NEWSWEEK Magazine Covers DARRELL's Murder: DIMEBAG's Last Waltz

December 12, 2004

Kevin Peraino of Newsweek reports: Darrell (Dimebag) Abbott was known around the heavy-metal world for his scary stage persona. The burly lead guitarist for a group called DAMAGEPLAN adorned his body with leather and tattoos, and wore a scraggly goatee he often dyed red. He spoke his own language, which friends called "Dimebonics," and enjoyed the party lifestyle, frequently ordering up his favorite drink, a "black-tooth grin": whisky with only "a splash of Coke."

In reality, friends told Newsweek, 38-year-old Abbott was a common type among aging rock-and-roll performers: gruff and rebellious on the outside, but gentle under the stage makeup. "He might look dangerous," said friend Brad Tolinski, editor of Guitar World magazine, "but the only way Dime would hurt you was if he'd hug you to death." Which made it all the more shocking when Abbott was murdered last week as he performed in front of several hundred fans in a smoky Columbus, Ohio, nightclub. Nathan Gale, 25, a deranged heavy-metal fan, rushed the stage and shot Abbott at point-blank range with a 9mm Beretta handgun. "It was horrible," said witness Mitch Carpenter, a security guard at the Alrosa Villa nightclub. "I know someday I'll try to put that image out of my mind, but I don't think it's ever going to go away." Read more.

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