Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), known professionally as Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his brother Vinnie Paul. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time.

While on tour with Damageplan, Abbott was shot and killed by a deranged fan during a performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 2004. Three others were shot and killed before the perpetrator was killed by a police officer.

It was said that Dime's drummer brother, Vinnie Paul, only escaped with his life due to the sacrifice of band security lead, Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson, who tackled the crazed shooter, Nathan Gale, and gave his own life in the process. Vinnie took some time off and released some tribute materials in his brother's honor.

In June 2006, after an 18-month hiatus, Vinnie was not sure if he would return to music, but eventually joined the heavy metal supergroup Hellyeah, which featured vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett from Mudvayne, guitarist Tom Maxwell from Nothingface, and bassist Bob Zilla from Damageplan, who was a replacement for original bassist Jerry Montano. Abbott recorded six studio albums with the band. On June 22, 2018, Vinnie died at his Las Vegas home at age 54. It was later revealed that Vinnie had died from "dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease". In May 2019, it was announced that Hellyeah would tour for the first time since Vinnie's death to support the final album he recorded with the band, Welcome Home. Stone Sour drummer Roy Mayorga was chosen as Abbott's replacement.

Now that we know the who and the when, let me use my personal words to convey why this became a yearly holiday to me. On December 9th, 2004, word reached me about Dime's murder and the incident at the Al Rosa Villa Nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. In my teens and early 20's, i was very much into hip-hop and r&b. These styles of music brought me happiness and great joy. My best friend down the street, James, would everyday be on his guitar. The most common song he played the most was Cemetary Gates by Pantera. This tune was taught to him by our mutual friend, Jeremy, who himself was in a few bands, and was formerly on Pantera's street team. Dimebag even signed Jeremy's gf at that time's pregnant tummy. It all wore off on me, and while I've never given up my love of hip-hop and r&b, i have expanded my music interests 10-100fold in the past 20-30 years.

I was this close to attending the damageplan show at Harpo's in Detroit with my friends in April of 2004. I did the responsible thing and went to work, instead. I considered going to the columbus show where the shooting happened, or to the one in flint Michigan that was to occur the next day, had the shooting not happened. What I did do is organize a gathering with a few coworkers, got a fresh fifth of Jack Daniels, and drank damn near the entire bottle all myself. Words cannot express how deeply i feel this loss. Pantera was the foundation for my rock evolution. My rock portal, if you will.

In 2018 I sadly added Vinnie Paul to my memorial holiday. I feel it appropriate to celebrate the lives of these 2 brothers, both rock legends in their own rights, together. Anyone interested in getting drunk, smoking a blunt, rocking out and partying with us, is more than welcome to join us. I will be djing Pantera, Damageplan, and Hellyeah in loving memory of the Abbott brothers, at my theme park region, Pridelands, on our Homelandz grid. So saddle up with the original Cowboys from Hell, and rock out on this journey with us!

hop://homelandz.opensim.fun:8802/Pridelands/348/284/94