Pantera bassist Rex Brown and drummer Charlie Benante have shared tributes to Dimebag Darrell on the 18th anniversary of his death. The guitarist was shot and killed onstage while performing with Damageplan in Columbus, Ohio.
Brown had played in Pantera with Darrell from the moment he joined in 1982 until the group disbanded in 2003. Darrell and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, went on to form Damageplan, who released a sole album titled New Found Power in February of 2004. The band was on tour later that year, playing a show at the Alrosa Villa venue in Columbus when a man named Nathan Gale shot Darrell multiple times during the first song of the set.
“It’s been 18 years since Dimebag Darrell was tragically taken,” Brown wrote in the caption of a photo of his fallen bandmate on his Instagram. “Thanks to all of you for keeping his memory alive! Make sure you do a blacktooth or 3 in his honor. RIP Jeffrey Mayhem Thompson, Nathan Bray & Erin Halk who also lost their lives trying to protect Dime.”
Thompson was one of the band’s security guards, Bray was another fan of the band’s in attendance at the show that night and Halk was an employee of the venue. Three more individuals were injured that night as well.
A “blacktooth,” on the other hand, is an alcoholic drink formally known as the “Black Tooth Grin.” According to Bevvy, it was popularized by Pantera and is made of Crown Royal, Seagram’s 7, and Coca-Cola. The name was inspired by lyrics in the Megadeth song “Sweating Bullets” — “Some day you too will know my pain / And smile its ‘black-tooth grin.'”
Benante recently joined the Pantera lineup on the drums for their celebratory tour, but his friendship with the members of the band go way back. He shared a photo of himself playing a guitar alongside Darrell, though it’s not clear what year it was taken.
“Remembering Dimebag Darrell today and everyday,” the drummer wrote with a heart in the caption.
See both posts below.
Brown and Benante played their first show as Pantera with Philip Anselmo and Zakk Wylde on the guitar last week, and the trek continues tomorrow night with a performance at Knotfest Colombia. See all of their upcoming dates on their website.
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