DIMEBAG: “Me And Vinnie Were The Heart And Soul Of PANTERA”

Just about a week away from the five year anniversary of Dimebag Darrell’s tragic on stage murder, TMD has unearthed a rare interview with the late great PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist that took place roughly 7 months prior to his death on May 7th, 2004. The discussion took place over the phone conducted by Great Falls Tribune reporter Patrick Douglas, while Dime and DAMAGEPLAN were on tour somewhere in Oregon. Here are a few excerpts:

On his relationship with his brother Vinnie Paul Abbott:

“A lot of brothers and sisters have an animosity and they’re always trying to outdo each other. Suzie got straight A’s and you’re failing with D’s, you know, it’s a comparison kind of thing. It’s a competition for a lot of brothers and sisters. For me and Vinnie we grew up together and at a really early age, that was our common bond is a fucking love for music. Our dad played music and he totally supported us. We both tried to play drums. Vinnie got better than me, so I got a guitar. It’s the same Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen story. That’s how it all started and we both always strived for the same goal. We keep each other in check and everything. We really don’t fight about shit man. We really don’t fight about jack shit. We’ll keep each other in check, but there aint no animosity towards each other or any kind of competition at all ‘cause we’re both going for the same goal. Fuck man, I talk to him everyday. If we don’t go out every fucking night, we do everything together. He’s the greatest person in my world, man.”

On PANTERA’s breakup and his relationship at the end with vocalist Phil Anselmo:

“It’s not a musical thing really that is why that dude took off and left. It’s not, dude, I can’t even begin to put a finger on it. I know some shit that nobody fucking knows. Look dude, when you’re a brother with somebody for 12 fucking years and you do everything in the fucking world together and you build this band from nothing to what it is and whatnot and then you just up and just don’t want to be around those people all of a sudden. There’s some weird reason floating around. It goes even further than egos or something like that. I can’t even. I don’t really want to get into it. This whole thing needs to come to rest period. It’s not just a musical thing. It could be anything from fucking addictions to anything you can fucking dream up. Me and Vinnie have a fucking standard level. When somebody feels paranoid or something to be around somebody that knows. When you know one of your brothers are gonna tell you the straight truth and you don’t wanna have to face it and you run from it. That’s all I gotta say about it. You can build your own conclusion. There’s nothing that Pantera was incompetent of doing musically, period. There’s nothing that we can’t do at all … or that we couldn’t do, or that me and Vinnie couldn’t do. So whatever.


(Photo: Michelle LaRose/Phantom Photography)

Me and Vinnie were the heart and soul of Pantera. You watch the fucking home videos. You see who’s driving the fucking thing, who’s the fucking life of the fucking party and who’s the hellraisers. Me and Vinnie never had a problem with any fucking band in this business. We don’t care. If it’s not our cup of tea, not our style of music, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean those are uncool people. In his situation he sees that in a different way. He chooses to attack anything that he doesn’t like and he chooses to try to degrade anything that’s not his way and then once you agree and try to go his way with hit, then all of a sudden you’re ripping him off. It’s a no win situation. Yeah, it’s a weight lifted off our shoulders. The cat used to never be that way. He’s went through some definite changes through his life. I damn sure don’t know who the dude is now. Even though I’d been with the dude for 12 years. So there you go, go figure. It’s not the Phil I know from way back in the day.”

Read the complete interview HERE.

http://www.pantera.com/

MANOWAR – To Headline Masters Of Rock

MANOWAR’s epic Death To Infidels World Tour 2010 has added another date and another country. The band will headline the Masters Of Rock 2010 in Vizovice, Czech Republic on July 16, 2010. This is Manowar’s first festival performance in the Czech Republic since 2005.

http://www.mastersofrock.cz/

OVERKILL – “Killfest 2010 Tour”

New Jersey (USA) metal legends OVERKILL will headline a spring-2010 North American tour titled “Killfest 2010″ with support from VADER, GOD DETHRONED, WARBRINGER, EVILE, and WOE OF TYRANTS. Here are the confirmed dates:

4/1 Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero
4/2 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
4/3 Hartford, CT @ Webster Hall
4/4 Quebec City, QC @ Imperial de Quebec
4/5 Montreal, QC @ FouFounes
4/6 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theater
4/7 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
4/8 Detroit, MI @ Blondies
4/9 Chicago, IL @ The Metro
4/10 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
4/11 Minneapolis, MN @ Station 4
4/13 Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
4/15 Vancouver, BC @ Red Room
4/16 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
4/17 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
4/18 San Francisco, CA @ The Grand Ballroom
4/19 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
4/20 Los Angeles CA @ House of Blues
4/21 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
4/22 Phoenix, AZ @ O.K.’s
4/23 Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
4/24 Farmington, NM @ Gators
4/25 Tulsa, OK @ Marquee
4/26 Austin, TX @ Emu’s
4/27 Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
4/28 Dallas, TX @ Trees
4/29 Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
4/30 Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
5/1 New York City, NY @ Nokia Theater

http://www.wreckingcrew.com/crew/

DEVILDRIVER – “Bound By The Road Tour” Dates!

Dates for DEVILDRIVER’s early-2010 headlining run with SUFFOCATION have been announced. GOATWHORE is also rumored for the tour, though the official support acts have yet to be confirmed.

1/7 Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
1/8 San Francisco, CA @ Slims
1/9 Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theater
1/11 Portland, OR @ Peter’s Room at Roseland Theater
1/12 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
1/13 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
1/15 Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater
1/16 Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
1/18 Maplewood, MN @ The Rock
1/19 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave

http://www.devildriver.com/

METALLICA – More European Tour Dates

The almighty METALLICA has issued the following statement:

“We’re jumping ahead to May as we continue to roll out the dates for 2010 a few at a time. It’s been over 20 years, so needless to say, we are looking forward to returning to Belfast on May 11 at the Odyssey. Tickets go on sale December 3 and Met Club members should check www.metclub.com for pre-sale info.”

Jan 19 – Lima, Peru – Estadio San Marcos – On Sale Now
Jan 21 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – River Plate Stadium – On Sale Dec 10
Jan 26 – Santiago, Chile – Club Hipico – On Sale Now
Jan 28 – Porto Alegre, Brazil – Zequinha Stadium – On Sale Dec 3
Jan 30 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Morumbi Stadium – On Sale Dec 1
Mar 1 – Guadalajara, Mexico – Estadio Tres de Marzo – On Sale Dec 5
Mar 3 – Monterrey, Mexico – Estadio Universitario – On Sale Dec 5
Mar 5 – Guatemala City, Guatemala – Estadio Mateo Flores – On Sale Dec 3
Mar 7 – San Jose, Costa Rica – Saprissa Stadium – SOLD OUT!
Mar 8 – Panama City, Panama – Plaza Figali – On Sale Dec 1 at Ticket Plus Stores
Mar 10 – Bogota, Colombia – Park Simon Bolivar – On Sale Now
Mar 12 – Caracas, Venezuela – La Rinconada – On Sale Now
Mar 14 – San Juan, Puerto Rico – Coliseo de Puerto Rico – On Sale Dec 5
Apr 13 – Oslo, Norway – Telenor Arena – SOLD OUT!
Apr 14 – Oslo, Norway – Telenor Arena – SOLD OUT!
Apr 17 – Riga, Latvia – Riga Arena – On Sale Dec 7
Apr 18 – Riga, Latvia – Riga Arena – On Sale Dec 7
Apr 20 – Vilnius, Lithuania – Siemens Arena – On Sale Dec 7
Apr 24 – Moscow, Russia – SK Olimpiisky – On Sale Dec 1
Apr 25 – Moscow, Russia – SK Olimpiisky – On Sale Dec 1
May 11 – Belfast, Ireland – Odyssey Arena – On Sale Dec 3

http://www.myspace.com/metallica

MEGADETH And MACHINE HEAD Slay Myrtle Beach!

Droogie “Mongo” has the 411 on last night’s gig (Sat, Nov 28th) at House of Blues in Myrtle beach, South Carolina:

“It was mine and my wife’s first time seeing a show at the House of Blues as well as our first Megadeth show, and we were definitely NOT disappointed! We got to meet the guys before the show, got autographs and pictures with them, and left extremely impressed with how genuinely nice they all were. Especially Dave, for letting my wife try to take our picture together a second time after it messed up the first!

Arcanium opened the show, and while we missed the first 15 minutes or so of their set due to us doing the meet & greet, what we did catch of them was really good. We had never heard of them before, but enjoyed them enough that we are going to start looking into more about them.

Suicide Slience played next. The general response towards them was not that great, with many people taking their time on stage as an opportunity to step out back for a smoke. Statements such as “Those guys suck” and “Hopefully they’ll be done soon so Machine Head can get up there” were pretty common to hear (yes, we were out back as well). What I did catch of them didn’t sound all that bad, but just not my cup of tea.



Machine Head. Just. Plain. Rocked. They sounded really great, and their lead singer is an awesome stage performer. There was a kid in the front row, I’m guessing about 8 years old, and the singer brought him up onto the stage! This kid got to hold and play the singer’s guitar, throw drum sticks into the crowd, stage dive, and then crowd surf around the room. And to top it off, the drummer gave him one of his sticks. Everyone was cheering as much for the kid as they were for the band. And did I mention they sounded great? Absolutely the best band of the night so far. Gonna go searching for some of their albums on Amazon to pick up.

And then there was one. Megadeth hit the stage and the crowd erupted as if it was the second coming of Christ himself. Dave and the boys played a no nonsense set with a minimum of talking, which he did talk about (ironic?), and absolutely blew the roof off the joint. It was so great singing word for word with him to all those songs I grew up with, and seeing them live was one of the experiences I have wanted to check off my bucket list since the 80′s when they first started up. They sounded incredible, but Dave’s mic was a bit too soft compared to the music, making it a little difficult to make out his words, but all in all, a show that did not disappoint. Would I watch it again tomorrow night? Dave, call me and let me know what time to show up! And to top it all off, that kid got one of Dave’s guitar picks AND another drum stick! I’d like to see his friends at school compare stories about what they did over Thanksgiving break on Monday!

I hope everyone that was able to attend enjoyed themselves as much as we did. After seeing AC/DC just last month in a much larger setting, seeing Megadeth in the smaller venue was just as good of an experience. If you missed this show, you missed out on something special.”

http://www.megadeth.com/

http://www.machinehead1.com/

FEAR FACTORY – Mechanize Track Listing Revealed

Reorganized American metal act FEAR FACTORY have announced the track listing for the band’s upcoming studio album, Mechanize, which will contain the following ten songs:

‘Mechanize’
‘Industrial Discipline’
‘Fear Campaign’
‘Powershifter’
‘Christploitation’
‘Oxidizer’
‘Controlled Demolition’
‘Designing The Enemy’
‘Metallic Division’
‘Final Exit’

The album will be released via Candlelight Records on February 9, 2010.

SWEET COBRA – Guitarist Passes Away

Matt Arluck, guitar player for Chicago, Illinois (USA) outfit SWEET COBRA has passed away after a battle with cancer. Details are still developing, though it’s been reported in recent years Arluck had multiple surgeries to remove tumors from his liver and spine.

TMD sends our condolences out to his friends and loved ones.

http://www.myspace.com/sweetcobra

DREAM EVIL – Signs With Century Media Records

Swedish power metal act DREAM EVIL have signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records. The band will be releasing an album entitled In the Night in 2010.

http://www.dreamevil.se/

ROCKET Interviews Phil Demmel Of MACHINE HEAD

(Photo: Fiaz Farrelly)


Seventeen years ago, American groove metal band MACHINE HEAD was founded by Robb Flynn and bassist Adam Duce in Oakland, California. The band delivered a solid debut in 1994 with Burn My Eyes (featuring Chris Kontos on drums) and followed that up with The More Things Change (’97), which introduced drummer Dave McClain, The Burning Red (’99), and Supercharger (’01).

Entering into the picture officially in 2003, lead guitarist Phil Demmel (who had played with Flynn in the earlier Bay Area thrash act VIO-LENCE) soon became regarded as one of modern heavy metal’s elite, having played brilliantly on Through The Ashes Of Empires (’03) and 2007′s
undisputed masterpiece The Blackening.

The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody recently conducted an interview with
Phil Demmel Of MACHINE HEAD for his loyal army of Den Headz worldwide.





Rocket: First off, how’s life been treating you during time off from touring?

Phil: We’re enjoying our biggest break (3 months) since we started The Blackening touring cycle. It’s been very relaxing at home and great to take a step back from the relentless stretch of traveling. Good to see my family and to just chill.

Rocket: Is it hard for you to come off the road and keep yourself busy?

Phil: No. It’s very easy. There’s always so much to do when I get home and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The trick is to try and not to do it all at once and realize how much time you have to take care of it all. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of taking the time off.

Rocket: When did you first start playing the guitar, Phil?




Phil: I started playing when I was 12 years old. I was really into Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, AC/DC and older KISS. KISS was my 1st love but at that time they were putting out a disco record and I was getting into heavier stuff.

Rocket: Who are your biggest guitar playing influences?

Phil: It started with Angus Young, Ace Frehley, Nugent and Joe Perry, but after a few years first Ozzy record came out and Randy Rhoads was THE MAN. Michael Schenker, George Lynch and Akira Takasaki later on.

Rocket: Did you ever take any formal guitar lessons?

Phil: I took lessons early on and learned the basics, but eventually all I wanted to learn was Maiden or Priest covers. I pretty mush taught myself from that point.

Rocket: To say that MACHINE HEAD has had a busy past couple of years would be a serious understatement. Since The Blackening came out in 2007, you guys have barely come up for air. What drives this band so hard to achieve its greatness?



Phil: Before this record, if we wanted tour, we had to put a package together and headline. Since this record came out it’s been the opposite. All the biggest bands in metal have asked to take us out, how could we say no? Lamb of God, Heaven and Hell, Slipknot, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer all came calling and there was no way we could pass. the end result is a 3 year touring cycle and NO US headliner. This band needs to tour to survive and we’ve been blessed with endless opportunities.

Rocket: The song, “Aesthetics of Hate” is in retaliation to an article written by William Grim of the conservative site Iconoclast, entitled “Aesthetics Of Hate: R.I.P. Dimebag Abbott, & Good Riddance”, wherein the article shockingly praised the murder of Dimebag Darrell. How exactly was that song written?

Phil: Robb was pretty incensed after he read that article and decided to put those to lyrics to a song he wrote tentatively called “Thrashterpiece”. It’s the only song on the record soley written by Robb.

Rocket: So Robb sat down and said “Okay, we’re gonna write this song to make a statement..”

Phil: Robb definitely did. He took offense to the article and felt like the Metal Community needed to rally against this blow hard.

Rocket: The song went on to be nominated for a Grammy. That had to make the whole
band feel pretty proud, right?


(Photo: Fiaz Farrelly)

Phil: Absolutely. It was a life achievement defending one of our own. It’s a special song and to have be recognized like that was unbelieveable.

Rocket: How much did Dime’s death affect you personally, Phil?

Phil: I had met him for the 1st time that summer (’04). He walked up to me and praised my playing on “Ashes”. I’ll never forget it. It was more of a shock that someone was shot ONSTAGE that freaked me out. We had played that same club a few months before so the thought of that happening really hit home.

Rocket: I battle it all the time in my head and in arguments with friends, the subject of who the most influential heavy metal guitarist of all time is. I personally feel it is Dimebag. Do you agree?

Phil: Yes. I agree.

Rocket: MACHINE HEAD is currently said to be recording a cover of PANTERA’s “Fucking Hostile”. How is that coming along and will it be included on the next album?

Phil: It’s recorded and mixed and will be featured in a future issue of Metal Hammer.

Rocket: MACHINE HEAD was joined on the stage by James Hetfield of METALLICA
at the KoPi-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany back on May 16th. What are some
of the thoughts going through your mind during such an intense moment like that?



Phil: Surreal. Still can’t believe it happened. He loved the song (“Aesthetics Of Hate”) and actually jammed it on Dave’s backstage drum kit… then said he’d come up and jam it with us. The dude floored us. So cool.

Rocket: It’s been announced that MACHINE HEAD will tour Europe and UK in early 2010 with Hatebreed, Bleeding Through, and All Shall Perish for “The Black Procession Tour”. Is it true this will be the last time the band tours in support of The Blackening album before writing the next record?

Phil: It will be the last tour before we sit down and write. It’s time. We wanted to do a proper headliner and play a full set.

Rocket: How many songs have you guys written for the next album, if any?

Phil: We have a few riffs, but we’re not a road-writing band. We’ll lock ourselves up in our jam room and see what comes out.

Rocket: Have you guys decided who will produce it yet?

Phil: Robb will probably produce again. We’re all really comfortable with him and he knows the MH sound better than anyone. We’ll find someone to engineer and mix.

Rocket: It’s no secret. Album sales across the board in music are down considerably. What is your opinion of how ‘free downloading’ has drastically affected record sales in the 21st century?

Phil: It’s what it is. There’s always been changes in the free market as to how things work. this is just an alteration. Things will always be changing. We’ve never done huge #s in the states but do really well touring. That hasn’t changed.

Rocket: I wanted to ask you about how your health has been doing as of late, Phil. You suffer
from a rare condition called cardiogenic syncope, which is the reason behind your collapsing on stage at times. When did you first learn you had this going on and how do you live your life differently now to try and keep yourself in good shape?

Phil: It started happening to me about 20 years ago. I’d have 2-3 episodes then it would go away for a few years. It hadn’t happened for 5 years or so when it struck me in Milan the day my father died in dec ’07. In the wake of that, combining the depression and stress, mixing in alcohol abuse, the episodes increased. I’ve since gotten things somewhat in control. Day to day.

Rocket: On a lighter note, there’s been a ton of great metal albums released
so far in 2009. What are some of your personal favorites to this point?




Phil: Alice in Chains. It’s not metal, but it’s my favorite record of 2009. The Lamb of God is killer too. Gallows put out an amazing one as well.

Rocket: What do you think you would’ve ended up doing for a living had
you not become a professional musician?

Phil: I’m a card holding Union Carpenter as of now and still strap on the bags from time to time. We’ll see what happens with the music, but I can always go back to that and make a killing.

Rocket: Let me ask you, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give to a kid starting
out on his or her first guitar and looking to embark on the rock n roll dream?

Phil: Be true and genuine with what you create. Be honest with what you write. Playing with other agendas will lead you nowhere.

Rocket: Thanks very much for rocking this out with me. Best of luck with
your music. Go ahead and give special thanks to any of your supporters.

Phil: Thanks to all MH fans worldwide. We can’t do what we do without you.



http://www.myspace.com/machinehead

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