RIP

One of the things that seems to perpetually perplex people about me is my love of heavy metal music. I'm not talking about Bon Jovi heavy metal, I'm talking about Living Sacrifice heavy metal, REAL heavy metal.

The ferocious riffs and unmatched musicianship of the finest heavy metal bands simply speaks to me on some unseen, pure vibe level that can't be described.

Knowing that, it is with sadness that I learned of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's death today. Reports I've read indicate that just 30 seconds into a show, a disturbed individual jumped onto the stage and shot Abbott four times, resulting in his death.

Abbott was the guitarist for Pantera and brought the artistry of riffs to a new, heavy level. To my ears, it was the introduction of "crunchiness" to heavy metal and forever changed the course of metal.

His personal life was pretty much unknown to me, though I do know he spoke out against drug use. The other "night life" activities of his are, for certain, not what I'd espouse as an example to follow, but the metal world has lost one of it's brightest, and loudest, voices.