Guitarist Darrell Lance Abbott, better known

as "Dimebag" Darrell, was a founding

member of the heavy metal bands Pantera

and Damageplan. He was also a performer

in the country music band Rebel Meets

Rebel. Darrell was often voted one of the

top ten metal guitarists by guitar

magazines and in reader polls. He also

wrote a column in Guitar World magazine

for several years.Dimebag greatly

influenced the metal community and many

see him as a pioneer of metal. He was

famous for playing Dean guitars and having

a brutal scooped tone. His signature

technique was the “Dimebag Squeal” which

involves compressing the whammy bar then catching a harmonic on the release to make the guitar squeal.After Pantera's break up in 2004, Dimebag and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, formed the band Damageplan. During a performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 2004, Dimebag was shot three times in the head and killed while performing on-stage. This was during the band’s first song. The gunman, Nathan Gale, was a former U.S. Marine and paranoid schizophrenic. Gale may have been upset over the break-up of Pantera.Three other men were also shot and killed, the Damageplan manager Jeffery Thompson, roadie Erin Halk, and a fan who attempted to perform CPR on Dimebag, Nathan Bray. Police shot and killed the gunman at the scene.