“The few times that kids have made it up onto the stage during our show, no matter how friendly the scenario, the first thing I think is, ‘Dude, you should not be on this f-ing stage. “After something like that happens to one of your best friends, how could you ever feel safe, anywhere, ever?” said Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian. No longer were fans rushing the stage viewed as welcome participants they became potential assailants. Not only had the world lose a charismatic wildman, a generous soul and a stellar musician, the game instantly changed for nearly every other musician. Dimebag had, indeed been shot and killed while performing onstage with his band Damaegplan. Was his brother and drummer Vinnie Paul still alive, and what happened to everyone else?Īs the hours passed, the horrible truth was revealed and the metal scene was irrevocably altered. On the twenty fourth anniversary of the assassination of John Lennon, music fans across the globe were bombarded by instant messages, emails and phone calls from friends and family informing them or wanting to know if the rumors that Pantera and Damageplan guitarist Dimebag Darrell had really been killed onstage. The metal community was turned upside-down on Dec.
