One of modern metal's key figures, Dimebag Darrell founded Pantera with his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott – forging a style that combined brutally precise, punk-honed grooves with splatter-paint melodic runs. After he was tragically shot by a deranged fan during a show with his band Damageplan in 2004 – on the anniversary of John Lennon's death, freakishly enough – the tributes rolled in from fans, peers and forerunners. "One of the greatest musicians to grace our world," Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler said simply. "Rest in peace."

Key Tracks: "Floods," "Cemetery Gates," "Mouth for War"

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