’m 100% serious, I don’t bullshit, we actually considered you.'”

Just for further confirmation, Kent then shared the news with Champion, who corroborated Anselmo’s comments: “They were like, ‘He's not known to bullshit people in private.’”

It’s a remarkable full-circle moment for Kent, who only had 12 videos to her name when Guitar World first spoke with her about her penchant for Pantera.

Elsewhere in the video, Champion – who shares guitar tech duties with Wylde’s usual guitar tech, Stephen Murillo – gave Kent an in-depth rundown of his backline duties.

From the looks of things, “backline duties” somewhat undersells Champion’s role in the Pantera tour, with Kent even going as far as to call him “the fifth member of the band”.

Indeed, Champion’s tech duties go beyond the role’s conventional job description. As was the case while he worked with Dimebag, Champion was in charge of controlling Wylde’s Whammy pedal and a handful of other units, including the all-important MXR Flanger/Doubler.

“The guitar sounds in the Flanger/Doubler were basically key to Dime’s sound live, and those were more or less Grady’s instruments,” Kent explained. “He’s constantly on those things the entire show. Every squeal, divebomb, slide, pinch harmonic… he’s constantly cranking that little knob for the mix on the flanger doubler, and it’s insane.

“Every little thing that Zakk does, he is sitting there listening to all that. Like, on A New Level [at the guitar break] – he’s sitting there pressing in on the actual fucking guitar silencer. It doesn’t matter how small. That was so impressive. Grady is just phenomenal.”

Champion had previously spoken to Guitar World about his hands-on role on the Pantera tour, explaining, “As well as the Whammy pedal, I’ve got a flanger, a chorus and two gates running back there. Whenever Zakk divebombs, I stick the [MXR] EVH Flanger on it, which adds a really cool growl.” 

He continued, “I'll hit the pedal’s EVH button [the one that duplicates Van Halen’s Unchained setting] whenever we’re doing bombs, but sometimes I’ll manually adjust the Rate and Width knobs to where it does a trill effect for a song like I’m Broken, or a faster police-siren-type sound.”

That’s not to say Wylde doesn’t do some pedalboard tap dancing himself, though. As his fulltime tech Murillo recently told Guitar World, “Zakk controls all the pedals on his ’board. The MXR EVH Flanger sits on the rig, and Grady likes to use that during flourishes and divebombs. It’s an amazing sound when you hit it just right; it sounds like a growling tiger.”

Head over to Kayla Kent’s YouTube channel to check out her latest Pantera covers.

It’s been confirmed that Dimebag Darrell’s flagship Randall signature guitar amp – the iconic Warhead – is going to be revived later this year.

Now, it’s a pretty bare-bones confirmation, to say the least. The only detail available at the moment is a post on the official Dimebag Darrell site, which directs people to a dedicated Warhead Amps website.

There, an image of Dimebag wielding his Dean From Hell awaits, with the Warhead logo and a tantalizing “coming soon” teaser completing the list of information we currently have to go on.

As we said, there’s really not much to pick at – other than the fact the Warhead actually is returning – meaning there’s still room for speculation as to what form the Warhead will take when it officially arrives.

Dimebag had two versions of the Warhead amp built: the flagship unit and the streamlined X2 iteration. 

While the logo strongly suggests it’s the former that’s set to be reissued (the X2 opted for a flat metal faceplate instead of the logo), it’s worth noting that Dimebag’s tech Grady Champion once told MusicRadar that the guitarist only used the amp for its clean tones.

So, whether the reissued Warhead will be a like-for-like recreation of that original unit or something that combines the two examples, remains to be seen.

Whatever form it takes, it will be reviving one of the most iconic amps in metal history. Indeed, Dimebag had used the Randall RG100, RG100 HT and Century 200, before collaborating with the brand for both the Warhead and Warhead X2. A variety of Randalls can be heard on Pantera's most famous records, including Vulgur Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven.

Either way, those wishing to keep up to date with the amp can sign up to a mailing list on the new Warhead website. 

The Warhead isn’t the only piece of gear from Dimebag’s collection that might be getting a reissue in the foreseeable future. After Dimebag’s estate sued Dean Guitars, it was speculated that the brand's founder Dean Zelinsky – now operating his own brand, Dean Zelinsky Private Label – could be reviving the signature line.

Such speculation increased when Zelinsky shared snaps of a new Razorback earlier this year with the caption, “Working on it”, which followed a post of a custom tour bus that flashed the brand name “Dimebag Guitarz”. Not only that, Zelinsky also had the original Dean From Hell on his workbench earlier this week.

Nothing is official just yet, but all evidence points towards the strong possibility that Dimebag’s Estate has linked up with the former Dean CEO for a new brand dedicated to Dimebag’s iconic guitars.

It’s also becoming more apparent that it is Zelinksy who will be heading up the revival of Dimebag’s signature models as opposed to Zakk Wylde, who once refused to rule out the possibility that his own brand, Wylde Audio, could do the job.

“If we were to ever do something like that, you know, obviously we'd talk with [Dimebag’s longtime girlfriend and trustee of his estate] Rita [Haney] and [ask] whatever she wanted to do,” noted Wylde, who recently wielded a Dean From Hell-inspired Wylde Audio Warhammer.

As such, the best place to keep up to date with those upcoming Dimebag models is Dean Zelinsky’s Instagram page.

The heartfelt words Wylde wrote in his popular Guitar World column, “Brewtality,” in early 2005 sum up his feelings for Darrell as a player and a person. “In my mind Dime was, without question, the best metal guitarist in the world – you’ve got Jimi Hendrix, you’ve got Eddie Van Halen, you’ve got Jimmy Page, you’ve got Randy Rhoads, you’ve got Tony Iommi, and you’ve got Dimebag Darrell. He belongs in those hallowed ranks without any shadow of a doubt. 

“On top of his talent, though, Dime was also a beautiful guy. He was totally devoid of ego, as genuine as the day is long, and also the kindest person I’ve ever met. Every time he walked into a room; he’d light it up like the ray of sunshine he was. Dime was an angel that the good Lord sent down to brighten our lives and make us happy, but now he needs him, so he’s taken him back. 

“I never had a brother, but Dime was as close to blood as possible, and my love for him was, is and always will be beyond unconditional and forever. The bottom line is this: Dime’s influence will be felt forever, and his memory will never, ever die. He lives on in every guitarist’s veins ’cause that’s what guitar playing is: one big brotherhood.” 

And speaking of brotherhood, nearly 20 years later Zakk is now playing guitar on the Pantera tribute/celebration tour alongside Dime’s bandmates Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown with Anthrax’s Charlie Benante on drums. At every show, Wylde wears a denim vest featuring large “St. Dime” and “St. Vinnie” patches on its front. 

Like I said, Zakk definitely wears his heart on his sleeve – or perhaps I should say, his chest.

One of the last times the two of us were together with Dime was for the “Booze Brothers” private guitar lesson that was part of Guitar World’s March 2003 issue. In it, you said hearing a great player inspired you “to wanna practice 24/7, and it still does to this day.” When you were learning Dime’s guitar parts for the Pantera shows, what aspects of his playing inspired you?

“Every single note, Father Nick – every single note! [Laughs] In addition to the hits like Walk, I’m Broken, Cowboys and This Love, we also do some deeper tracks like Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit [Reinventing the Steel], Strength Beyond Strength and Use My Third Arm [both from Far Beyond Driven]. While I was learning them, I realized a lot of the chord changes and note choices Dime would make were pretty dissonant – just for the flavor of the soup, if ya know what I mean.

“I kept thinking, ‘Wow, that was interesting. I would’ve never made that chord change or gone to that note; I wonder why he chose to go there for this section.’ And obviously, some of Dime’s chord voicings are really interesting, too. He used a lot of root/major 3rd, root/minor 3rd and inverted chords instead of just playing a normal root/5th power chord. It’s definitely been a very cool experience.”

Dime also incorporated a lot of chromatic movement and blues bends, which, alongside the traits you’ve just mentioned, helped add extra tension, excitement and darkness to a riff or chord sequence.

“Without a doubt. There are definitely certain little bits of trickery and some Doug Henning [a famous Canadian magician who passed away in 2000] magical things going on in Dime’s stuff. Rex showed me a couple of things I wasn’t 100 percent sure about, like when Dime goes to G# in Becoming instead of a G, which is what a lot of people think he played, and I was like, ‘What sort of sorcery is this?!’ [Laughs]

“It’s all about adding Tabasco sauce or whatever type of flavoring you want – whether it’s cilantro or sour cream. It all depends on what you’re writing and what you’re aiming for. It’s like Tony Iommi putting the flat five in there because it makes a riff sound darker. Whereas Jimmy Page would sometimes use the major 3rd [hums the interlude riff of Bring It on Home from Led Zeppelin II], which is more of an uplifting thing. There is no right, and there is no wrong.” 

How did you approach learning Dime’s riffs and solos?

“I learned Dime’s stuff the same exact way I do when I play with Ozzy, Zakk Sabbath, Generation Axe [with Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi] or the Experience Hendrix stuff. You’ve just gotta sit down, do the work and learn how to play the song and solos – whether they’re by Saint Dime, Saint Randy, Lord Iommi or Saint Jimi, plus of course, Jake [E. Lee]. It’s no different. There’s a big difference between listening to and loving a song and actually being able to play it. You’ve just gotta put in the time and work – there’s no iPhone app for that, brother! [Laughs]”

Did you do it the “old school” way by listening to Pantera’s albums with guitar in hand, or did you use transcriptions and videos?

“I did all of the above, including watching YouTube and everything like that. I remember checking out some videos by Ola [Englund] just from Googling ‘how to play’ certain Pantera songs. Back in the day, you’d ask your friends if you couldn’t figure something out.

“Like I call you up and go, ‘Nick, you worked with Dime on his Guitar World column; what’s he doing on this section? I can’t make it out.’ But nowadays you can just go on YouTube and find some slamming player who’ll show you how to play Eddie’s tapping part in Eruption or whatever. So I definitely did a lot of that.”

I imagine the rehearsal boot camps were invaluable. Playing newly learned songs along with the recorded versions is one thing, but performing them in a band situation is a completely different beast, especially when they’re Pantera songs.

“Rehearsing those songs with the fellas is obviously really important; the training wheels are definitely off at that point! [Laughs] Like you said, playing along with the album is one thing, but being able to play those same exact songs by yourself or with other players is completely different. It’s like trying to drive someplace you’ve been before but without your car’s GPS. Good luck with that! 

“For me, it’s a matter of retaining everything: learning all the parts and then remembering how many times they’re repeated before moving on to the next one. I deliberately write Black Label stuff as caveman as possible. But, as you and I know, a lot of Pantera’s material ain’t like that at all; it’s definitely not meat-and-potatoes-type stuff! 

“Once again, you’ve gotta put the time and work in. There is no substitute for that, and there are no shortcuts. You can’t avoid it, Father Nick… you’ve just got to go to your room and do your homework like a good boy! [Laughs]”

And then, of course, there are those stellar solos.

“Dime’s solos are like prime steaks: ribeye, filet, porterhouse, sirloin, New York strip… They’re all different and they’re all great, so bring them all on! It’s kind of like the Ozzy thing, because for me they’re all fun to play. Obviously, I love doing Randy’s leads, but I also get to play the [Jake E. Lee] solo in Bark at the Moon, which is amazing, too. With Dime’s leads it’s the exact same thing. 

“I mean, we start the set with A New Level, and Dime was just shredding through the whole solo – and that’s right out of the gate! Obviously, his solos in songs like Walk and This Love are Mr. Crowley-type leads where you have to play them the way it is on the record. They’re songs within songs, straight from the Saint Rhoads school of song and solo writing.”

To quote Dime from “The Booze Brothers” private lesson you guys did together in the March 2003 GW, “When it comes to leads, Zakk plays a pretty hardcore right-hand game. He picks a hell of a lot more than I do, whereas I tend to slur a lot more than he does. Both approaches are equally cool, though; they just have a different attack and feel.” Did you find that learning his solos made you change your usual picking approach in certain places? 

“As far as picking technique and stuff, I’m more staccato whereas Dime’s more legato. That’s just the way I play. That said, there are certain parts where it has to be legato, so you just do it, otherwise you’re not going to get that sound. If Saint [Allan] Holdsworth wanted to pick every note, he could have, but it wouldn’t have given him the flavor of soup he was looking for. He wanted it to sound breathy, like a saxophone, not staccato.” 

Due to your unique playing style and approach, at the end of the day, you’re always going to sound like you and, in my humble opinion, that’s a wonderful thing. 

“Without a doubt, and that’s the beauty of the guitar. Stevie Ray Vaughan playing Voodoo Child sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughan playing Voodoo Child – he has such a unique touch, sound and style, he just can’t help it! It’s the same thing as hearing Randy playing Black Sabbath stuff – it sounds like him and it’s awesome.” 

I spoke with Ola [Englund] and Grady [Champion, Dime’s guitar tech] and, like me, they both feel Darrell would’ve loved the fact that you’re honoring him by playing his songs and solos “the Zakk way.” And, just like you playing his material with Phil, Rex and Charlie, I’m sure Dime would be totally reverent to what you recorded but play it in his own unique, inimitable style.

“Yeah, without a doubt. All the notes in the No More Tears solo would be right, but it would still sound like Dime playing because it would have his touch – you couldn’t escape that, and you wouldn’t want to. That’s the beauty of it; it would be his interpretation of the parts he learned.” 

I noticed that in all the footage and photos I’ve seen of the first six South American shows, it looked like you were only using one guitar: a Wylde Audio Warhammer tuned down to C# and armed with a Floyd Rose plus your usual EMG 81/85 pickups. 

“I just used one guitar through the whole show for that first run. That was it – plug in and off we go!”

I know Dime gave you some guitars; can we expect to see any of those making an appearance at any of the upcoming shows?

“I definitely want to bring them out, but I didn’t want to travel with them on a lot of flights like we were doing in South America. I was like, ‘Man, if these things disappear, I’ll be pretty bummed out.’ The guitars Dime gave me are literally ‘one of one.’ There are no replicas, and even if there were, the whole special part of it would be me bringing the real thing out on stage.”

From what I can gather, the rig you’ve been using thus far mainly consists of the usual amps, cabs and pedals you normally use.

“That’s right, I’m using the rig I use with Black Label, Ozzy, Zakk Sabbath, Experience Hendrix and Generation Axe – my Wylde Audio tops, my Marshall cabinets and my usual pedalboard. Because Dime used solid-state amps in Pantera and I use tube stuff, I wasn’t sure if it would sound right.

“So when I was getting ready to rehearse with the fellas, I was thinking of finding out what Randall heads Dime used and then buying a whole bunch of them on Reverb or eBay. But when we got down to rehearsals, I used my rig and it worked out just fine. Obviously, I had to get a [DigiTech] Whammy pedal for Becoming, so I’m now the proud owner of one of those. 

“And I had to get noise gates too because I don’t use them. I just Googled ‘best noise gates’ and the Dunlop one [Dunlop MXR Smart Gate Noise Gate M135] came up so I bought a couple. Those pedals are amazing; I can stand right in front of my rig with it screaming pure lightning and it doesn’t feed back when I’m playing stuff like 5 Minutes Alone, Walk or the verse riff in Cowboys. There’s nothing, just silence. 

“Those gates definitely do their job, and that ‘silence’ is such a huge part of the Dimebag soup. I mean, with Dime there was never enough distortion! [Laughs] He just wanted his tone as massively distorted as possible without having to turn down; that was a big part of Dime’s sound.”

Do you dial in your amps differently for the Pantera shows?

“No. It’s just balls to the wall. Thank the good Lord and John Paul II for those noise gates, though. Without those bad boys I wouldn’t be able to get through the Pantera show; I’d be tap dancing on my pedalboard like I was in Riverdance, switching my OD pedal on and off all the time! [Laughs]”

You pretty much leave your overdrive pedal switched on the whole time, right? It’s an integral part of your sound.

“It’s always on except for in This Love and Planet Caravan, where I just turn the pedal off, turn the volume on my guitar down and there’s my clean sound. I don’t channel-switch or anything like that – I never have. I just use stompboxes right into single-channel heads. There’s fewer things that can go wrong with a simple setup like mine.”

In addition to your long-serving guitar tech, Stephen Murillo, you’ve also got Dime’s wingman, Grady Champion, working with you on the Pantera shows. 

“Yeah, Grady’s part of the show. He’s back there in the kitchen cooking things up, getting things ready, operating the Whammy pedal, tweaking the gates and stuff like that – just like he did with Dime.” 

A lot of people have been commenting on how your arms have been looking impressively chiseled of late. I’m asking for a friend – what’s the story there? 

“The music business isn’t what it used to be, so now I’m doing a part-time gig at Chippendales! I’ve been giving Barb lap dances as well, so I’m making money on the side doing that. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!”

With several shows already under your belt and many more to come, what are your thoughts and takeaways from the Pantera experience so far?

“I always knew Dime was great, but now [that] I’ve really studied a bunch of his songs and solos, he’s even greater-er-er than I even realized. He definitely sits at the table with his heroes and breathes the same rarified air as Tony Iommi because, just like Black Sabbath, Pantera created a genre of music; they were the precision machine that’s still considered its benchmark to this day. 

“It’s not just about Dime’s chops and how great his technique was; it’s about what he created. That’s his legacy – and it’s way, way bigger than just being a great lead player. 

“Also, Pantera’s music is so powerful and special; it’s perfectly designed for live shows and festivals – it really is. The crowd reactions have been just insane. Dime and Vinnie would definitely be loving it – seeing what they were a part of and what they created.

“As you and I know, every day with Dime and Vinnie was Friday or Saturday night. They enjoyed life to the fullest. So, I always tell everybody this: if you want to celebrate Dime and Vinnie, you should be thankful every single day and kick as much ass as you possibly can! 

“I enjoyed many Dimebag debacles that got me in the doghouse with the wife! [Laughs] And then I’d always have to send him in to talk with her to smooth things out – ’cause I knew she wasn’t going to yell at Dime ’cause he was such a charming sweetheart of a guy!

“At the end of the day, I’m far beyond honored that I got asked to help to celebrate the incredible greatness of Saint Dime and Saint Vinnie. I guess you could say I’m on a mission from God, just like Jake and Elwood! [Laughs] 

“Joking aside, we’re just four friends celebrating our buddies’ memory and the amazing thing they created that brings so many people joy and happiness – just like their heroes did. That’s why we still listen to Randy, Eddie, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Pantera – because it brings you to your happy place. It’s a beautiful thing and to me, every show we’ve done in honor of Dime and Vinnie has been beyond special. Far beyond…”

Ola Englund has revealed he was on the list to take the electric guitar spot in the new-look Pantera lineup for the band’s ongoing tribute tour.

Last year, Pantera announced they’d be returning for an extensive tribute tour with the help of drummer Charlie Benante and Black Label Society axeman Zakk Wylde, the latter of whom had been drafted in to fill the space left by the band’s late founding guitarist, Dimebag Darrell.

But before Wylde was selected, there was a list of potential Pantera recruits – and Englund’s name was on it.

Speaking in a vlog posted to his second YouTube channel, Englund reflected on how he crossed paths with Phil Anslemo at a recent Pantera show, and revealed the band’s frontman personally told him he had been in the running for the job.

“He told me I was a great guitar player,” Englund recalled, “and he said something that I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life. He said that my name was on the list when they started talking about this Pantera tribute thing. My name was on the list? Wow.

“Obviously there are so many better alternatives but just knowing that I was considered, like even if I would have been on the bottom of the list [it] doesn't matter. It’s unbelievable to me. Tell that to 15-year-old Ola. It doesn't make any sense.”

As mentioned, the position ultimately went to Wylde, and like many Pantera fans, Englund believes the right player got the job in the end. In fact, speaking to Guitar World, the Solar Guitars founder said that “Zakk is the only option”.

“When I heard the lineup with Charlie [Benante] and Zakk, I felt, ‘That’s the right way to do it.’ I’d probably say it’s the only way to do it,” Englund reflected. “As a fan, and I’m speaking for 15-year-old Ola here, Zakk is the only option. I don’t want to see anybody else. 

“Knowing Zakk and Dime were such good friends and that they spent so much time together, there’s no-one else who can do this like he can.”

Though he might not have got the gig, Englund still played an important role in the return of Pantera. In that same GW interview, Englund revealed how Wylde watched his Dime-centric guitar videos on YouTube in order to prepare for the job.

“It’s funny to hear that a player I look up to would even bother checking out my stupid videos,” Englund says. “It’s come full circle in a way… Dimebag was my first real guitar hero. I heard the riff for Walk when I was 15, and that was it. Best guitar tone and riff I’ve heard!”

Englund’s is now the second name on the Pantera guitarist shortlist to be made public. In January, Mark Tremonti said he was asked to try out for the position, but ultimately declined the opportunity as he didn’t feel he had the right “personality”.

“[Pantera bassist Rex Brown] was talking about a possible Pantera reunion,” Tremonti told Overdrive. “He looked at me and said, ‘You should put your name in the hat,’ and I was like, ‘No way, man.’ 

“You have to be a certain type of personality to take on that role,” he continued. “It's not just about the playing, it's very much the personality, and Dime had a huge presence.”

Tremonti’s sentiments were shared by Englund, who, despite receiving support from fans wishing to see him in the Pantera lineup, said it would take a certain individual to fill Dimebag’s place.

“It has to be Zakk. He’s the guy. He’s the rock star,” Englund said in his Guitar World interview. “There are plenty of guys who can play Dimebag guitar on YouTube, but they’re not rock stars; they can’t handle those shoes. Zakk can.”

“I’d say 95 percent of Zakk’s rig with Pantera is what he records and tours with all the time,” says Stephen Murillo, Zakk Wylde’s longtime guitar tech.

“Zakk has a signature sound, and everyone knows it. So wherever he goes, that’s what he brings. When you see him live, he gives you exactly what you’re expecting.”

Here’s the gear Wylde has been using for the Pantera shows so far: 

• Two 100-watt Wylde Audio tube heads (one black vinyl, one white) running in stereo via an MXR ZW38 Black Label Chorus
• 4x12 cabinets with Electro-Voice EVM12L Black Label speakers
• Shure Axient wireless system
• Pedals on Zakk’s pedalboard: Dunlop ZW45 Zakk Wylde Wah pedal, Dunlop ZW357 Zakk Wylde Rotovibe, MXR ZW90 Zakk Wylde Phase, MXR ZW44 Zakk Wylde Overdrive and MXR Carbon Copy Delay pedal
• Pedals being used specifically for the Pantera shows: DigiTech Whammy, Dunlop MXR EVH117 Flanger and two MXR Smart Gates
• Electric guitars: Wylde Audio models tuned to C# (low to high: C#, F#, B, E, G#, C#) with EMG 81/85 pickups and a Floyd Rose
• Strings: Dunlop .10 -.52 (.10, .13, .17, .32, .42, .52)

“Zakk controls all the pedals on his board,” Murillo says. “The MXR EVH Flanger sits on the rig, and Grady likes to use that during flourishes and divebombs. It’s an amazing sound when you hit it just right; it sounds like a growling tiger. 

“The Whammy sits near the rig, just after all the other pedals, and we – Grady and I – operate that one for him. The only other change we’ve made is we needed to implement noise gates, because the very stop-start style of Dimebag warrants it.”

As for working alongside longtime Dimebag Darrell tech Grady Champion?

“It’s been lovely,” Murillo says. “Grady is a really special guy. He’s really welcoming, selfless and helpful. He brings a lot to the table with his knowledge and experience – plus the whole Pantera vibe itself, as it quite literally lives within him.

“When we’re working together, I’m just trying to receive and absorb the kind of energy he brings. He’s all in to make the show a success, no matter what.”

In the Pantera-loving metal community, Grady Champion needs no introduction. As far as the fans are concerned, he’s an integral part of the larger-than-life Pantera family. Although Grady continued to be a much-in-demand guitar tech long after Pantera effectively disintegrated in 2001, he retired from the road not so long ago – or so he thought. 

“You know me, Nick – I was totally over and done with touring,” Grady says. “Now I’m back out there for Darrell… with permission from my wife and kids, of course!” [Laughs]

In fact, when Grady announced he was joining the crew for the Pantera celebration shows, many fans were overjoyed as they felt his involvement added further credibility and credence to an already exciting venture.

“I got a little worried when I made that Facebook post about me going out – and it almost immediately hit Blabbermouth and all that shit,” Grady says.

“I was like, ‘What the fuck, dude? You don’t have anything better to write about?’ It made me a little uneasy, but I guess it’s a thing and I’m incredibly humbled that people think I add credibility to it. I’m sure my name adds more than my guitar-tech wizardry does, though; I’m no Drew Foppe [Deftones, Shinedown tech], that’s for sure!”

When you first turned up to the rehearsals in late 2022, how did you feel?

“It was weird. Because I did shows for so long after Pantera, half of me was in ‘It’s just another show’ mode. But then when I started absorbing what was actually going on, the gravity of it would start to hit me and I’d be trying my damnedest to get back to being ‘show mode’ guy. It was a pretty mixed bag.”

Was there a moment when you realized the shows weren’t just going to be good, but great?

“Yeah. It happened when we had full production going on. They started Planet Caravan and I went out front so I could soak in the whole vibe. I sat on a couch watching them play while the tribute video came on and I just started crying really hard – not just tearing up and stuff, but uncontrollable sobbing for at least 30 seconds. I literally couldn’t stop myself.

“Things changed for me after that. It was always a good vibe with everybody at rehearsals up to then, but it wasn’t ‘the full Monty.’ That was definitely a defining moment. I’ll not forget that one.

“When everyone was leaving, I just grabbed Zakk, hugged him and went, ‘Thank you, man. Thank you so fucking much for doing this and representing your brother – it means so much.’ He just looked at me like I was crazy and smiled as if to say, ‘You don’t gotta thank me, bro. I know why I’m here.’ All I could say was, ‘You don’t have any idea what this means to me. I guess I’m basically thanking you for myself.’”

I know how much doing this for Dime means to Zakk, and it’s palpable.

“You can see it in his face and the way he does stuff. You can see his passion, his ‘want’ to be there, and his deep love and respect for Darrell – and that’s the reason I’m there too. It’s really refreshing to know why Zakk’s there.

“He comes in every single day, laser focused, ready to work with a ‘Let’s do this, let’s kill this’ attitude. It’s amazing to me; there’s no wavering with the guy. He comes walking up to the stage, we hug, I put the Ultimate Warrior next to Godzilla, we all high-five and then, man, he just goes to work. 

“He’s having fun while giving it everything he’s got and then some. Zakk’s an awesome, all-around dude and I’m so thankful I’ve had the opportunity to do this again.”

There were some rumors about Zakk possibly using some of Dime’s backline gear, but outside of a few effects, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

“I heard that one too! [Laughs] I actually did make a Dime rig that I took to New Orleans for rehearsals. I hooked it up for a little bit, Zakk tried it, and he was like, ‘Bro, I don’t know.’ I also tried one of Dime’s MXR Six Band [graphic] EQs in his signal chain, but that didn’t work for him either. He was super cool about everything; he’s just gonna do Zakk. Imagine that! [Laughs]” 

To misquote a BLS song, there are no phony smiles or fake hellos with Mr. Wylde.

“You always know exactly where you stand with Zakk. It’s black or white – there’s no gray area with the dude. That’s one of the many reasons I love him. We did add a few things to his signal chain, but when all’s said and done, Zakk’s out there to represent Dime and his music, and not be a Dime clone, ’cause he’s not. He’s Zakk, and he’s out there on that stage representing his brother, paying homage to the brothers, and giving it 333 percent. That’s all that matters to me, and it couldn’t be cooler. 

“I hate all those internet ‘experts’ expecting Zakk to clone Dime note for note, sound exactly like him, use his guitars, blah, blah, blah. So many people think that’s the way to go, but it’s not. That’s not what this celebration is all about. It’s having fun, playing Pantera’s music to a crowd and doing it your way. People have to understand it’s a tribute, it’s a celebration, and he’s there for the brothers.

“Zakk’s got enough fame and he’s also got a bunch of other irons in the fire. The fact he’s put it all on hold to do Pantera is an amazing tribute to Dime and Vinnie. He’s doing what he wants to do and it’s totally genuine. There isn’t anyone Dime would rather have doing this, either. And he’d want Zakk to play like Zakk because of the mutual respect those two had for each other as players and as people. 

“What’s funny is the few people I’ve seen who can supposedly do Dime note for note still miss the mark for me. Even if you’re nailing every riff and solo note for note, in time and at the right tempo, I can always tell. People think they’ve got it nailed, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s good, but it’s not Darrell.’

“Zakk’s made other sacrifices to do this too, like when it comes to me doing stuff for him while he’s playing. He’s always done all his effects switching; he’s never had anybody controlling anything. So for him to have me switching and changing stuff back there, that’s a huge adjustment for him. He’s just gotta have complete faith and go, ‘Hey, I’m out here jamming – I hope Grady gets it!’”

With Dime you’d control his Whammy pedal, ride his noise gate for him and also tweak the MXR Flanger/Doubler while he was on stage. I’m guessing you’re doing the same for Zakk?

“Yeah. As well as the Whammy pedal, I’ve got a flanger, a chorus and two gates running back there. Whenever Zakk divebombs, I stick the [MXR] EVH Flanger on it, which adds a really cool growl. I’ll hit the pedal’s EVH button [the one that duplicates Van Halen’s Unchained setting] whenever we’re doing bombs, but sometimes I’ll manually adjust the Rate and Width knobs to where it does a trill effect for a song like I’m Broken, or a faster police-siren-type sound. 

“I used to just fuck around with Dime on the [MXR] Flanger/Doubler and make him laugh, and that’s basically what I’m doing with Zakk, too. I’m back there having fun, while he’s out there on stage doing the exact same thing. Every so often, Zakk will look at me and smile, and I’m thinking, ‘Have a good time out there, brother – I’ve gotcha.’ 

“The chorus pedal is the same MXR [Wylde] one Zakk always uses. Actually, I’ve got two of them back there. One is for his main [stereo] chorus sound; I don’t touch that one because that’s part of Zakk’s tone. I use the other chorus pedal for stuff like This Love and to add some flair in certain places. I put the depth all the way up and a slow burn on the rate, just to fatten it up even more. The only thing we’re not doing that I did for Dime is reverb. There’s no reverb because Zakk’s out there with his own delay [MXR Carbon Copy].

“The gates are the [MXR] M135 Smart Gates, and I’ve got one in front, right after the wireless switchers, and one in the back. Zakk often stands with his volume knob wide open and his overdrive pedal on when it’s quiet, so the gate on the front end shuts his EMGs up, because Pantera is tight and quiet in those spots.”

It sounds like you’re having a total blast while working your tail off.

“It’s awesome to be part of the team and in the Pantera family again. I feel really good about being out there; it’s a great vibe with everybody. I also feel like something of a father figure to a lot of the new crew guys too, and I must admit I get into ‘dad mode’ real easily: [Laughs] ‘Don’t stress on it, son; we’ll get it done and then we’re gonna have a great rock show!’”

In the vast ocean of metal guitar content that lurks within YouTube, Swedish six-stringer Ola Englund (the Haunted, Feared) is a major force, and deservedly so. 

He’s also a huge Pantera fan – and many of his Dime-centric videos have amassed impressive views. In fact, they’re so good that Zakk Wylde watched some of them when learning parts for the current Pantera celebration tour. 

“It’s funny to hear that a player I look up to would even bother checking out my stupid videos,” Englund says. “It’s come full circle in a way… Dimebag was my first real guitar hero. I heard the riff for Walk when I was 15, and that was it. Best guitar tone and riff I’ve heard! I busted my ass that summer to be able to buy a Washburn Blackjack when I turned 16. There was no turning back after that.”

What are your thoughts on the Pantera celebration tour and lineup?

“Like a lot of people who love Pantera, when I first heard about it, it felt like a double-edged sword. I was like, ‘But you can’t do it without Dimebag and Vinnie – Dimebag and Vinnie are Pantera.’ But, at the same time, Phil and Rex are also 50 percent of Pantera. Plus, as a fan, I felt this was the closest I’d get to seeing my favorite band again. You can be a gatekeeper, but we also need to keep the legacy of Pantera alive, the legacy of Dime and Vinnie. The best way to do that is to pay tribute to the brothers. 

“When I heard the lineup with Charlie [Benante] and Zakk, I felt, ‘That’s the right way to do it.’ I’d probably say it’s the only way to do it. As a fan, and I’m speaking for 15-year-old Ola here, Zakk is the only option. I don’t want to see anybody else. Knowing Zakk and Dime were such good friends and that they spent so much time together, there’s no-one else who can do this like he can.”

A lot of people have said you should be playing guitar in the Pantera tribute. 

“I’m extremely flattered by that, but no! It has to be Zakk. He’s the guy. He’s the rock star. There are plenty of guys who can play Dimebag guitar on YouTube, but they’re not rock stars; they can’t handle those shoes. Zakk can. 

“Also, I want to see the band – I don’t want to be up there! I want to be in the pit listening to that stuff being played live again; 15-year-old Ola has been longing for this. I can’t wait!”     

Earlier this week, electric guitar virtuoso Nita Strauss kicked off a North American tour in support of her soon-to-be-released second solo album, The Call of the Void.

As one would expect, the Ibanez-wielding guitar hero's first couple setlists leaned heavily on the new album, and her 2018 solo debut, Controlled Chaos.

To round out her first couple of Summer Storm tour sets, though, Strauss – who has served high-profile stints as a six-string sidekick for both Demi Lovato and Alice Cooper – has been saluting one of her own guitar heroes, Dimebag Darrell, with a rousing cover of Pantera's groove metal/outlaw anthem, Cowboys From Hell.

You can watch Strauss perform the song with her band – which includes Kasey Karlsen on vocals – at the The Loft in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this week (June 14) below.

Armed with her Ibanez JIVAX2 'Ghost' signature guitar, Strauss generously shares the lead spotlight with her live guitarist, Johnny Young, before taking center stage.

A metal audience probably doesn't want to hear a 20-minute jazz-fusion take on Cowboys From Hell, and indeed Strauss doesn't stray too far from the iconic source material, though her sharp phrasing and ever-impressive technical acumen are on full display throughout the cover.

It's not the first time Strauss has channeled Dimebag's influence onstage, either. At the 2018 Sweetwater Gearfest, Strauss performed an emotionally charged version of another one of Pantera's trademark tunes, the hard-riffing Walk, in tribute to the band's drummer, Vinnie Paul, who passed away while the festival was occurring. 

Between the release of her new album, her ongoing solo tour, and her forthcoming dates with Alice Cooper – whose band she re-joined earlier this year after taking a temporary leave of absence to tour with Lovato – Strauss has one busy summer ahead of her.

The Call of the Void is set for a July 7 release via Sumerian Records. To preorder the album, and see all of the guitarist's forthcoming tour dates, visit Strauss's website.

On December 18, 2022, about two weeks after playing their first-ever show together since 2001, Pantera are getting ready to tear up the Knotfest Carnival stage at the Anhembi Sambadrome in São Paulo, Brazil. 

Minutes before showtime, the ravenous crowd cheers along to Jackass-style video snippets of Pantera smashing things, blowing up shit, playing practical jokes and performing mind-blowing shows in the Nineties. 

A projection of a silhouette of the late Dimebag Darrell – wearing a Dean electric guitar, fist raised in triumph – and his late brother Vinnie Paul – holding up a drumstick – fill the screens as the band takes the stage to the weird and ethereal Peter Ivers song In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song) from David Lynch’s Eraserhead. The moment the nation has waited more than 27 years for has arrived.

“This is called A New Level,” shouts vocalist Phil Anselmo, and immediately Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde, Cattle Decapitation bassist Derek Engemann (who’s temporarily filling in for Covid-stricken Pantera co-founder Rex Brown) and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante blast into the chugging opening rhythm of the song as the crowd chants to the beat. Then, Wylde, armed with an orange-and-black bullseye-decorated Wylde Audio Warhammer, doubles the speed of the riff and sparks start to fly – literally and figuratively.

Turbulence and discord were obstacles for Pantera’s return to the stage long before Vinnie Paul died of a heart attack in 2018. Many fans and critics have insisted that booking a “Pantera” tour that doesn’t feature founding members Dimebag Darrell Abbott (who was killed onstage in 2004) and Vinnie Paul Abbott is offensive, even with the remaining Abbotts’ blessings. 

Others claim the real offense would be to bury the band’s explosive concerts along with the brothers, and that Wylde and Benante are the perfect fill-ins (not replacements) for Dime and Vinnie. Zakk and Dime were close friends and Benante was tight with Dime and Vinnie, who were big Anthrax fans and who toured together in 1998. 

“To me, it’s just a beautiful thing,” Wylde says of the worldwide tour that includes U.S. dates opening for Metallica and headlining with Lamb of God, as well as numerous festival appearances.

“Whenever we do the Experience Hendrix thing, we pay tribute to the amazing music and playing of Jimi Hendrix. And when I’m playing Mr. Crowley or Crazy Train with Ozzy [Osbourne], we’re celebrating the greatness of Randy [Rhoads]. It’s not controversial or tragic. It’s about this awesome thing Pantera created – and this community of people who still enjoy it.” 

Seeing the revamped Pantera onstage in São Paulo (or anywhere else), it’s hard to dispute Wylde’s comments or talk smack about the band’s gangbuster performances. This is, indeed, a beautiful thing. Throughout the São Paulo show, Wylde plays most of the crunching rhythms in a partial crouch, biceps bulging, hair swaying left and right, obscuring his face. 

The sound is vintage Pantera – scooped mids, crushing power chords embellished with artificial harmonics, Whammy pedal squeals and jaw-dropping solos. If you close your eyes, you can picture Dime and Vinnie up there with Phil.

Wylde worked obsessively to emulate Dime’s sound and style, and if that’s not enough to convince everyone that this is an act of love for the Abbotts, the guitarist’s cut-off jean jacket cements the deal. It’s covered with orange-and-black patches dedicated to the late Abbott brothers. There are circular patches of their faces, each partially surrounded by “St. Dime” and “St. Vinnie,” respectively. A patch on Wylde’s right shoulder reads “Pantera” and features a line of stars that look like a military insignia. 

On his back, the edges of the CFH [Cowboys from Hell] logo peek out under his studded black strap. And just in case anyone missed the message, a rounded “Pantera” patch is positioned above the back patch and the words “Cowboys from Hell” are perched below. 

On a more personal level, a razorblade dangles from a chain around Wylde’s neck – an homage to Dime’s trademark necklace, which Dime wore in homage to Judas Priest and the iconic cover of their British Steel album.

“We’re up there celebrating Dime and Vinnie. That’s what this is about, and it brings joy to so many people,” Wylde says, adding that playing Pantera songs is just as enjoyable for him and Benante, whose T-shirt displays a Simpsons-style drawing of the Abbott brothers. “For us, it’s really special because we’re commemorating our buddies – the guys in Pantera who we loved – and everything they did for music.”

Usually, when Wylde talks to journalists, he regales them with hysterical stories about working and playing with Ozzy and Black Label Society. Frequently, he chronicles many of the madcap misadventures he enjoyed and the venues he destroyed when he was living out his rock ’n’ roll fantasies. 

These days, he’s recapping his history and relationship with the guys in Pantera and discussing the tour that many – including Vinnie Paul – thought would never happen. While he’s occasionally self-deprecating and cracks a few good jokes, Wylde is absolutely reverential to everyone in Pantera and talks far less about himself than about the purpose of the reunion and Dime’s groundbreaking playing. 

In addition to addressing how inspiring Dime’s technique was to a legion of fans, he emphasizes how the insight he gained from their friendship keeps him upbeat and motivated today.

“Dime’s attitude was that you should be loving and living life to its fullest every waking moment,” Wylde says. “His and Vinnie’s love for life was totally infectious, and whenever you were around them everything was always positive. Always.”

Following decades of false rumors and dismissed press reports, the first legitimate hint that something was brewing in the Pantera camp came in July 2022, when Billboard reported that Anselmo and Brown were putting together a new Pantera lineup and had signed with Artist Group International to book a North American tour. When it was time to pick fill-ins for Dime and Vinnie, Wylde and Benante were the obvious choices. 

Five months later, Pantera played their first show with the new lineup at Mexico’s Monterrey Metal Fest with Judas Priest. Just as fans in the U.S. were getting antsy wondering when Pantera would rock North America, Metallica announced Pantera as their opening act for a batch of shows that are likely to be some of the biggest concerts of the year. Pantera have also announced headline gigs with Lamb of God and festival appearances in Europe.

Sitting in his studio in Los Angeles a few weeks after a Black Label Society tour with Anthrax, Wylde must feel like a medal-decorated Olympic athlete about to head into his best event. Having won over any skeptics with his fiery, heartfelt performances at the late-2022 dates in Latin America – which were less a trial run and more a trial by fire – Wylde is feeling confident and relaxed. 

Perched before a wall of at least 35 variously colored hanging Wylde Audio Odin Barbarian and Odin Grail guitars, wearing a black ski hat and matching “1998 Black Label Society” sweatshirt (the year he formed the band) and thoughtfully stroking his viking beard, Wylde is effectively out of BLS mode and in the zone for the next round of Pantera shows, which begin in a week, with two dates at the Loud Park Festival in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan. 

Black Label Society recently completed two legs of a tour with Anthrax. Did that give you an opportunity to do some jamming with drummer Charlie Benante in preparation for the Pantera tour? 

“No, because once you get on the road there’s no time to hang out and go sightseeing. Charlie was actually thinking about it. When we did the first tour with Anthrax and Black Label, we were in Vegas having coffee in the morning and Charlie comes up to me and goes, ‘Zakk, you think we can get together and work on some stuff?’ 

“And I’m like, ‘It’s not gonna happen, bro. Just stop. We’ll worry about that when we go to New Orleans.’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, but while we’re on tour we could get a practice room and…’ And I go, ‘No, dude. We’re not gonna get together and jam before I get up on stage with Black Label. I don’t even do sound checks with Black Label. It was funny. I said, ‘Charlie, you’re better off practicing to the records than waiting around for me to go over stuff with you.’”

Couldn’t you have made the time to do it once or twice just to get your feet wet? 

“Bro, once the day gets rolling, we’ve got all these things to do, and before we know it we’re onstage again. The running joke is – whether we’re doing three or four shows in a row – as soon as we get up there and Zeppelin and Sabbath are playing over the sound system right before we go on, we’ll do a cheer with the fellas and I’ll go, ‘Didn’t we just do this 20 minutes ago? It feels like we’re back up onstage for the third set of the night!’ So, no, man. There’s no time.” 

How long did you rehearse in New Orleans before the first Pantera show?

“We were there for almost two weeks, just so we could go over all the parts and make sure everybody knew the playbook. It worked out really great. We just made sure everything fit in the right pocket and everyone was on the same wavelength.”

Was there a learning curve before you found the right groove?

“Not really, because we’ve all been doing this for so long. I think it’s the same way with anything when you’re dealing with professionals. Whether it’s football teams, baseball teams, bands. You got other players in there that know what they’re doing and how to play the game. 

“If you take [wide receiver] Jerry Rice [who was best known for playing on the San Francisco 49ers] and put him on the New England Patriots – so that now he’s with [former quarterback] Tom Brady – once him and Brady go over the routes it’s just like, ‘Okay, Tom, just throw me the ball. I’ll be there.’ He knows the game well enough to play with anybody. It’s the same with music. You learn the plays and then do what you gotta do.”

Did you already know how to play all the songs?

“It’s so funny that people think I’d already played all these songs. On the first Anthrax/Black Label run we did, [bassist] Frankie Bello was like, ‘Zakk, you know all the parts, right?’ I go, ‘No, I don’t know any of the parts. Why would I?’ It’s like if Dime agreed to fill in for me doing a run with Ozzy and I asked him, ‘Hey, can you come up right now and play the solo to No More Tears, Miracle Man or Stillborn?” He’d be like, ‘Well, I’ve heard the songs, but that doesn’t mean I know how to play ’em. First I gotta learn ’em!’ You have to practice, and you have to work on it to get everything right.”

Was it easy to learn Dime’s parts?

“Some of them. But I had to go to YouTube for a batch of stuff if I couldn’t figure it out. That was definitely a massive help. And then there were still about two or three things where Rex went, ‘Nah, you’re slightly off. Do this’ – whatever it was. And I’m like, ‘Oh, okay. I got it now.’” 

What was the greatest challenge?  

“The hardest thing wasn’t learning them; it was learning the proper way to play them so they sound like Dime – because everybody’s gonna play certain things their own way. I remember when I used to play [Rush’s] The Spirit of Radio, I learned it on the B string and the G string, and I had to do this big stretch. My guitar teacher was like, ‘No, no, Zakk. It’s all open strings. It’s on the second fret on the E and the B.’ That was way easier. 

“I remember reading an article with Al Di Meola years ago, and he was saying that when he was learning all this hybrid chicken pickin’ stuff, he was going, ‘Man, how do they do that?’ There are all these string jumps and he’s just using a pick [instead of his fingers]. 

“He said, ‘Looking back on it, learning it incorrectly helped me with my picking immensely.’ So no matter how you do it, it’s really just a matter of sitting and learning it. You just work on it until you can do it and it sounds right.”

What was your favorite Pantera part to learn? 

“The actual riff that Dime jammed on for Cowboys from Hell was very cool. I don’t know if Dime was doing a finger exercise when he came up with that, or he was just jamming and noodling on and on the way Slash put together Sweet Child O’ Mine – but it’s a really great pattern. Speaking of Al Di Meola, it’s almost like something he would do, but the way Dime presented it, it was totally metal.” 

A lot of people, including artists that have covered it, have played it wrong.

“I mean, there’s several ways you could play it and it’s still the same if it sounds the same. But it’s definitely a signature Dimebag lick.”

Were you surprised when Metallica offered you the main opening slot on their tour – or was that in the works for a long time?  

“I have no idea about any of that stuff. I just show up whenever we get these dates in. It’s like being a Navy Seal. You get your orders, and you go, ‘We gotta go kill some bad guys. Let’s do it!’ But no, it’s great, without a doubt. We’re friends with all those guys, so it’ll be a good time.”

Pantera formed in 1981 as teenagers. Were you a fan back when they were releasing their own albums, or did you discover them later in their career? 

“When we were doing the Pride and Glory stuff [in 1994], our drummer Brian Tichy was really into checking out new stuff. He turned me on to Pantera, Soundgarden and other cool bands. So I heard [Pantera’s] Walk and Mouth for War and I loved them. And then I heard I’m Broken ’cause it was on Headbanger’s Ball.”

When did you first meet Dime?

“We played the 1994 Monsters of Rock show at Castle Donington in England. Aerosmith was headlining and Extreme was on the bill. But then you had Sepultura and Pantera. We opened the show, so then we got to watch all the other bands and hang out. That’s when we met all the guys in Pantera. They were awesome guys and, to me, they were the new breed.

“People always ask me, ‘What was Dime’s legacy?’ I always think of Dime in the same way I think of Tony Iommi. He’s just beyond – and loved, obviously. We all love King Edward [Van Halen] And Saint [Randy] Rhoads and everything they did with their chops. But I think Pantera is the benchmark for what they did with insanely heavy metal, kind of how Black Sabbath is the benchmark for hard, riff-driven stuff and just heaviness in general. As far as his riffs and his playing go, I think Dime sits at the table with Tony Iommi.”

Dime didn’t just play with speed and flair; he and the rest of the band were incredibly tight. 

“If you’re talking about the sound of Pantera, a lot of that comes because of Dime’s love for Eddie and Randy. The playing is rooted in precision. It’s not sloppy. When you listen to punk, it’s all about aggression. You’re not worried about it being super-tight or musically complicated. You just want the aggression, and the slop that’s there is part of the flavor. But with Pantera, between Vinnie’s drumming and Rex’s tight basslines, along with Dime’s incredible playing, which is also so tight, the band is just a fine-tuned precision instrument.”

Aside from being so tight, what was Dime’s greatest gift as a guitarist?

“The way he played and his core choice of sounds. A lot of them are just for dissonance purposes, and it sounds dirty and nasty, and it screams, but that’s the flavor you want in the soup. There’s a lot of thought and planning that went into the way he chose to go from one chord to another in unexpected ways, and it totally works in every song. Everything he did worked, which is pretty incredible.”

How long was it after you met Pantera at Castle Donington that you and Dime became tight?

“He was super-cool to me from the start. He knew who I was because I had played with Ozzy. But really, our friendship started with us being huge fans of a lot of the same bands and talking about music. We’d always talk about the guitar players we loved and why we loved them.”

There are legendary stories about you partying with Dime and tearing up shit. Is that what solidified your friendship? Or was it more a matter of being in the same industry, talking about guitarists and music? 

“It was a combination of everything. Between the playing, the drinking, how we matched our stilettos and our fishnets with our eyeliner and our rouge – all the typical stuff that brings fellas together. [Laughs]”

Did you jam with Dime over the years? 

“No. Why would we do that? It cuts into drinking time. [Laughs] Let’s see. We could be at an Irish pub somewhere laughing our asses off or we could be working on writing some new music. Hmmmm. I think we’ll be at the Irish pub! [Laughs] “Seriously, man. There was no time to jam. They live in Texas. I was out in California. Whenever we got together it was just to have a good time.”

What’s the first great drinking story you remember with Dime?

“Dude, if I remembered it then it wouldn’t be great. When we started hanging out, of course, we drank, but most of the time drinking with Dime would be over the phone. We talked on the phone all the time for several hours just drinking away. We’d make each other cry, we’d be laughing so hard. But every time we got together it was always hilarious – nothing but pure comedy. And sometimes we caused some mayhem.”

Like what?

“One time, I was down at Dime’s house and it was like a lost Weekend at Bernie’s down there. I had to make sure I got a flight home to Newark [airport in New Jersey] to help Barbaranne, my wife, with our two newborn kids. They were 15 months apart and they were in strollers. I end up in this drunken debacle, and of course, I miss the flight home. 

“So Barb is with the babies and they’re crying and I’m not there. So yeah, Barb wasn’t a happy camper for that one. Dime smoothed that one over for me so she wouldn’t yell at me too much. She’s not gonna yell at Dime. He was my guardian angel on that one – my ‘get out of jail free’ card.”

There’s a great story about Pantera trashing producer Terry Date’s rental cars. You had a similar experience with Dime once and you wound up crashing a 4x4 through fences by the road and doing donuts on people’s property, yes?

“That was complete and total insanity. I thought it was a rental car the whole time and it turned out to be his buddy’s truck that we trashed. [Dime’s wife] Rita had to do some damage control and put out some fires on that one. Pretty much whatever we did – and you can see a lot of the kinds of practical jokes on the Vulgar Videos they released – it was all just tons of silliness and stupidity. And thank God, nobody got hurt.” 

Dime and Vinnie had a reputation for being extremely generous. People close to them say the Christmas parties they threw at their dad’s house were legendary and guests would get showered with gifts before they left. Did Dime ever give you an amazing present for Christmas or your birthday?

“Oh, man, it didn’t have to be Christmas or Easter or Thanksgiving. Dime would just pop up all the time and give people gifts. If he knew you were a Judas Priest fan and he got a copy of their new box set before it came out, he would just give it to you. He was Santa Claus with a pink beard. That was one of his nicknames.”

What was your favorite gift from Dime?

“It would have to be the Dean guitars. I’m probably going to break out two of them on this upcoming run, which will be pretty cool.”

Some say Dime and Vinnie were larger than their music. Were they larger than life?

“Oh, man. If you think about them or you want to celebrate them, then treat every day like it’s a Friday or Saturday night because that’s what they did. Don’t feel sorry for yourself for 10 minutes, five minutes, five seconds. You should not be bumming about anything for even one second because that’s not gonna fix anything anyway. They were always having fun and they were hysterical. They videotaped everything, and looking back it’s all just Benny Hill comedy reels.”

Did you ever see Dime when he was down? 

“No, not in person. The only time was when we used to talk on the phone back when he was starting Damageplan. He was upset about Pantera. They had worked so hard to get to where they did and then it all ended, and he basically had to start over again with Damageplan. He was like, ‘Zakk, what am I gonna do?’ That was the only time I ever knew when he was upset or down.”

What did you say to him?

“I was just like, ‘Dude, you’re like Eddie or Randy to so many kids out there. You gotta take that gift and just carry on.’ I had a famous shot of Randy, where he was sitting there looking into the mirror, practicing guitar. So, I sent it to Dime when he was making that Damageplan record and I said, ‘Whenever you’re feeling down, just look at this picture for inspiration.’ Aside from that, he was always a powerful light and a force of positivity.”

There was an incredible connection between Dime and Vinnie, and that was a big part of Pantera’s chemistry. They were closer than brothers. 

“Yeah, well, almost. I remember telling Eddie Van Halen, ‘Ed, you should check out this band Pantera. Dime and Vin are kind of like you and Alex. They’re brothers, and they love you guys.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, yeah? Sounds cool.’ But definitely, man, they were family. They were close, they had chemistry, and that’s always gonna be there in the music.”

Dime was your best friend. How did his death affect you? 

“It was definitely crazy. They had played Seattle [on November 14, 2004] and then they were in Ohio [where Dime was murdered on December 8]. They were scheduled to go to L.A. from there. Not long before the Ohio thing, I spoke to Dime and he said, ‘I’ll see you in about two weeks!’ And I went, ‘Alright, cool, man. We’ll all have a good time.’ And then, suddenly, we’re in fuckin’ bizarre land. 

“I was going to see him soon and suddenly… It was just weird. I remember talking to Vinnie when we were down in Australia in 2014, and he said, ‘Zakk, I can’t believe it. My brother’s almost been gone for 10 years.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know. It’s crazy, man. It’s just crazy.’ And now Vinnie’s [been] gone [for almost five years]. 

“It just goes to show you how every day is a gift. It really is. Not that you need to see your friends pass away to realize how precious life is. But it’s the truth. Every day is a gift.”

There were reports back in 2014 that you, Phil and Rex wanted to play a reunion tour with Vinnie. 

“I told Vinnie and the fellas, ‘If you guys ever wanted to do it, of course I would be there for you to support you and to support Dime. Just tell me what I need to learn and I’ll learn it.’ There were all these conversations circling around.”

How close did it come to happening?

“I think it was pretty close, but you’d have to ask Phil and Rex exactly what happened – whether they got into an argument or something – I don’t know. I’m friends with all of those guys, and I said, ‘It’s none of my business. I’m just here for you if you want me involved.’”

Do you know if Vinnie ever made peace with Phil?

“I have no idea where Vinnie was with Phil back then. Like I said, I don’t get involved with that stuff. I’m not saying this [group of performers] is Pantera. I just want to honor Dime and the band. It’s like asking Eric Clapton, ‘If Mitch [Mitchell] and Noel [Redding] said, Would you honor Jimi and go out and play and sing with us?,’ of course Clapton’s gonna say yes. It’s not even a matter of saying yes. You have to do this. So if they ask you to do it, you do it.”

Considering how much bad blood there was for so long, how did this finally end up happening? How did you get involved in what has turned out to be the greatest possible tribute to Pantera? 

“It was easy. Phil called me up and said, ‘Hey, Zakky, you want to go out and honor Dime and Vinnie?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, when do you want to do it?’ And that was it. We talked about it for a while and then we all got on a group chat and talked about what songs we were gonna do and the tunings and everything like that.”

What’s the highlight for you in terms of doing these songs?

“Just keeping them alive and paying tribute to Dime and Vinnie and Pantera. I just look at it this way. I [imagine] Dime and Vinnie are with us and we’re at the House of Blues, and we say, ‘Wait ’til you see this early birthday present we got you guys.’ And they’re figuring it’s gonna be the ultimate Kiss tribute band because they love Kiss. 

“The curtain opens up, and it’s me and Charlie playing their stuff with Rex and Phil! They’d be going, ‘I can’t believe what I’m seeing right now!’ They’d be on the floor crying, laughing, high-fiving each other, going, ‘This is hilarious. The guys actually took the time to learn our stuff.’ I know they’d be having the best time. And I can just hear Dime saying, ‘Holy shit, Zakk bought a Whammy pedal for this!’”

Do you ever feel Dime and Vinnie’s presence?

“All the time. And it’s so crazy because when we started talking about doing this thing, there would be constant reminders about it wherever I went. I told Barb, ‘Dime is willing this thing to happen. He wants this to happen.’ I’d just get constant reminders of him all the time, whether it was a picture or something on my phone, or I’d be driving and I’d see a Pantera license plate or a ‘333’ somewhere – that was Dime’s lucky number. I was literally going, ‘He’s watching and he’s here with me.’”

Dimebag was a guitar hero. You’re a guitar hero. But no matter who you are, it’s hard to step into someone else’s shoes – especially when there are people out there who don’t want that. Was there ever a moment when you thought it would be too hard physically or emotionally to get up there and play Pantera songs? 

“When Pantera released Far Beyond Driven, I asked Dime why he wrote such aggressive riffs, and if he’s a really angry person inside. He said, ‘Dude, I’m not angry about anything.’ I realized Dime and Vinnie were literally the Van Halen side of the band – exciting, energetic and always ready for a good time – and Phil’s lyrics and vocals made the music darker and more vicious. And the contrast was amazing.

“When you look at the bands we love – whether it’s the Beatles, the Stones, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Cream – when you look at them, every one of them had this special chemistry. With Van Halen, you got Eddie and then you got Dave [Lee Roth]. And it’s just a perfect combination. But if you took John Bonham and put him in Black Sabbath, and you took Bill Ward and put him in Led Zeppelin, you’d have two completely different bands. 

“And then imagine putting Robert Plant in Black Sabbath and Ozzy in Led Zeppelin. Completely different. When you talk about all these amazing musicians we love, if you mixed and matched them, it’s crazy to think of what the outcomes might have been like. Pantera were four guys that were a perfect fit for each other – all of them – when they came to the table and made that soup. And for a while it was the best of all possible worlds.”

When Zakk Wylde was first announced as the guitarist for current lineup of Pantera, it was initially mooted he would use guitars that were given to him by Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott himself – that didn’t turn out to be the case, as Wylde stuck to his own guitar company’s Wylde Audio Warhammers. But the Ozzy Osbourne guitarist is now paying tribute to his old friend in the best way possible.

Photos from the band’s recent European tour dates have showcased Wylde brandishing a new version of his faithful Warhammer with a lightning bolt graphic that recalls Dimebag’s legendary Dean From Hell design.

In an Instagram post shared prior to the tour, Wylde offered a closer look at the guitar, which even features a silhouette of Dimebag on the rear of the headstock.

Besides the guitar being a sweet homage to his drinking and guitar buddy, this new Warhammer is particularly notable because it looks like it could become a production model.

We say ‘become’, but Wylde’s personal example already appears to be a production-line guitar – it’s made in South Korea and features a serial number: WA16020375. You’re extremely unlikely to see a serial with that many digits on a custom-built guitar.

There’s currently no comment on the guitar from Wylde’s camp, which indicates further developments down the line. What more, there are no Warhammer models listed on the website of Wylde Audio parent brand Schecter at the time of writing.

While the visuals tip their hat to Dimebag, the new guitar is spec’d to Wylde’s tastes – you can spot the usual EMG 81/85 pairing, Grover tuners and Floyd Rose locking tremolo.

But that could be subject to change if the tribute design heralds the start of a new Dimebag Darrell line built under the Wylde Audio brand.

Back in 2021, Dimebag Darrell’s estate sued Dean Guitars, parting ways with the company most associated with the late Pantera guitarist. After the story broke, Wylde was asked whether Wylde Audio would ever produce Dimebag guitars – tellingly, the guitarist didn’t say no.

“I remember when that first came out, but I didn’t know the whole skinny on that," Wylde said of the lawsuit. "But I mean, Dime's always been associated with them. I mean, actually, he brought them back into business when they were out of business. He brought them back into business just because of his popularity, and him playing that guitar. 

"But, if we were to ever do something like that, you know, obviously we'd talk with [Dimebag’s longtime girlfriend and trustee of his estate] Rita [Haney] and [ask] whatever she wanted to do.”

Wylde Audio might not be the only company working on new Dimebag designs. Back in January, Dean Zelinsky – the founder of Dean Guitars and now owner of boutique electric guitar brand Dean Zelinsky Private Label – shared a photo of a new Razorback design with the caption “Working on it…”

Given Dimebag’s relationship with both Zelinsky and Wylde, we could end up with hand-crafted and production-line guitars from two separate companies – or Zelinsky’s input on the Wylde offerings.

The designer of the original Dean From Hell lightning storm motif, Buddy Webster aka Buddy Blaze, previously took Dean to court over the design, but the case was ultimately dismissed. Webster passed away in August 2021.

Kayla Kent – the YouTube shredder/Pantera mega-fan who first caught guitarists’ attention with an eerie ability to channel the sonic spirit of Dimebag Darrell – is up to her usual tricks.

However, her latest video takes the Dimebag channeling one step further: it’s one thing to cover a player’s solo with pinpoint accuracy, but it’s a completely different story when trying to embody said player with a piece of original composition.

It’s an exercise that many attempt and very few succeed at, but Kent might just have proven beyond all doubt that she’s the best in the business at harnessing Dimebag’s iconic tone and style by doing just that… over a Megadeth track.

In a video titled, “What if Dimebag Darrell did the Symphony of Destruction solo?”, Kent journeyed into an alternate universe where Dimebag did join Megadeth – yes, that was once actually a possibility – and ended up cutting the lead effort for the 1992 hit, rather than Marty Friedman.

To say it’s scary accurate would be putting it mildly. With her sticker-adorned Kramer JK8000 – which itself oozes the style of Dimebag’s Dean ML – the shredder serves up a suite of Pantera-appropriate pinch harmonics and furious scale runs, as well as some whammy bar plunges to boot.

We aren’t the only ones completely in awe of Kent’s effort. “If someone told me that this was an unreleased solo that Dime recorded for Symphony, I’d believe you,” one commenter wrote. “It’s like you harnessed Dime’s spirit for this.” “Amazing,” wrote another. “Old school Dime vibe.”

It seriously raises the question whether any working guitarist is better than Kent at conjuring Dimebag’s sound and style. Sure, Zakk Wylde is doing a fine job as Pantera’s new guitarist – Kent has even covered his own take on the Cowboys From Hell solo – but he’s doing it Wylde style. Kent’s sound is Dimebag reincarnated.

As for how she nurtured her remarkable ability, Kent once told us it may have had something to do with the way she learned Pantera songs as a fan in the first place.

“I genuinely adore [Dimebag's] playing and Pantera's songwriting,” she said. “I learned a ton of Pantera songs by ear, and I wonder if maybe that is more accurate to picking up Dime's nuances than doing everything by tabs.

“I'm too frustrated by tabs that I'll only bother to look at them when there's a complex lick that I really want to get right,” Kent continued. “As a result, I'm sure I play a bunch of his stuff ‘wrong’, but if it sounds good then I'm okay with that.”

Conversing with commenters on her latest video, Kent hinted that original material will be arriving “soon” – and, owing to the caliber of her chops, and now-evident composition skills, we just have a feeling it’s going to be ace.

Head over to Kayla Kent’s YouTube channel to peruse her videos.

The names of Zakk Wylde and Dimebag Darrell are closely linked, now more than ever. Not only is Wylde currently honoring the late heavy metal icon as part of Pantera’s ongoing tour, the pair were also close friends, having first met way back at the 1994 Monsters of Rock Show in England.

You’d think, given their offstage friendship, heavy metal bond and shared appreciation for the electric guitar, that the two titan would have been trading licks every chance they got.

Well, according to Wylde, that wasn’t the case. In fact, the Black Label Society axeman said he and Dimebag never even jammed together when they weren't onstage.

At least, that’s what he revealed in the latest issue of Guitar World, which contains an in-depth exploration of Wylde’s Pantera exploits past and present. It was after recounting his appreciation for Dimebag that he dropped the surprising revelation, saying the pair prioritized having “a good time together” over anything else.

“It was a combination of everything,” Wylde responded when asked about the source of their friendship. “Between the playing, the drinking, how we matched our stilettos and our fishnets with our eyeliner and our rouge – all the typical stuff that brings fellas together. [Laughs]”

As for any potential jamming, though, that was strictly second fiddle to the duo’s other alcohol-related activities. In other words, jamming cut into “drinking time”.

When asked if they’d jammed over the years, Wylde replied, “No. Why would we do that? Let’s see. We could be at an Irish pub somewhere laughing our asses off or we could be working on writing some new music. Hmmmm. I think we’ll be at the Irish pub! [Laughs]”

But boozing wasn’t the only thing that stood in the way of jam sessions, with Wylde also pointing out the geographical obstacles that were imposed on the two drinking buddies.

“Seriously, man. There was no time to jam,” he continued. “They live in Texas. I was out in California. Whenever we got together it was just to have a good time.”

Such obstacles, however, proved to be no match for the pair’s penchant for getting hammered together – while regaling Guitar World with the tales of his and Dimebag’s drinking escapades, Wylde recalled how he and his pal would drink together over the phone.

“When we started hanging out, of course, we drank, but most of the time drinking with Dime would be over the phone,” he explained. “We talked on the phone all the time for several hours just drinking away.

“We’d make each other cry, we’d be laughing so hard. But every time we got together it was always hilarious – nothing but pure comedy. And sometimes we caused mayhem.”

Such “mayhem” included trashing a car that Pantera producer Terry Date had borrowed from his friend, getting so drunk at Dimebag’s house he missed a flight home to help his wife care for their two newborn kids, and “just tons of silliness and stupidity”.

Despite the emphasis on such extra-curricular activities, part of the conversation was indeed reserved for the gear side of Wylde’s ongoing Pantera stint, for which he used a Guitar World buyer’s guide to select the one pedal he needed to channel Dimebag’s tone.

To read the full interview with Zakk Wylde, head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest copy of Guitar World.

Last year, Pantera announced they’d be returning to the stage for an extensive tour with the help of Zakk Wylde, who would be responsible for supplying his electric guitar services in place of the late Dimebag Darrell.

Though he would be helped along the way by Dimebag’s guitar tech, Grady Champion – who revealed Wylde would be using some of the Pantera co-founder’s old gear – the Ozzy Osbourne guitarist was forced to dip into the market to buy a pedal he’d never owned before.

That pedal was a noise gate – a utility unfamiliar to Wylde, who admitted he had to obtain one for the first time in order to tame Dimebag’s penchant for high gain sounds.

Speaking in the latest issue of Guitar World, Wylde recounted how he came about finding and selecting the perfect noise gate for the job – and how it was actually one of GuitarWorld.com’s buyer’s guides that pointed him in the right direction.

“When we got down to rehearsals, I used my rig and it worked out just fine,” Wylde said. “Obviously, I had to get a [DigiTech] Whammy pedal for Becoming, so I’m now the proud owner of one of those.

“And I had to get noise gates too because I don’t use them,” he went on. “I just Googled ‘best noise gates’ and the Dunlop one came up so I bought a couple.”

The “Dunlop one” Wylde refers to is – as his guitar tech Stephen Murillo and Champion both confirm later on in the issue – the Dunlop MXR Smart Gate.

A quick search for that same term on Google and you will see that Guitar World’s very own best noise gates guide occupies top spot. The number one pick from our specialist team? None other than the MXR Smart Gate – the same pedal that helped Wylde channel Dimebag on Pantera’s tour.

The Smart Gate wasn’t just a quick fix for the guitarist, though. In a testament to the Guitar World Deals team’s expert advice, the Wylde Audio warrior then went on to wax lyrical about the selection, and said he “wouldn’t be able to get through the Pantera show” without it.

“Those pedals are amazing,” Wylde gushed. “I can stand right in front of my rig with it screaming pure lightning and it doesn’t feed back when I’m playing stuff like 5 Minutes Alone, Walk or the verse riff in Cowboys. There’s nothing, just silence.”

In his interview with Guitar World, Wylde stressed the importance of his new noise gate in harnessing the “Dimebag soup."

“Those gates definitely do their job, and that ‘silence’ is such a huge part of the Dimebag soup,” he observed. “I mean, with Dime there was never enough distortion. He just wanted his tone as massively distorted as possible without having to turn down – that was a big part of Dime’s sound.

“Thank the good Lord and John Paul II for those noise gates, though. Without those bad boys I wouldn’t be able to get through the Pantera show; I’d be tap dancing on my pedalboard like I was in Riverdance, switching my OD pedal on and off all the time.”

As far as seals of approval go, they don’t get much better than Zakk Wylde, but we won’t pretend to be too surprised – our full list of buyer’s guides is filled with stellar gear picks, from electric guitars and acoustic guitars all the way to pedalboards, overdrive pedals and many, many more.

Head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World, which features the full conversation with Wylde.

James Hetfield has been recalling the influence of Dimebag Darrell on his musical output and credited the Pantera and Damageplan guitarist with introducing him to solid-state amps.

Hetfield was being interviewed by SiriusXM’s Jose Mangin on his Metal Ambassador podcast when he was asked about Dimebag. The presenter notes the pictures of the two of them “are legendary” and that the Pantera man was “a gigantic fan of Metallica and covered your songs before he met you guys.”

“Well, what a blessing to have been in his life and him in my life," Hetfield replies. “Yeah, some of those early days... just traveling down there to the Dallas area and meeting with those guys and just hanging out.

“Dimebag introduced me to the solid-state amp. I remember he had this freaking amazing crunch going on. It was like, 'What is that?' You know? So yeah, [we] inspired each other. He inspired me as well. No doubt.” 

Hetfield and Dimebag initially met on the road when Metallica toured the US in 1985. At that time Pantera were still finding their feet as a glam metal-influenced underground band in Dallas, Texas. 

Lars Ulrich recently recalled the bond between the two acts, telling Revolver: “We’ve had a relationship with them for decades and decades.”

For his part, Hetfield has since come to rely on solid-state amps, although not for the crunch sounds that he so admired in Dimebag’s rig. Instead he has long favored Roland’s Jazz Chorus combos for his clean tones. 

Over on the distortion side, Total Guitar recently interviewed producer Greg Fidelman about the amps on Metallica’s new album 72 Seasons, and he notes Hetfield used a “legendary” Marshall amp modded by Eddie Van Halen’s ‘amp wizard’, José Arredondo.

“James has combinations of multiple amps and the balance between them changes from song to song,” says Fidelman. 

“There’s always a Mesa Boogie Mark IIC++ that he’s had forever, and then this José [Arredondo-modded] Marshall – at least a combination of those two. There’s also usually a Wizard 100-watt head that’s usually got a Klon Centaur pedal on it. 

“He also has a Diezel head. When we need to find a bigger bottom-end, especially on the slower songs, we can bring that in. It has huge low-end that the other amps don’t have.”

To read the full Fidelman interview, alongside in-depth conversations with Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo, pick up the May issue of Total Guitar over at Magazines Direct.

In a recent clip, Revolver asked a diverse group of rock and metal musicians performing at the Louder Than Life festival to pick the heaviest riff of all time. 

If you’re going to take on the controversial topics, it makes sense to go to the authorities, and indeed, the list of players interviewed includes members of everyone from Halestorm, to Baroness and Gwar, right through to punishingly heavy acts like Suicide Silence.

As you might expect, the resulting nominations are as wide-ranging as the musicians that made them. However, one riff comes up repeatedly: Metallica’s Sad But True. 

“As far as like heavy, weighty and aggressive – Sad But True,” comments Halestorm’s Arejay Hale, following a prompt from Lzzy Hale. “That is one of the heaviest riffs of all time.”

Orbit Culture’s Niklas Karlsson and Richard Hansson agree. “I’m an old schooler, but I have to go with Sad But True,” says Karlsson. “Hearing that riff 30 years later, it’s like the best riff you can write.” “If Lars can pull it off!” adds Hansson, with a grin. 

Aussie hard rockers Airbourne agree on the Metallica side – but cast the net a bit wider: “Fuel’s pretty fucking heavy. Master Of Puppets is heavy. The entire Metallica discography is the heaviest riff of all time. There you go! Except for the whole Lulu thing…”

Other artists involved in the picking felt different, and the likes of In Flames, Spiritbox, We Came As Romans, Wargasm, Bloodywood, Tetrarch, Vended, Crown The Empire, Cherry Bombs, Taipei Houston, and Jose Mangin all throw in their two cents. 

Pantera arguably get more overall nods, but the musicians are split on which riff to pick – with Walk, Domination, and Cowboys From Hell all getting shout-outs. Lamb Of God and Gojira get a lot of love, too – as does Meshuggah’s crushing Bleed. Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante makes an excellent justification for the latter.

“The thing that makes [Bleed] so heavy to me isn't just how fast the double kick is and how low the guitar [is], but it's also the way that the riff speeds up and slows down,” says LaPlante. “The way that the double kick is interfering with the guitar… 

“That song has no business being over two minutes long. No human can do that for more than two minutes and there's just like, it's seven minutes of that annihilation!”

The influence of Sad But True, however, remains irrefutable. Royal Blood, St. Vincent and even Jason Isbell have all shared their own covers in recent years, proving just how far it has permeated the mainstream consciousness. 

Finally, if you’re tackling it yourself, check out our guide to the tonal secrets behind Sad But True.

To hear the full list of heaviness, check out the clip from Revolver above.

Zakk Wylde might look like a scary biker who would eat your liver with french fries and a side of garden peas but he’s actually a most congenial fellow, and if you are a Pantera fan with tickets to one of the Texan metal institution’s reunion shows, there are VIP packages available where you can not just meet the big fella but take home one of his stage-played electric guitars.

Wylde is selling a deluxe Stage Played VIP Upgrade package where you can pop along and grab a photo, get your guitar signed, shoot the breeze and ask him just how many pints of engine oil one needs to consume on a daily basis to have such powerful yet unerringly accurate picking technique. And on each night, the price of the upgrade will get you one of his Wylde Audio signature guitars that has just been used to tear through the Pantera back catalog.

These packages are on early bird pricing right now up until noon PST tomorrow (February 10), saving you 250 bucks on asking fee. Right now they are listed at $3,250, which ain’t cheap, but then you do get a guitar – a Wylde Audio Barbarian, to be precise, in a choice of three finishes.

These are a little like the Gibson SG if Les Paul had a background in medieval weaponry. Sharpened and beveled cutaways really do give it an axe quality, even if no-one calls their guitar an axe anymore.

Your finish options comprise Orange Buzzsaw, Genesis Bullseye and our favorite Purple Blizzard, and if these are the same spec as the Barbarians made in South Korea under license by Schecter, then you are in for a serious guitar. 

They certainly come fitted with a pair of active EMG 85 and 81 humbuckers at the neck and bridge positions, with individual volume controls and a master tone, a three-way pickup toggle mounted near the bridge for those quick changes. 

And they’re built of a solid combo of mahogany bodies and glued-in three-piece maple necks, 14” radius ebony fingerboards with Runes inlays to extend the Viking vibe beyond, y’know, the whole axe shape. All in all, a very respectable metal guitar. 

You’ll need a ticket for the Pantera US tour first. That picks up in the summer on July 28 when Wylde and co are scheduled to flatten Burgettstown, PA. You can get tickets and your Stage Played VIP Upgrade via Sound Rink.

When Guitar World connects with Zakk Wylde, Scott Ian and Gary Holt, the metal guitar titans are a week and a half into their North American tour: Anthrax and Black Label Society co-headlining as they did last summer, this time with Exodus roped in as special guests. 

Their show in Penticton, British Columbia a few nights earlier made headlines for an attendee referred to by the music press as ‘Angry Jesus’ – thanks to his long hair, beige robe and violent moshing – being escorted out of the venue by local police officers. It was, by all accounts, an unforgettable night which perhaps saw one bearded metal fan enjoying just a little bit too much of that holy water...

“Yeah, he got kicked out during Zakk’s set,” grins Holt – who, despite owning a blue ESP singlecut with the words ‘Officer Holt’ written around a police badge, wasn’t actually the one making arrests that night. “I don’t know what got him so angry,” he continues. “Maybe he turned a little too much water into wine [laughs]!”

“That’s what usually happens,” cackles Wylde, with a mischievous grin. “Maybe Exodus played a couple too many songs from the first record and it got him too fired up. Don’t mess with the Catholics!”

The three metal legends are on a joint Zoom call today to look back on their history as guitar players and share a thing or two about what they’ve learned along the way. When you sit down and think about their collective credentials, it’s quite staggering – as well as Black Label Society, Anthrax and Exodus, they’ve recorded with or toured as part of Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Pantera, Mr. Bungle, Stormtroopers Of Death and Pride & Glory. 

Then, of course, there have been the one-off collaborations with the likes of Public Enemy, Eric Gales, William Shatner, Destruction, Black Veil Brides, Leslie West, Dweezil Zappa, Metal Allegiance and many more. 

They’ve all played a part in making metal guitar what it is today, from the furious downpicking typified by Ian in the mid-'80s, the instantly recognizable ‘Zakk Attack’ explored on Wylde’s legendary instructional Pentatonic Hardcore and Holt’s love for diminished dissonance, as detailed in his own tutorial A Lesson In Guitar Violence. 

Here we look at the stories stretching back through nearly four decades of friendship and get them to cross-examine their own unique takes on all things six-string...

Take us back to the very beginning – when exactly did you all first cross paths?

Wylde: “I first met Scotty and the Anthrax fellas when I was rolling with Ozzy in 1988, back on the No Rest For The Wicked tour. That’s when we first started hanging together. And it’s great that we’re all rolling together now, because just the other day we were talking about our friends who are gone. 

“Whether they were amazing musicians – guitarists, singers, drummers or bass players – they don’t even play any more. They just fell off, for whatever reason. Then we have our buddies who are lifers that are still playing. 

“I guess the joys of the journey are trying to get to the Madison Square Garden or Royal Albert Hall. But while you are working on getting there, it’s a case of still playing and making sure you love it. You have to obviously still pay all your bills and rent. But the secret is to never stop playing. 

“I was talking about this with JD [Black Label Society bassist John DeServio] the other night. Even if I wasn’t blessed with having Ozzy in my life, I’d still be playing music, whether it be teaching, working in a music store, playing in a covers band or a wedding band. As long as you’re still playing, that’s all that matters at the end of the day. I guess you could call me, Scotty and Gary lifers.”

So you met Zakk long before that beard took shape, but even early on, he still had that signature wide vibrato…

Ian: “I was clean shaven too back in 1988. I even had hair on my head [laughs]!”  

Wylde: “JD gets to hear that vibrato every night and gets violently ill! People are always like, ‘Your bass player is so stealth and ripped’ and I go, ‘Yeah, it’s because he can’t hold his food down after hearing me play!’ But seriously, it’s crazy how many of our buddies from back then aren’t playing anymore. 

“Me and Scott were talking about this the other night, how they stuck it out from doing arenas with me and Ozzy back in the day, through the mean years of Anthrax, and now Anthrax is back on top. 

“There was a fall-off period where a lot of bands would have quit or given up. We know so many great musicians who gave up when they reached that lull. You have to be persistent and plough through it in this business. There are no other options. Just keep playing.”

Ian: “We always compare ourselves to De Niro in Raging Bull when he goes, ‘You never got me down, Ray, you never got me down!’ That’s how we’ve always felt, just like Jake LaMotta in the movie. No matter how many punches we took, we were never going to stop playing.”

So what would you say are each other’s strong points as guitar players?

Holt: “Well, when it comes to my own playing, I know I do a good job with the five licks I know. Five might be generous; maybe it’s four [laughs]!”

Wylde: “That’s all you need. It might only be four or five licks, but if you do them well, there you go. I remember I did a similar thing with Buddy Guy, where he was asked what he liked about my guitar playing. 

“I said, ‘Actually guys, let me speak for the Pontiff over here and answer on behalf of Buddy Guy – what he enjoys most about my playing is the sound right before you put the record on and, most of all, when the album ends [laughs]! It’s the silent bits in between. 

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Yeah, like Buddy Guy is gonna know anything about my guitar playing!’ As if he would be able to answer a question about my strong points. He didn’t even know what my name was and we’d been on the same Hendrix Experience tour for about three years [laughs]!”

Holt: “It doesn’t matter, because it’s Buddy Guy! It would be an honor even if he said he didn’t know who you were…”

Wylde: “Exactly! When people ask me what I offer kids as a guitar player, it’s the fact they can look at me and think, ‘If this ass clown can make a living playing music and afford the energy bills, then there’s hope for all of us!’ There is hope, kids. Just keep practicing.”

All jokes aside, though, the three of you are instantly recognizable as guitar players...

Ian: “I think the best compliment you can pay any musician is a bit like ‘name that tune’, when they have such an original sound, you name that guitar player in one note. I can do that with both of these guys.

“You instantly know whether it’s Zakk or Gary. They have their own sounds, feel and style. They’re complete originals. Of course, everything is derivative and comes from somewhere. We all came from similar influences but we took that and turned it into something of our own, expressing heavy music through our own filters. 

“In my eyes, that’s one of the reasons why we’re all still here doing it to the level we’re doing it: we’re all originals when it comes to playing and songwriting.”

Holt: “Well put! Sometimes all it takes is that one note. One of my all-time heroes is Angus Young, and I can identify his solos from just a pick slide. I’ll be like, ‘Aha! That’s from Let There Be Rock.’”

Ian: “And, by the way, I love Zakk’s vibrato. Who cares what JD thinks!”

Wylde: “Exactly. And, like I said earlier, he enjoys it because he’s losing weight and staying ripped!”

And while you all have different tones and styles, to some extent, it can all be traced back to Tony Iommi...

Wylde: “When any of us tell younger musicians where we came from, it all stems back to Lord Iommi. He was the Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Lennon, McCartney and Burt Bacharach of riffs. I mean, he created a whole genre that spawned Exodus, Anthrax, Black Label Society and various movements of different-sounding bands. 

“But all three of us take our influences and everything we’ve loved and digested over the years, and then play from the heart. I remember before I started with Ozz, I was trying to get a record deal and everyone was playing Bon Jovi kinda stuff to get our big break. 

“And then a lot of us realized that we didn’t like this music or even own any of these records. Why aren’t we playing music that we actually enjoy and love?! It’s right there in front of you but you can’t see it. I can hear Scott at soundcheck or Gary at soundcheck and it’s easy to tell where they come from as guitar players. 

“They’re not trying to play pop music. And with Bon Jovi, they’re playing exactly what they want to play and that’s the reason it became successful. Why pretend to be something that you’re not? Whatever it is that comes naturally is what you should be doing. That’s the only way you’re going to excel at anything.”

Holt: “That’s 100 percent correct. We all took the music we loved – all heavy metal starts and ends with Tony – and then we just added all these different things we liked, stirring it around in a big pot. In my case, it became Exodus. I grew up as a hard rock kid; those bands are where my roots are. The metal and punk rock came later. 

“Eventually you realize you owe it all to the giants whose shoulders you’re stood on. If I can influence some other kids, more power to it. I’m just paying it forward.”

To some degree, the success boils down to just how unique a spin you put on it...

Wylde: “Exactly, it’s all about that passing of knowledge, but with some degree of originality. Even with Saint Rhoads, there was his whole love for Mick Ronson – from how he was holding the Les Paul, the haircut, the whole nine yards. I never knew anything about that. 

“To me, Randy Rhoads was just Randy Rhoads. My friends would go, ‘Oh my god, this guy must really love Mick Ronson!’ and I’d be like, ‘I don’t know who Mick Ronson is!’ Then I learned more about it, finding out more about the history of things. 

“You eventually realize that Randy got a lot from Mick Ronson, who obviously got it from somebody else. Then Randy inspired the three of us, so we’re all indirectly inspired by Mick Ronson. That’s a beautiful thing that shows just how awesome the lineage of music is. You can see the roots almost like a tree...”

Holt: “Zakk often talks about Frank Marino. I was the youngest of six kids who grew up listening to Frank Marino but I never realized how much of an influence he had on Zakk until he mentioned. Now I listen to Zakk’s songs and I’m like, ‘Oh, I get it now!’ but I didn’t link the two together for a long time.”

When it comes to tone, there are many similarities and also a fair few differences. Zakk and Gary, you both love an EMG 81 in the bridge, while Scott prefers something like a Seymour Duncan JB. Zakk, you’ve used a Boss SD-1 on many a classic recording while Scott might prefer a boost and Gary might opt for a parametric EQ. But you’ve all mainly used EL34 tube amps for your live shows…

Ian: “I don’t even need a boost anymore; I just go straight into the EVH EL34.”

Holt: “I’m the opposite – I boost everything. And then I boost it again [laughs]!”

Wylde: “It all depends on what you want. Like Father Scott said, with certain things like EVH amps, Soldanos or Wizards, they have a lot of gain. The beautiful thing about JCM800s is that it’s such a simple circuit. There’s a good amount of overdrive, even more if you put a pedal in front. 

“If you want to clean it up, just turn the pedal off and roll the volume on your guitar down. It’s all good. There is no right or wrong way to do it. All it comes down to is whatever works best to get the tone you enjoy!”

Scott and Gary, you’re no strangers to JCM800s either…

Ian: “I love those old 800s. That’s what I used on the first six Anthrax albums with the TC Electronic Booster+ Distortion in front. When we recorded that Bungle record in 2020 [The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo], because it was just straight-up thrash, I pulled out my original 1982 JCM800 and old TC boost.

“Dave Friedman made sure the amp was running properly. I plugged it in and it was the exact tone from those early Anthrax albums. I used a combination of that with the EVH, which brought a little more bottom-end. I was so happy with the sound of both being used together.”

Holt: “I saw the clip you posted from the studio. I was like, ‘Aha, there’s that classic-sounding crunch.’ Like I was showing you the other day, on this tour I started using this new pedal I found from this Canadian company called GUP Tech [Presence Depth EQ]. It basically has this resonance control, so I put that in the loop to add back some low-end. It’s perfection and makes my amp sound super-loud! 

“The same goes for those old Jubilees. I boost them up and they get nice and crunchy. I went through all these different amp companies over the years and then [super-producer] Andy Sneap pointed out all I’m trying to do is chase the sound of my 1987 800. He said I was just trying to find a Marshall tone in something that wasn’t a Marshall. So I’ve made it easier for myself… I just use Marshalls!”

Wylde: “Every amp after the 800 is a derivative, to some extent. Those Marshall amps are like the wheel. The same goes for Les Pauls and Strats. Everything that came after is a variation or tweak on that, like a pair of Levis and a Fruit Of The Loom t-shirt. The original is always simple and works for everyone!”

Have you plugged into each other’s rigs on this tour?

Ian: “Not yet!”

Holt: “I’m dying to plug into Zakk’s rig!”

Wylde: “You can go for it anytime you want. Usually I have my anal bleaching appointment, getting my nails done and picking my makeup for the show, so I look good in my kilt. You gotta do what you gotta do because looks count. It’s all in the presentation, bro!”

Holt: “You can’t have your ass all brown and gnarly!”

As for the guitars in your hands, Zakk, your classic recordings were done with a Les Paul Custom. Gary, you mainly played Jackson Superstrats before moving over to ESP singlecuts and Scott, you’ve loved your Jacksons from very early on...

Ian: “Funnily enough, I do have this black Les Paul Custom that I’ve been using on records for quite a while now. It sounds so good! I randomly got it when Anvil had that movie come out years ago. They did a premiere in London, and because my friend made that movie, they had me come to London and jam with those guys, playing Metal on Metal together after the screening. 

“This was back around 2006 or 2007. I didn’t bring a guitar with me or anything. There was just this Custom lying there for me to play. So I jammed the song and nobody took the guitar back afterwards. It was just sitting there at the end of the night. I even called the people who made the movie saying, ‘I’ve got this guitar here!’ and they were like, ‘Well, someone will get in contact!’ 

“I ended up going back to LA and took the guitar back with me. Months later, I got this email from someone at Gibson asking if I had this Les Paul Custom and I told them, ‘Yeah, it’s been sitting here for months... I really enjoy playing it because it sounds awesome!’ So they let me keep it. I don’t even know what year it is, but that’s when I got it. I’ve actually got a whole bunch of Gibsons.”

Wylde: “Father Scott, look at the first number and the fifth number on the headstock. That will usually tell you when it’s from..."

Ian: “I’ve also got an '81 Flying V. That guitar’s been on every Anthrax album, doing rhythms on various songs. It’s one of the best-sounding guitars I’ve ever had. I’ve got a couple of Les Pauls. I’ve got every Angus Young SG signature they’ve put out. I’ve got Explorers. I mean, Gibson make great guitars – that’s why I own so many of them!”

You’ve all mastered the art of downpicking. Zakk, even though you tend to live on the sludgier side of metal, the recent shows with Pantera have been more right hand-intensive when it comes to riffing. And Gary, even on your own tuitional, you admit you occasionally mix in some alternate in there, like on the song Verbal Razors…

Holt: “Everybody cheats. Even James Hetfield cheats now… I’ve seen it enough times! If he’s doing a savage downpick section and then he throws in a ‘brrrp’ [motions descending slide], then that ‘brrrp’ is there for a reason. It allows you to lose a couple of notes…”

Wylde: “It’s okay to take a nice little breather!”

Holt: “It’s become really hard for me after battling this chronic tennis elbow in both arms. Towards the end of Slayer, I was getting so many cortisone injections I couldn’t even count them. It turns your tendons into mush! 

“I have a friend who is a San Francisco Giants hand surgeon and he saw my MRI and said I might need Tommy John Surgery. I couldn’t play anymore. I’d play for 10 minutes and my arms would lock up. I’ve been through therapy and don’t have any injections any more, so I’m good now, but downpicking is harder than it used to be. Age catches up! 

“But I’m grateful I’m still playing every day and playing injection-free. I need my sound to be really good and then I can ride. If I have to cheat a little more on downpicking because of it, so be it.”

Ian: “If you’ve got a good up, it’s not even cheating, because it sounds just as good as the down!”

Holt: “Yeah, I’ll do the down, down, down, up – throwing in that little one. Usually that’s all I need! And you mentioned Verbal Razors. Damn, when I listen to that shit now, I think I must have been out of my mind! There’s so much downpicking, but then you’ve got to jump from the E string into all this riffage. That one is a challenge these days!”

Then there are right-hand punishers like One World, A.D.I./Horror of It All and Imitation of Life. What on earth were you thinking when recording Among the Living, Scott?!

Ian: “Well, I can tell you one thing was for sure – I wasn’t thinking about having to play those songs 30 years later [laughs]!”

Holt: “Exactly. On the new Exodus album [2021’s Persona Non Grata] I probably threw in more downpicking than I did on any of them. I blew out my right elbow doing the song The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves). After recording the album, I got elbow problems really bad. 

“That’s when I had my last two injections – one right before the album, which worked really well, and one after the album that got me a couple of weeks living pain-free and then everything went to shit. I don’t know what got into me, trying to do more of that than ever on this latest album… at the end of my 50s!”

Ian: “Not too long ago, I was tapping out BPMs to songs from Among the Living, just laughing to see how much we would naturally speed up throughout songs. There are a couple of moments where I’d be downpicking at 220 or 225. I didn’t really know! I see videos of myself doing it back then and always think it would take me months to get up to that speed nowadays. 

“Any long section above 210… just forget it! I was doing that when I was 25. I wasn’t thinking about doing that with 59 year-old forearms. It’s a physical impossibility. Anything 210 and lower, I’m good. I can hang there. But anything faster than that has to be short bursts. My 11-year-old son has a faster right hand than me now. He can out-downpick me any day!”

Zakk, given that your instructional was titled Pentatonic Hardcore, it would be fair to say you’re the bluesiest out of the three of you. Those five notes are clearly home for you!

Wylde: “The pentatonic is the most lyrical scale. I mean, it actually is… when you listen to singing and everything like that, you’ll find most of it lives in the pentatonic scales. It’s interesting with picking – I’d say using only downs and alternate are two very different animals for sure. When it comes to more of the extreme side of metal, you need to do them both well.

“Like you said, when I’m rolling with the Pantera fellas, I’m playing Dime’s stuff. It’s definitely a completely different thing to playing Crazy Train, Bark At The Moon or any of the things I did with Ozz, like Miracle Man, or stuff like that. It’s just a different technique, without a doubt, and definitely a bit closer to what Scotty and Gary are doing.”

Scott, you were also with Zakk at the end of last year for one of the Pantera shows in South America. It was great to see you on lead Whammy for the song Becoming. Dimebag’s tech, Grady Champion, trusted you with the same task back in the '90s – clearly you were the right person for the job.

Ian: “When Dime started using the Whammy pedal back in the day, even before we were touring together in '97 or '98, I would go to shows in New York or LA and somehow get roped into being the guy in charge of his Whammy pedal for that song. 

“So it was from when Far Beyond Driven came out onwards – any show I was at, Grady would have me run the Whammy pedal. I got the timing down, I got the feel down and I got the pocket. Darrell didn’t want to have the pedal out front because he didn’t want to be stuck to it… he wanted to be able to move around and not stand there for those sections of the song. That’s why he always had Grady doing it out back. 

“They probably let me have the job to give Grady’s foot a break during the show! We were in Chile back in December. Zakk was there with Pantera and I was there with Mr. Bungle. I was standing right next to Grady and there was the Whammy pedal on the floor. We kinda had this funny look between us. Then I saw Grady had already stuck this piece of tape on the pedal that said, ‘Scott, don’t fuck this up!’”

Wylde: “Scott crushed it, so thanks very much, Father Scott! I was surrounded by my three guardian angels – Grady, Scott and Saint Dime. So yeah, I knew I was in good hands.”

Ian: “Some people might say I’ve got the best foot in metal!”

We noticed some bands got onsite early and even streamed the soundcheck – a bit unfair given how much work had gone into this reunion tour...

Wylde: “For me, everything’s always being filmed anyway, you know what I mean? Like, there’s people there, how could you expect it not to be filmed? It’s kinda silly. 

“Everybody on stage was up there saying, ‘Nobody release any footage or photos!’ and I was thinking, ‘But there’s a ton of people in front of us soundchecking – what are you talking about?!’ It was always going to end up everywhere. I think we were halfway through soundcheck and it was already out there. You know… I couldn’t care less, man. It is what it is.”

While we’re on the subject of Pantera, do you have a reaction to the German and Austrian show cancellations that happened last week?

Wylde: “There’s nothing I can do about that, you know what I mean? In terms of my role, it’s always a case of being ready for whatever – as in seeing if the fellas want to add any more songs or anything like that while we’re out rolling together on this tour. If I get a call from Phil or Rex and they want to change up the set or do whatever, I’m usually just in the back lounge working on more songs!”

It’s been really interesting hearing your take on the leads – sticking to the feel and format of the original recordings, while also working in some of your own licks...

Wylde: “It’s inevitable I will end up sounding like me. If Dime was playing with Ozz and doing my stuff, it would sound like Dime playing the solo to No More Tears or Mama, I’m Coming Home. It would be Dime’s vibrato, Dime’s tone. It would sound like him playing my stuff. Even if he did it note-for-note, it would sound like him because that’s his sound, you know what I mean? 

“So yeah, we’re having a blast out there playing these songs. I’m just honored I get a chance to pay tribute to the brothers. It’s a pretty special thing that’s happening right now. I can’t say I have a favorite song or solo, though. Just like when I’m playing with Ozz, I enjoy the whole thing. I love all of it and any of it, from the first note we play to the last note we play. It’s all awesome.”

• The Anthrax/Black Label Society US tour featuring Exodus continues through February 2023 – head to Anthrax.com for tickets and full dates.