Dimebag Darrell shot!/Related Articles

[Assface]

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/3983630/detail.html

At Least 3 Dead, 4 Wounded In Nightclub Shooting
Witnesses: Alleged Gunman Went Onto Stage, Fired Shots

POSTED: 10:32 pm EST December 8, 2004
UPDATED: 11:36 pm EST December 8, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At least three people died and four others were wounded after a shooting at a Columbus nightclub on Wednesday night, NBC 4 reported.

The shooting took place shortly after 10 p.m. at Alrosa Villa, located at 5055 Sinclair Road.

Two members of the heavy metal band Damageplan were reportedly shot and killed, including Dimebag Darrell, formerly with the band Pantera, NBC 4's David Wayne reported. The alleged gunman also died at the scene, Wayne reported.

Shortly after the band began playing its first song, a man reportedly ran onto the stage and began shooting, according to a witness who identified himself as Sean. Some members of the audience reportedly thought the man running onto the stage with a gun was part of the band's act, NBC 4's Erin Tate reported.

Witnesses said that several shots were fired at the band. Witnesses said that a bouncer at the club tackled the alleged gunman before that person was shot and killed. It was unclear as to whom shot the alleged gunman.

Alrosa Villa is a popular north Columbus nightspot for young adults, featuring rock and heavy metal bands, NBC 4 reported.

According to the band's Web site, Damageplan was touring nationally. It performed in Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday night and had a concert scheduled in Flint, Mich., on Thursday.

Damageplan featured former Pantera artists Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. The pair were joined by vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist Bobzilla, according to their Web site.

Watch NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.

 

[Ryanwb]

Holy crap!! Dimebag was such an awesome guitartist

 

[vince56]

unbelievable. I'm reading another board right now, and there are people from the show there saying he was shot 5 or 6 times in the head at point blank range.

What the hell is wrong with some people. To jump on stage and kill members of bands???????

 

[vince56]

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/09/nightclub.shooting/index.html

Gunman kills 4 at Ohio nightclub
Police officer shoots suspect to death
Thursday, December 9, 2004 Posted: 6:53 AM EST (1153 GMT)


COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNN) -- A gunman stormed the stage during a heavy metal concert Wednesday night, firing on members of the band and the audience, killing four people -- including at least one band member -- and wounding at least two others before a police officer shot and killed him, according to Columbus police.

Before he was shot, police said, the gunman grabbed a hostage and fired into the crowd as he held on to the person. It was not clear what happened to the hostage.

The attack happened shortly after the band, Damageplan, began its performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub on Columbus' north end.

The gunman was "targeting members in the band," Sgt. Brent Mull said.

One of the wounded is in critical condition, and the other is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Two others were injured in the incident and treated at the scene, although the nature of their injuries was not clear.

According to eyewitness accounts, the gunman initially shot the band's guitarist, Dimebag Darrell.

Darrell, 38, and his brother, Vinnie Paul, 40, formed Damageplan after Pantera -- a group they formed in the 1980s -- broke up last year. Their father is Jerry Abbott, a country and western songwriter and producer.

Police were notified of the shooting around 10:18 p.m. ET, Mull said. A uniformed police officer who was near the scene slipped into the venue from a back entrance, confronted the gunman during the rampage and killed him.

"If not for the officer who showed up, there would have been more dead," Mull said.

Witnesses described the shooter as a heavyset man, wearing a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey jersey.

Police roped off a huge area of the nightclub's parking lot, as 60 detectives questioned hundreds of witnesses. Police brought in buses to keep the witnesses warm as they waited to be questioned.

Calvin Bota said he saw the shooting from the mosh pit right in front of the stage, shortly after the band began playing.

"Somebody came -- I don't know where they came from, out of the audience or whatnot -- but they come onto (the) stage and ... he shot the guitarist at first, fired a couple of other shots and then he hid behind the stage a little bit," Bota told CNN affiliate WSYX.

"Everybody started scattering, you know, there's mayhem everywhere. And then a police officer came into the building, you know, came in professional with his gun raised and then he proceeded to shoot the guy."

Gerald Caudill said the gunman shot the guitarist at least four times.

"I was up close to the stage and I just saw some guy run up on the side of the stage and I heard some shots and I saw (drummer) Vinnie (Paul) fall and somebody jumped on top of Vinnie, and the guy just stayed around the stage and started shooting other people," Caudill said.

"I saw wounded people all over the place, out in the parking lot, inside," he said. "It just didn't sound like gunshots or anything, it didn't occur to me that something like that was happening."

CNN Producer Steve Brusk in Columbus contributed to this report.

 

[vince56]

The man was a legend. The Eddie Van Halen of metal. He will be sorely missed.

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

 

[justAndy]

a purported witness...

... called the Stern show and said he heard the murderer yell "You broke up Pantera, MF'er!!!" right before he shot Darrell.
Crazy - So Someone's gonna attack Eddie van Halen for kicking out David Roth?

 

[Cardinal Bob]

... called the Stern show and said he heard the murderer yell "You broke up Pantera, MF'er!!!" right before he shot Darrell.
Crazy - So Someone's gonna attack Eddie van Halen for kicking out David Roth?

Eddie deserves a good ass kicking...if not for kicking out Dave, certainly for hiring Gary Cherone!

I'm not a big Pantera fan, but didn't Darrell and his brother FORM Pantera? If so, don't they have the right to break 'em up if they want to move on and play with other musicians?

 

[HeavyB3]

Wow. I just heard a witness on Fox News. He was really shaken. He said he ran up on stage after dimebag was shot and was trying to comfort him. he said Dimebag was shot again after he went on stage to try to help him.

That sucks. I liked Damageplan.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Very sad. Must have been terrifying for everyone who was there.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

F*ck. This sucks sh*t!!!

Dimebag was a true guitar master. At least he lived a full life and died doing exactly what he loved. We could all be so lucky in that respect....

RIP, Dime.....

 

[TrentAZCards]

No!

This is bad, he was one of my favorite musicians. Sucks he had to pass, glad that cop killed that mother ****er.

This is total BS.

 

[AzCards21]

What would posess this guy to want to kill Dimebag or any other musician? If you don't like it don't buy a freakin ticket!

The world is crazy these days.

 

[StopTheMadness]

RIP Dime.

You were one mad mother****ing guitarist!





COWBOYS FROM HELL!































\m/

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Lord....I'm deeply saddened by this significant loss.... Pantera was one of my favorite bands in the early-mid 90s...really loved "Cowboys From Hell" and
"Vulgar"......

The major irony of this senseless act is that this happened exactly 24-years to the day that John Lennon was murdered in the same fashion by Mark David Chapman....

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/6660359/pantera?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single1

Shooter Was Ex-Marine

Local residents remember Gale as "disturbed" loner


The gunman who fatally shot four people -- including Damageplan (and former Pantera) guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott -- at Columbus, Ohio's Alrosa Villa nightclub Wednesday night was a discharged Marine described as a "disturbed" loner by hometown acquaintances. Soon after Damageplan began playing at the Alrosa Villa nightclub, the gunman, identified as twenty-five-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, charged the stage, shot Abbott several times at close range and then began firing into the crowd of 450. Three others were killed before thirty-one-year-old patrol officer James D. Niggemeyer, who had entered the club through the back door, fatally shot Gale.

The others killed were identified as fan Nathan Bray, 23, Erin Halk, 29, and Jeff Thompson, 40. Halk and Thompson's reasons for attending the show have not been confirmed, but Thompson was likely a security guard for the band. Two wounded individuals are currently at Riverside Methodist Hospital and have not yet been identified. In addition to Abbott, 38, Damageplan includes singer Patrick Lachman, bassist Bob Zilla and Abbott's brother, ex-Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul.

Gale was an employee for a temp agency who was on medication for mental-health issues. Brandy Brown, the bartender at a local bar Gale frequented described him as "a hermit kind of guy. I think he lived with his mom." Lucas Bender -- the owner of Bear's Den Tattoo Studio, which Gale frequented constantly in past weeks -- said of the young man, "He kind of gave everyone a weird impression -- you know how some people just seem disturbed? . . . After he would leave, my friends and I would all talk and say, 'Gosh, what's wrong with that guy?" Gale was discharged from the Marines in November 2003 after less than two of the typical four years of service.

Gale also alarmed Alrosa Villa workers before the gig. "He was hanging around trying to get in," manager Rick Cantella says. "We told him . . . that he had to pay to get in like anyone else. One of my loaders told him to leave . . . He was hanging around trying to talk to the members of the band, and he was shooed away." Just before the show, Gale jumped an eight-foot fence to get inside, and headed straight for the stage. "There were guys chasing him as soon as he got in," explains Cantella, "not because [they saw] he had a gun, but because he jumped this fence and didn't pay."

During the gunfire, a local nurse in the audience, twenty-eight-year-old Mindy Reece, stepped in to aid Abbott. "The one thing that stands out in my mind was I could see Vinnie [Paul] stand up from behind the drums and look down...He had this look on his face like, 'Oh my ****ing God.'" says Reece, a Pantera fan since the age of thirteen. With the help of another audience member, she performed CPR on Abbott for several minutes until the paramedics arrived. "I kept saying, 'Dimebag, come on, come on please, stay with me,'" she recalls. "It was bad . . . There was blood on the floor."

"The motive is very unclear," says Sherry Mercurio, a Columbus police department spokesperson. "Right now, we're trying to piece together statements, which may take some time." Approximately 250 of the audience members are still being questioned by police. Amateur video was also shot during the show, but investigators have not yet determined whether any of the incident was caught on tape. There have been previous incidents of violence at or outside the Alonsa Villa, including a parking-lot shooting as recently as January of last year.



ROLLING STONE
(Posted Dec 09, 2004)

 

[Djaughe]

.....The major irony of this senseless act is that this happened exactly 24-years to the day that John Lennon was murdered in the same fashion by Mark David Chapman....

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/6660359/pantera?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single1

More irony....

12/08/04...........12+8+4 = 24

 

[CardinalLaw]

Man this guy had some issues. Why can't these people just take there own life. Dammit, Dimebag rocked and will be missed for sure. R.I.P.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The man who shot former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and three other men to death at a nightclub was obsessed with the popular heavy metal band and made bizarre accusations against it, a onetime friend said in reports published Friday.

Jeramie Brey said gunman Nathan Gale once showed up at a friend's house saying he wanted to share songs he had written. The pages of lyrics were copied from Pantera, but Gale claimed he had written them, Brey said.

"He was off his rocker," Brey told The Columbus Dispatch. "He said they were his songs, that Pantera stole them from him and that he was going to sue them."

He later told Brey that he planned to sue Pantera for stealing his identity. Brey and friend Dave Johnson said Gale's behavior frightened them and they distanced themselves from him several years ago. But other friends said they never considered Gale capable of violence

 

[KingLouieLouie]

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496678/20050208/pantera.jhtml?headlines=true

Exactly two months have passed since heavy metal guitar hero Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed during a Damageplan concert in Columbus, Ohio. Aside from a brief statement two days after the shooting, his brother and bandmate Vinnie Paul has remained silent. But friends say he is dealing well with his loss and there are signs that he's starting to put his own life back together.

Paul may even return to the stage to play with Anthrax at a February 23 benefit in Chicago at the Aragon Ballroom (see "Disturbed Frontman Felt Compelled To Do Benefit For Dimebag's Family"). Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian says he and Paul recently talked about the possibility, and that the drummer has an open invitation to join the band. It would be the first time Paul will have performed live since Dime was murdered (see "Dimebag Darrell, Four Others Killed In Ohio Concert Shooting"). "We're just hoping it happens," Ian said. "There would be nothing better than getting Vinnie up on the drum kit and jamming with us. That would just be incredible."

Following the tragedy, some wondered whether Paul would ever be able to perform in concert again. He and Dimebag were extremely close and had played together since before they formed Pantera in 1982 (see "Vinnie Paul: 'Rest In Peace Brother Dime' "). It would be easy to understand how Dime's murder might send Paul into early retirement, but Ian said that's not likely to happen. "I don't think that would be possible with him. It's in his blood. The last thing in the world he would do, or that Dime would ever want, would be for him to not drum anymore. That would be insane."

In addition to preparing for his eventual return to the stage, Paul has begun to lay the groundwork for other aspects of his career. On January 21, he showed up at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, California, to help launch a signature snare issued by Pearl drums.

Also, he and surviving Damageplan bandmates — singer Patrick Lachman and bassist Bobzilla — signed Dimebag posters at the Dean guitars booth along with Ian, Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde and others.

"His spirits were great," Ian said. "He's doing as well as could be expected in the situation, and he looked a lot better than I thought he would. The fact that he even came out to the NAMM show said a lot. He wanted to be there and talk to people and meet people."

While at the convention, Paul also attended a private party for Guitar World magazine's 25th anniversary, which was headlined by Black Label Society. "He seemed like he was doing a little bit better," confirmed Wylde, who had become a close friend of Dime and Paul over the past two years. "But how do you judge when it comes to handling something like that? Vinnie has always been a quiet guy, so he's kind of hard to read."

While Paul struggles to cope with his loss, ex-Pantera singer Phil Anselmo is making an effort to mend his relationship with the drummer, and is calling his former feud with Dimebag "coerced nonsense made to sell magazines" (see "Dimebag's Former Bandmate Phil Anselmo Says He's Devastated, Plans To Disappear"). In a post on his Web site, Anselmo wrote, "I want to be there for Vinnie Paul no matter how long it takes. I want to be there for [Dime's longtime girlfriend] Rita, if she'll have me."

Anselmo added that, despite the bad blood since Pantera broke up, he was sure the group would one day get back together and is devastated that he'll never again perform with Dime. "If we, just the four of us, were to sit in a room together, we'd have been laughing, crying and laughing again," he wrote. "The weight of the world would be lifted off of our shoulders as we hugged each other. Play together again? I have a suspicion that our fans would demand some type of reunion. My God, I thought of that so many times, and because what our fans wanted, they usually got.

"It may have taken a little longer, but think about how long it took the original Black Sabbath to play together again."

So far, Paul, his bandmates and family members have rejected Anselmo's gestures of friendship and even asked him not to attend a memorial service for Dimebag. In light of past malicious comments about Dime, some consider Anselmo's recent attempts at reconciliation hollow or meaningless. But Ian doesn't question the singer's sincerity. "I just hope that whatever they have between them, if there's something that could be worked out, then hopefully that could happen," he said. "If any good could come out of this horrible situation, it would be great."

Click here for more on the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell and the Ohio club shooting.

— Jon Wiederhorn

 

[vince56]

Here's a pic of Vinnie Paul I took at the Dean Guitars booth at the NAMM show last month. The surviving members of Damageplan were standing next to him:

You must be registered for see images

 

[Gee!]

I just read this thread for the 1st time. Cant say Im hurt, cuz I never heard of him, but it does suck.
Hope dude is with God now.

That said. This thread is a micro-nism of America.

Here me out. Whenever a rapper gets involved in death or a criminal case. People assume well he deserves it. Ill make a point at the end I promise.

Big L - One of the best lyrists to ever come along. Never said any gang talk, nothing. Murdered in his projects. No love.

Ol' Ditry Bastard - No gangs either. He had a drug problem. Went to prison for it. He would steal from the rich and give to the poor. No love.

Tupac Shakur - Never was a gang member, and actually denounced gangs on his records. His mother was a Black Panther that went to prison for false reasons. That is where Tupac was born. In prison. Once she got out she became a crackhead. He couldnt trust her and left. Many point to his Thug Life attitude. In reality it is an acronym.

"The Hate U Gave Lil Infants F***s Everybody"

Meaning, what is taught at a young age will effect the world 20 years down the road.

Ok, now back to what I promised. There is a task force specifically for rappers. It's been in place for maybe a decade. They profile rappers. Im not gonna look it up cuz I dont have to. I know its real. So everytime you hear of a rapper doing something bad, just wonder. Is it true?

RIP Dime Bag and any true person.

 

[Rivercard]

There is a task force specifically for rappers. It's been in place for maybe a decade. They profile rappers.

This seems like a logical idea considering the violence associated with the hardcore rapper community.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1503916/20050610/damageplan.jhtml?headlines=true

You must be registered for see images

Officer In Damageplan Shooting: 'I Was Hoping He'd Let The Hostage Go'
06.10.2005 1:47 PM EDT

Thirty seconds.

In less time than it takes most people to listen to a weather report, Officer James Niggemeyer had to make a life-changing decision. He had to instantly familiarize himself with a chaotic murder scene inside a dimly lit rock club, crawl across a stage full of equipment, take aim and fire his shotgun at close range, preventing Nathan Gale — who was holding a gun to a hostage's head — from killing any more innocent people ...

In 30 seconds.

That's how long it took the Columbus, Ohio, police officer to assess the situation inside the Alrosa Villa on the night of December 8, when he fired the shot that stopped Gale's rampage, which left five people, including Gale and Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, dead (see "Dimebag Darrell, Four Others Killed In Ohio Concert Shooting").

Six months after that unforgettable night — the first time Niggemeyer, 31, had fired his gun in five and a half years on the job — and just a few days after telling his story for the first time to a local TV station, Niggemeyer spoke to MTV News about the split-second confrontation with Gale that still plays in his mind.

"I remember I was leaving my substation, which is about two miles from the club, when a call came in as a '43 at the Alrosa' — which is police code for a shooting," said Niggemeyer, who was not allowed to speak until this week due to a grand-jury investigation into the shooting, in which he was cleared of any wrongdoing (see "Officer Cleared In Shooting Of 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott's Killer" and "Officer Who Felled Dimebag's Killer Breaks Silence"). "Then, additional calls were coming in about what the suspect was wearing and more shots fired. I was on my way there, so I was the first to arrive on the scene."

Niggemeyer said he was in front of the club less than two minutes after the first call came in, and had to fight his way through a crowd of panicked fans fleeing across the street to their cars in order to get into the club's parking lot. The situation was so chaotic that Niggemeyer said he doesn't recall hearing any shots from inside the club once he was on the scene.

He had been assigned to carry a shotgun that night, which was coincidentally the same model he had at home and used for hunting on weekends.

"There was a group of people standing by the back door and they called me over to come that way as other officers were arriving on the scene," recalled Niggemeyer, who said he had driven past the club numerous times over the years, but had never been inside.

As at least five officers entered the front of the venue, Niggemeyer focused on the imposing figure of Gale, a 25-year-old ex-Marine. He saw the body of one of the group's security staff members sprawled out on the front of the stage and Gale mid-stage, holding an unidentified hostage in a headlock.

"There's no doubt in my mind that [Gale] didn't know I was there," Niggemeyer said. "From where I was, I could see he was focused on the other officers coming in the front." As Gale, who had already shot and killed Abbott and three others, was looking toward the other officers, Niggemeyer crawled through the piles of equipment on the small stage.

Though Gale did not fire any shots while Niggemeyer was inside the club, he was silently waving his 9-mm handgun at the crowd. "I was still hoping maybe he'd let the hostage go and retreat," Niggemeyer said. "I was just trying to get as close as I could to assess the situation and hoping he'd [release] the hostage so I wouldn't have to shoot. But then, while he was waving the gun around, he took it and stuck it to the hostage's head ... which changed the whole situation, if he was going to possibly execute the hostage. They never mentioned a hostage on the radio calls. I knew at that point he wasn't going to let this guy go, and [might] do something to him."

With the hostage's head positioned just under Gale's chin, Niggemeyer — who said he had only shot deer before — leveled his department-issued shotgun and aimed for Gale's head.

"I knew from that distance I could shoot the suspect, as long as I aimed high enough and wouldn't hurt the hostage," he said. "At that point, almost immediately, I fired." Gale, felled with a single shot, slumped to the ground. By the time Niggemeyer walked to the front of the stage, two other officers had approached Gale's body. In a video released on June 3, a club security guard can be heard telling Niggemeyer he did what he had to do, but the officer said he was so numb at that point he doesn't recall anyone speaking to him. "I was pretty shook up from having to shoot somebody," he said.

After the incident, Niggemeyer took the department's regulation three days off and saw a psychologist. "It seemed like all I did for those three days was run and rerun it through my mind," he said. "You keep seeing the people who got shot, the ones who were laying there, just on continuous replay." Now, every time he drives by the club, hears the name of the street it's on, or even hears the phrase "heavy metal," he thinks of that night.

Niggemeyer, who hasn't fired his weapon on the job since, said he recently went to the club to film an interview and owner Rick Cautela thanked him again for his heroism. "He wanted to remind me of how many lives I saved in his club," Niggemeyer said. The officer, who said he had only heard of Dimebag's previous band Pantera before the incident and had never heard their music, said he's gotten a lot of supportive e-mails in the months since from the group's fans, as well as a letter from Gale's mother.

"She wrote me a few weeks after and told me she understood that I was just doing my job," he said. "And she didn't have any ill will toward me."

Click here for more on the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell and the Ohio club shooting.

— Gil Kaufman

 

[KingLouieLouie]

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1508697/20050831/damageplan.jhtml?headlines=true

Ex-Damageplan Singer Starts Healing Process With The Mercy Clinic
08.31.2005 1:48 PM EDT

Patrick Lachman says 'cathartic' project helped him cope with Dimebag's murder.

When the news surfaced early this summer that former Damageplan singer Patrick Lachman had started assembling a new band, he found himself the target of caustic criticism. How, some wondered, could Lachman be looking to the future with such a tragic event — the December murder of Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott — still so fresh in his past? But for Lachman, his new band has allowed him to come to terms with the loss of someone he still considers a brother.

"I don't think there's really ever a time that it's going to feel appropriate for me," Lachman said of moving on after the shooting (see "Dimebag Darrell, Four Others Killed In Ohio Concert Shooting"). "Ultimately, you have to get back on the horse. You could easily let a decade go by and not do anything. I'm happy to have walked away with my life after the situation I was thrown into. But, I mean, what do you do? I'm a musician. I'm going to make music. What Dime would have told me was, 'You make music, mother---er. Get back on it. Do what you do.' So, that's what I did."

According to Lachman, the Mercy Clinic — which features guitarists Brian Harrah (Professional Murder Music) and Josh Stinson (Drist), bassist Steed Najera (Triple Seven) and drummer Bevan Davies (Danzig and Jerry Cantrell) — began more than a year ago when Harrah sent him some demo material he'd been working on.

"He just wanted my opinion on it, and I loved it," he said. "It was completely different from what I was doing with Damageplan. And then, after everything went down in December, I took a little time to figure out what I was going to do next."

That's when Harrah suggested Lachman give the demos another listen and consider adding vocals if he felt ready.

"It started as an experiment, and it was really cathartic for me," Lachman explained. "All this sh-- that I had floating in my head just sort of came out so rapidly; I was shocked. I never had inspiration of that magnitude. There was some heavy sh-- going on upstairs. I just started writing and dumping everything I had — all this sewage in my head — into the lyrics. I'm incredibly proud of it, and think it's the best work I've ever done."

And it's also his heaviest work, if only for what inspired the lyrics to the songs. While none of the 12 tracks the band has recorded — including "The Day the Sun Refused To Shine," "Let It Burn" and "Can I Become Me" — specifically address Dimebag's murder ("I didn't want to be that obvious," he said), the songs are reflective of Lachman's morose mood and chronicle the internal struggles he'd endured throughout the entire mourning process.

"It turned out to be the most realistic way for me to grieve," the singer said. "What am I going to do, see a shrink?"

At the same time, Lachman said the Mercy Clinic music is also the most melodic material he's ever had a hand in. There are metal elements in the songs at times, but generally, it's radically different from Damageplan. "The material's very broad," he explained. "It runs the gamut from heavy to acoustic, surreal to just wacked-out effects-laden stuff with no drums and different vocal approaches."

Lachman had some reservations about whether he was prepared to take that step toward moving on at first. Then he performed with a regrouped Alice in Chains in February during a tsunami-relief benefit in Seattle, Washington. "It was like I'd forgotten how cool it was to sing," he said. "I was dealing with my stuff, and they were dealing with the emotions of Layne Staley's passing and being onstage [together] for the first time in nine years. ... It was heavy."

Yes, the singer has heard rumblings that Alice in Chains is considering a full-time reunion, but hasn't been approached yet to take over vocal duties. "I'm just waiting for the phone to ring, to see if and when it's going to happen," Lachman said. "I would be willing to participate if it's something they wanted to explore. The door's wide open, and it would be an opportunity of a lifetime to play with musical icons and people I now consider my friends."

For the moment, Lachman is sticking with the Mercy Clinic, and that band is taking a DIY approach; there's no label affiliation or management, and that just fine with the singer. But in time, he'd like to be able to sign a recording contract, release these songs and take them on the road.

"It was important for me to keep it pure and unadulterated," he said. "I just wanted to write the songs I want to write and not worry what my hardcore metalhead friends think. I want to do what I want to do and see what happens and keep the outside influences away from tainting what we wanted to get across."

With contact between the surviving members of Damageplan "dwindling," Lachman doesn't know where the band stands; the healing process continues for everyone who was there that night, and whenever there's contact, Lachman said it only dredges up memories of the horrific shooting. The singer instead tries to focus on his favorite memories of Abbott.

"He loved the first Audioslave album," Lachman recalled. "I can remember many a night, 5 a.m., drunk as sh--, laying on the floor, listening to Audioslave with Dime going, 'What a f---ing great record this is.' Matter of fact, we got a friendship tattoo of the Audioslave [flame] logo.

"For Dime, it was monumental, symbolically, that those guys could come back from their respective bands and put something together and move forward in a new direction. So one night, he's like, 'Come on, we're going to get tattooed.' And we went. Mine's black, and his was orange and yellow, like a flame. Around it, it says 'Slave to the Power of Music.' That's how much it meant to him, symbolically, that a band could do that. Really, that's what he wanted for Damageplan."

Click here for more on the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell and the Ohio club shooting.

— Chris Harris