Former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, killed by a deranged fan on December 8th, was a Kiss-worshipping, beer-chugging virtuoso whose percussive riffing and bluesy, adventurous solos carried the flag for classic metal into the Nineties. "He was next in line after Eddie Van Halen," says Anthrax guitarist Scott fan. Adds Korn frontman Jonathan Davis, "He was one of the last great traditional metal guitarists."

Born in Dallas on August 20th, 1966, Abbott spent his teens playing...

A young fan obsessed with heavy metal shot and killed former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and three other people during a show by Damageplan, Abbott's latest band. The tragedy took place on the evening of December 8th at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio.

The shooter, Nathan Gale, 25, was killed by a Columbus police officer minutes after the violence erupted. A stocky former Marine, Gale was reportedly upset that Pantera had broken up — last year — and...