black tooth grin
I was a big fan of Pantera back in the early 90′s, I think my first introduction to them was someone handing me a cassette of “Vulgar Display Of Power”, still my favourite album, then I worked backwards to “Cowboys From Hell” and finally forwards again with “Far Beyond Driven”. After that my musical landscape changed for a few years and I didn’t even hear “The Great Southern Trendkill” until years after its release. Growing up playing guitar and seeing someone like Dimebag live was amazing, he had riffs that made everyone else at the time sound like nursery rhymes, he had blistering solos that were flowing and effortless, full of passion and massive wide vibrato, he also had his signature Dean guitar even before it was an actual signature model and most of all he had a sense of humour and liked to goof around. Dimebag Darrell was a guitar hero who graced the cover of every guitar magazine and won just about every award going. On December 8 2004 Darrell Abbott was gunned down mid-song and killed along with security and crew members whilst on stage with his follow up band Damageplan.

Black Tooth Grin not only covers in detail the events that night at Alrosa Villa including the lead up to the senseless murder, some background on the killer and the events following Dimebag Darrell’s untimely death but also celebrates his career as one of the most revered guitar heroes of all time. Former Dallas Observer music editor Zac Crain gives an unauthorized biography of the Arlington, Texas shredder. From Darrell’s youth hanging out in his dad’s studio and through the early days of Pantera on the club circuit and how they were propelled from Texas clubs to world tours with Dimebag making friends the world over with his brand of alcohol fuelled fun.

Black Tooth Grin also covers the demise of Pantera fuelled by Dimebag’s alcohol consumption and singer Phil Anselmo’s heroin addiction and covers both sides of the story from the messy breakup. This is an area of Pantera that I really didn’t know much about as, like many others in the late 90′s, I had moved on seeking new musical inspiration that I wasn’t getting from Heavy Metal at that time. The sad incomprehensible slaughter of Dimebag actually inspired me to revisit his music and this book has had the same effect, since reading Black Tooth Grin I have listened to all my Pantera albums and have bought Damageplan’s “New Found Power” just to hear the last recording Dimebag made. It is sad to see Dimebag being exploited by Dean guitars after his death, after reading this book and reading how humble Dimebag was he would never have wanted to see someone selling 32 signature Dimebag guitars. Anyway that aside this is a fascinating insight into the life and death of Darrell Abbott and one that I highly recommend.