Watch an 18-year-old Dimebag Darrell shred a jaw-dropping 7-minute guitar solo in 1984

The shadowy figure in the video below is none other than an 18-year-old Dimebag (aka Diamond) Darrell, who can be seen working his way through a nearly seven-minute-long guitar solo with his trusty Dean ML.

In the clip, the young Dime makes noticeable references to several key six-string influences, especially Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen, with a touch of Yngwie Malmsteen thrown in (and perhaps the showmanship and sartorial style of Jake E. Lee).

But beyond all that, Dime looks and sounds like a guitar prodigy through and through.

His playing is full of confidence – not to mention some nice, wide interval stretches and blazing legato speed.

At this point – sometime in 1984 (we can't be sure exactly when it was filmed) –Pantera had only one or two independently released albums under their belt or in the works: 1983's Metal Magic and 1984's Projects in the Jungle.

The group would abandon their glam-metal leanings for their trademark hard-edged groove-metal sound on 1990's landmark release, Cowboys From Hell.