Vinnie Paul

Vincent Paul Abbott, also known as "Vinnie Paul" (born on March 11, 1964 in Dallas, Texas, USA) is a heavy metal drummer and producer who is currently a member of supergroup Hellyeah, but is best known for being a member, and co-founder, of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded the heavy metal band Damageplan in 2003 with his late younger brother, Dimebag Darrell.

Life and career

Personal life

Vinnie Paul is the son of Carolyn and Jerry Abbott, a country music songwriter and producer. He recorded and performed in the groups Pantera, Damageplan, and Rebel Meets Rebel alongside his brother, late guitarist Dimebag Darrell. Their successful and complimentary musical relationship earned them favorable comparisons to Eddie and Alex Van Halen.

Vinnie Paul is known for his spirited and authoritative drumming, which melds the intensity of heavy metal with the swagger and feel of Texas blues. Among his notable contributions to heavy metal drumming include: his inventive application of drags and triplet patterns to double bass; thundering flammed tom fills, and syncopated accents played on the ride cymbal bell.

In December 2008, he handpicked several of his most memorable drum parts to demonstrate in a promotional video for ddrum : Primal Concrete Sledge (song), 13 Steps to Nowhere (song), Domination (song), and Becoming (song).

Pantera

Vinnie Paul formed the heavy metal band Pantera in 1981 with his brother Dimebag Darrell and Terry Glaze on guitars, bassist Tommy D. Bradford, and vocalist Donnie Hart. Upon Hart's departure, Glaze assumed vocal duties. In the summer of 1982, Bradford left the band and was replaced by Rex Brown and the band released three albums with that lineup.

Pantera recruited vocalist Phil Anselmo to replace Glaze in 1988. By 1990 the band had been signed to Atco Records and released Cowboys from Hell which proved to be the band's turning point. Over the course of four more studio records, a live album and a greatest hits compilation, Anselmo and Pantera were nominated for four best metal performance Grammys, in 1995 for "I'm Broken", 1997 for "Suicide Note Pt. I", 1998 for "Cemetery Gates" and 2001 for "Revolution Is My Name."

Feud with Phil Anselmo and Pantera break up

In 2001, Anselmo decided to put Pantera on hold because of back pain while he toured and recorded with his side projects. Pantera's official disbandment happened in 2003 due to a few reasons, but mainly because of the ongoing dispute between Phil and the rest of the band, although Rex seemed to stay pretty neutral about everything. In the years to follow bad blood would stir up between Vinnie and Anselmo. To this day, Vinnie and Phil do not talk. Phil has announced publicly he wishes Vinnie to forgive him, and reform a friendship, however Vinnie Paul maintains that he will never talk to Anselmo again.

Rebel Meets Rebel

While in between bands, the Abbott brothers and Pantera bassist Rex Brown teamed up with country artist David Allan Coe in a project called Rebel Meets Rebel in 1999.

Damageplan

The Abbott brothers formed heavy metal band Damageplan with, then-tattoo artist, Bob Zilla on bass, and former Halford guitarist, Patrick Lachman on vocals. Damageplan recorded one album, New Found Power, which was released in February 2004. On December 8, 2004, while on tour to support Damageplan's album, Dimebag Darrell was shot dead onstage by former US marine Nathan Gale at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. Damageplan disbanded shortly thereafter.

Latest projects

Following Damageplan's demise, Vinnie Paul formed Big Vin Records in February 2006 and released Rebel Meets Rebel and a DVD, Dimevision, Volume 1. Paul writes a monthly question-and-answer column in Revolver. Paul maintains endorsement deals with ddrum, Sabian cymbals, and Vic Firth drumsticks. He previously endorsed Tama, Pearl drums, and Remo drumheads and hardware. Paul has also recently been on tour playing drums for Dethklok, recently playing a show in Philadelphia with Metalocalypse creator Brendon Small.

Hellyeah

After the death of his brother, Vinnie Paul was unsure if he would return to music, but eventually joined the supergroup Hellyeah. Hellyeah features vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett from Mudvayne, guitarist Tom Maxwell from Nothingface, and bassist Bob Zilla from Damageplan, who replacing original bassist Jerry Montano.

Rex Brown

Rex Robert Brown (born July 27, 1964 in Graham, Texas) is an American heavy metal bassist. Currently a member of Down, he is most famous as the longtime bassist for the Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling band Pantera.

Life and career

During the early days of Pantera, Rex Brown went by the stage name Rex Rocker. It wasn't until Far Beyond Driven that he changed his stage name to Rex Brown. According to the Pantera Cowboys from Hell inner notes, Rex is simply credited as "Rex" , thus dropping the last part of his stage name "Rocker".

He subsequently joined former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo in Down to replace bassist Todd Strange, and most recently played bass on the album Down III: Over the Under.

Pantera

Rex joined Pantera in 1982 with his friend guitarist Dimebag Darrell, drummer Vinnie Paul and vocalist Terry Glaze.

Pantera recruited vocalist Phil Anselmo to replace Glaze in 1987. By 1990 the band had been signed to Atco Records and released Cowboys from Hell which proved to be the band's turning point. Over the course of four more studio records, a live album and a greatest hits compilation, Pantera were nominated for four best metal performance Grammys, in 1995 for "I'm Broken", 1997 for "Suicide Note Pt. I", 1998 for "Cemetery Gates" and 2001 for "Revolution Is My Name." In 2001, Anselmo decided to put Pantera on hold because of back pain while he toured and recorded with his side projects. Pantera disbanded in 2003.

Rebel Meets Rebel

During down time Brown and the Abbott Brothers, teamed up with country artist David Allan Coe in a project called "Rebel Meets Rebel" in 1999. The album was released May 2, 2006 on Vinnie Pauls "Big Vin Records" label. Rebel Meets Rebel disbanded in 2004.

Down

Brown joined Down in 1999 after the departure of Todd Strange from the band. On March 26, 2002, Down released their second album called Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow with Brown on bass. After Down reunited in 2006 after a four year hiatus, work began on their third album, Down III: Over the Under. They are currently recording their fourth album to be released sometime in 2010.

Other work

Rex has worked previously with Jerry Cantrell on five tracks included on the album called Boggy Depot as well as eleven tracks with Crowbar on the album Lifesblood for the Downtrodden. He has also provided bass work for Crowbar in 2004 and 2005 and to Cavalera Conspiracy in 2008. Rex revealed his new project ARMS OF THE SUN, a project featuring Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN) on bass, John Luke Hebert (KING DIAMOND) drums, Lance Harvill on vocals and guitar, and Ben Bunker (GRYN) on guitar, has completed work on thirteen tracks that were produced and mixed by Terry Date (DEFTONES, PANTERA, SOUNDGARDEN). The material is set for a late February release through Extreme Music, which provides class-A production music to all major networks and studios, ad agencies and production companies, including FOX, HBO, NBC, BBC, MTV, SKY, ABC, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Turner Entertainment Networks, Universal, Lions Gate, Miramax, Sony Pictures, Touchstone and Disney, to name a few. ARMS OF THE SUN recorded the music, written by Lance Harvill, late last year at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Recording Studio in Austin. The project is executive-produced by Sir George Martin (THE BEATLES) and Mark Ross for the Grandmaster Series, which celebrates four of the world's top producers spanning from the '60s through the '90s, including Sir George himself, Terry Date, Jack Douglas (AEROSMITH), and Hugh Padgham (THE POLICE).

Personal life

Health concerns and illness

In August 2009, Brown had to sit out the Down tour due to acute pancreatitis. He would then have his gallbladder and polyps on his pancreas removed. Kirk Windstein recently Stated on Down's website: Bassist Rex Brown – Diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, he underwent surgery, during which his gall bladder, along with some polyps were removed. “He’s doing much better. He’s gaining a little weight back. Rex is one of my best friends in the world. I love him to death. He’ll be all right. Everybody’s not Lemmy (from Motörhead). I tell him that sometimes. It got to the point where his body just started giving out from 25 years on the road – drinking every day and what not. Most people do it on the weekend. Add that up to every day for 25 years and that’s what happens. By no means is he out of the band." As of December he is almost three years sober. As of the end of January 2010, Rex has nearly fully recuperated from his fight with pancreatitis. Says Brown, "After two major surgeries to close out 2009, I have recovered from pancreatitis and am looking forward to getting back to work with Down."

Brown, and the rest of Down, have discussed reconvening in New Orleans sometime after the Super Bowl to begin work on a new album. With a release date yet to be announced, the new album will be the band's fourth studio offering.

Brown who is currently looking forward to a healthy and productive 2010 says, "I'd like to thank everyone for their support and well wishes during my illness and recovery."

Playing style and equipment

Rex was a jazz bassist and was offered a scholarship to the University of North Texas but declined. He often plays with a pick. He is widely considered to be, along with Dimebag Darrell, one of the driving forces behind groove metal.

Rex was notable for often contributing walking basslines underneath Darrell's guitar solos. Standout tracks include "Floods" "Walk" "5 Minutes Alone", "Throes of Rejection", "Cowboys from Hell", "Living Through Me (Hells Wrath)", "I Can't Hide", "Use my Third Arm", "Where You Come From", "This Love", "I'm Broken" and many others.

Brown is currently endorsed by Spector basses and Ampeg amplification.

Dimebag Darrell

Darrell Lance Abbott, also known as "Diamond Darrell", "Dimebag Darrell", "Dimebag" or simply "Dime" (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004) was an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. He also performed in the southern rock band Rebel Meets Rebel.

Abbott frequently appeared in guitar magazines and in readers' polls, and wrote a long-running Guitar World magazine column, which was compiled into the book, Riffer Madness. He was praised for his tone and was included in "The 50 Greatest Tones of All Time" by Guitar Player magazine. Remembered for his amiable nature and rapport with fans, Abbott was described by Allmusic as "one of the most influential stylists in modern metal."^[4] On December 8, 2004, Abbott was murdered on stage during a Damageplan performance at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio.

Biography

Early years

Darrell Abbott was born to Carolyn and Jerry Abbott, a country musician and producer. He took up guitar when he was 16, and his first guitar was a Hondo Les Paul he got with a small amp, winning a series of local guitar competitions, where in one he was awarded his first Dean ML. Coincidentally, his father had bought him a cherryburst finish Dean ML standard the morning before the competition, so he only had a few hours of playing time on it. Eventually, Abbott was barred from competing in guitar competitions because he gave the other contestants no chance to win. These contest prizes, including his first Randall amplifier, started a long-term relationship with the brands.

Pantera and Damageplan

Abbott formed Pantera in 1981 with his brother Vinnie Paul on drums. The band began in a glam metal style, but by the late '80s showed a greater influence from thrash metal acts such as Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica, as well as traditional metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Venom, and Judas Priest. Pantera subsequently became a key formulator of the post-thrash subgenre of "groove" metal. It would not be until nine years after forming that Pantera saw its first piece of commercial success in its 1990 major label debut, Cowboys from Hell. Pantera's "groove" style came to fruition in its breakthrough album Vulgar Display of Power, released on February 25, 1992, which saw the replacement of the power metal falsetto vocals with a hardcore-influenced shouted delivery and heavier guitar sound. In 1994, Abbott dropped the nickname "Diamond Darrell" and assumed the nickname "Dimebag Darrell". Pantera began to suffer from mounting tensions between band members in the mid-1990s, largely due to vocalist Phil Anselmo's rampant drug abuse; in 2003, the group broke up. Anselmo left the band for other projects, such as Superjoint Ritual and Down.

After a year, brothers Vinnie and "Dimebag" formed Damageplan, a heavy metal band which also used the Pantera-style groove metal sound. The Abbott brothers recruited former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman on vocals, and Bob Zilla on bass. Damageplan released its debut album New Found Power in the United States on February 10, 2004, which debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, selling 44,676 copies in its first week. When writing music for the new group, "Dimebag" said that "we wanted to stretch out and expand our capabilities to their fullest."

Other projects

Shortly before singer Phil Anselmo joined Pantera, Abbott was invited to join Dave Mustaine's thrash band Megadeth. Abbott was willing to join, but on the condition that Mustaine also hired his brother Vinnie on drums. As Mustaine had already hired drummer Nick Menza, Abbott stayed with Pantera. In 1992 Pantera teamed up with Rob Halford (of Judas Priest) for a track called 'Light Comes Out of Black'. Abbott played all the guitar parts, Rex Brown played bass, Vinnie Paul played drums, Rob Halford sang lead vocals while Philip Anselmo sang backing vocals. This song was released on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack on July 28, 1992. In 1996 Abbott contributed the Ace Frehley song 'Fractured Mirror' to the Ace tribute album Spacewalk: A Salute To Ace Frehley. Then in 1997 a new Ace Frehley tribute album called Return Of The Comet: A Tribute To Ace Frehley was released. The two Abbott brothers covered Ace's song 'Snowblind' on track 7. On and off between 1996 and the formation of Damageplan, the Abbott brothers and Pantera bassist Rex Brown teamed up with country singer David Allan Coe for a project called Rebel Meets Rebel in 2000. The album was released May 2, 2006 on Vinnie's "Big Vin Records" label.

Abbott played guest guitar solos on several Anthrax songs from their John Bush era: "King Size" & "Riding Shotgun" from Stomp 442, "Inside Out" & "Born Again Idiot" from Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, "Strap It On" and "Cadillac Rock Box" (with a voice intro from Dimebag as well) from We've Come for You All. In a recent interview Anthrax bassist Frank Bello said "Darrell was basically the sixth member of Anthrax". Abbott also performed a solo on the titular track from King Diamond's Voodoo album. A sample from a guitar solo by Abbott was used in the Nickelback song "Side of a Bullet" and also played guitar on Nickelback's cover of Elton John's Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting along with Kid Rock. In 1999, Pantera recorded a theme tune for their favourite ice hockey team, The Dallas Stars, called 'Puck-Off'. The song was eventually released in 2003 on the album 'Dallas Stars: Greatest Hits'. In 2000 Abbott played the guitar solo on Believer for the new Randy Rhoads Tribute album (not the Ozzy Osbourne album). Vocals were by Sebastian Bach, Rhythm Guitars were by Kane Roberts, Drums were by Michael Cartellone and the Bass was by Mike Bringardello. This was the only track that Abbott contributed to on this album.

Shortly before Abbott's death, he went into the studio with a band named Premenishen to do a guest solo on a track titled "Eyes of the South." He was also confirmed as one of the original guitar player choices for Liquid Tension Experiment by Mike Portnoy. Abbott's musical roots were in Country Western music; he supported the local music scene in Dallas and would sometimes record with local musicians. He played in a country band called Rebel Meets Rebel with country performer David Allan Coe. Three of Abbott's solos from Pantera songs ranked among Guitar World magazine's top 100 of all-time: "Walk" (#57), "Cemetery Gates" (#35), and "Floods" (#15). In December 2006 a rare track of one of his collaborations was discovered. Abbott sat in on a recording session with local Dallas musician "Throbbin Donnie" Rodd and recorded "Country Western Transvestite Whore". It features Dimebag on lead guitar and lead vocals. Abbott and his brother Vinnie Paul along with Rex (during the Pantera Era) and Bob Zilla (Damageplan Era) performed at their New Years party every year under the name "Gasoline", which was originally and previously a project involving Dimebag and Vinnie plus Thurber T. Mingus of Pumpjack. Stroker of Pumpjack also played with Gasoline on several occasions. Dimebag, Vinnie and Rex also recorded a cover of the ZZ Top song "Heard It on the X" under the band name "Tres Diablos" for ECW wrestling's "Extreme Music" soundtrack.

Death

On December 8, 2004, Abbott was shot onstage while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio.

The gunman was Nathan Gale, who shot Abbott five times, including once in the head, killing him instantly. Gale then continued shooting, killing three others and wounding a further seven. Gale fired a total of fifteen shots, taking the time to reload once and remaining silent throughout the shooting.

Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, the band's head of security, was killed tackling Gale, as was Alrosa Villa employee Erin Halk. Audience member Nathan Bray was killed while trying to perform CPR on Dimebag and Mayhem. Damageplan drum technician, John "Kat" Brooks, was shot three times as he attempted to get the gun away from Gale, but was overpowered and taken hostage in a headlock position. Tour manager Chris Paluska was also injured.

Seven police officers came in the front entrance, led by Officer Rick Crum, and moved toward the stage. Officer James D. Niggemeyer came in through the back door, behind the stage. Gale only saw the officers in front of the stage he never saw Officer Niggemeyer who was armed with a 12 gauge Remington 870 shotgun. He approached Gale from the opposite side of the stage to avoid hitting the hostage and fired a single shot, striking Gale in the face with eight of the nine buckshot pellets. Gale was found to have 35 rounds of ammunition remaining.

Nurse and audience member Mindy Reece, 32, went to the aid of Abbott and she and another fan administered CPR until paramedics arrived, but were unable to revive him.

In May 2005, Officer Niggemeyer testified before the Franklin County grand jury, which is routine procedure in Franklin County after a police shooting. The grand jury did not indict Niggemeyer, finding that his actions were justified. Niggemeyer received a commendation from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission for his outstanding police work in time of crisis as well as the National Rifle Association award as 2005 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The five other officers that were first on the scene received Ohio distinguished law enforcement medals for their efforts. In 2006 James Niggemeyer penned the foreword to a book written about the event A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa.

Early theories of motive suggested that Gale may have turned to violence in response to the breakup of Pantera, or the public dispute between Abbott and Pantera singer Phil Anselmo, but these were later ruled out by investigators. Another theory was that Gale believed Abbott had stolen a song that he had written. In the A Vulgar Display Of Power book, several of Gale's personal writings, given to the author by his mother, suggest that the gunman was not angry about Pantera's breakup or about a belief that Pantera had "stolen songs;" instead, the documents suggest that Gale's paranoid schizophrenia caused delusions that the band could read his mind, and that they were "stealing" his thoughts and laughing at him.

Abbott's grave is located at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas. He is buried alongside his mother. He was buried with Eddie Van Halen's Charvel Hybrid VH2 - a black and yellow Frankenstrat guitar, also known as "Bumblebee," that was pictured with Van Halen on the cover of the album Van Halen II. Dimebag had asked for one of these guitars in 2004, shortly before he was shot. He was buried in a KISS Kasket.

Influences and guitar skills

Abbott once said in a Guitar World interview that if there was no Ace Frehley, there would have been no "Dimebag" Darrell - he even had a tattoo of the "KISS" guitarist on his chest Ace signed the tattoo in pen ink upon meeting him, at Dimebag's request, and then the autograph was painstakingly tattooed over soon after, so as never to be washed off.

In an interview asking why he chose to become a guitar player Abbott said that when he was young his father asked him if he wanted a BMX bike or a guitar for his birthday and he chose the BMX but after listening to a Black Sabbath album for the first time he went to his father to try to trade the bike for the guitar.

In the late 1980s, around the time of Power Metal, Abbott often covered songs by guitarist Joe Satriani, such as "Crushing Day". He also incorporated elements of Satriani songs like "Echo" into his live solos as well. Abbott stated, in various interviews, that his riffs were largely influenced by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. Iommi also influenced Dimebag's tunings, which often went down to C# or lower. Pantera covered Black Sabbath songs "Planet Caravan", "Hole In the Sky" and "Electric Funeral."

He also cited thrash giants Anthrax, Metallica and, despite a sometimes vicious feud, Megadeth as primary influences. He was also a great fan of Slayer and a good friend of Kerry King. Dimebag mentioned in an interview with Guitar World that the clean chord passages in the intro to Cemetery Gates were influenced by the clean chordal passages found in much of Ty Tabor's (King's X) playing. As with Billy Gibbons, Abbott frequently made use of pentatonic scales and slide guitar in both his leads and rhythms. Both guitarists employ blues scales, start / stop dynamics and pedal tones, as in Dimebag's southern style riff in "The Great Southern Trendkill", and the main riff to ZZ Top's "Tush". Randy Rhoads' style chord arpeggios can be heard in much of Dimebag's playing as well, noted examples being "Floods", "Shedding Skin", "The Sleep", and "This Love". He also stated that "Eddie Van Halen was heavy rock and roll, but Randy was heavy metal" Eddie Van Halen, whom Abbott had recently befriended, placed his original black with yellow stripes guitar (commonly called "bumblebee") into the Kiss Kasket. Abbott had mentioned to van Halen that he liked that color combination the best of the latter's guitars (this guitar appears on the back sleeve of Van Halen's second album "Van Halen II"), and van Halen was going to paint one that way for him. Abbott also credited Vito Rulez of Chauncy for convincing him to try Bill Lawrence pickups. According to an interview with Dino Cazares then of Fear Factory Abbott told him that during the recording of Reinventing the Steel he compared his guitar tone with Dino's (incidentally during the making of Fear Factory's Demanufacture Cazares compared his guitar tone against that of Vulgar Display of Power). Abbott co-designed a guitar with Dean just months before his death. Called the Razorback, it was a modified version of the ML. It is more pointed and has extra barbs on the wings. This design spawned variations, such as a 24-fret version, different paint jobs including a flamed maple top with natural finish, EMG pickups, and also helped with the design of the V-shaped version, the Razorback V (lacking the neck-pointing front wing).

Pete Willis of Def Leppard was also seen as another major influence for Darrell. On his Guitar World magazine tribute issue, Abbott was quoted as saying, "Man, that first Leppard album really jams, and their original guitarist, Pete Willis, was a great player. I was inspired by him because I was a small young dude and he was a small young dude, too—and he was out there kickin’ ass. He made me want to get out there and play. Def Leppard used the two-guitar thing much more back then than they do now."

Dean issued a tribute guitar to honor his death, featuring the tribute logo on the neck, a razor inlay on the 12th fret, and hand-painted "rusty-metal"-style graphics. The pickups include a Dimebucker at the Bridge and a DiMarzio Super Distortion at the neck, the tremolo is a Floyd Rose double-locking, and the knobs are the Dimebag Traction knobs. They use all-black hardware, and almost all of them have 22 frets, a Floyd Rose tremolo, Seymour Duncan pickups (including the SH-13 Dimebucker), and set-neck construction.

Equipment

Guitars

Dimebag was a major endorser of Dean Guitars since the 1980s, and is best known for playing a Dean ML guitar with Bill Lawrence L500XL pickups, which he would install in a reversed position to have the "hot" blade facing the neck. Dimebag used Dean Guitars from the early days with Pantera

When Dean Guitars went out of business he switched to Washburn from 1995 to 2004. In late 2004 he switched back to Dean guitars who were back in business. Seymour Duncan manufactures a signature pickup co-designed by Dimebag, the SH-13 Dimebucker. He proudly endorsed the pickup manufacture, but continued to use Bill Lawrence pickups in most of his personal guitars.

Several months before his death, Darrell ended his long relationship with Washburn, cutting short the Washburn custom shop production of 100 Southern Cross guitars. He became a Dean endorser once again, coinciding with founder Dean Zelinsky's return. Dean built him a brand new signature guitar; the Dime O' Flame, which he began using live.

As a tribute to him, in 2005 Dean Guitars released the new Dime Tribute line of ML guitars. These guitars come in various models, ranging from lower price models to higher end models with SH-13 Dimebucker's, a Floyd Rose bridge, and set neck construction. In his last few weeks with Dean, Dime helped design a guitar that he called the Razorback. After his death, Dean continued with the Razorback project and dedicated them to the memory of him. During the height of Dimebag's fame, he also worked together with MXR and Dunlop to produce the MXR Dime Distortion and the Dimebag "Crybaby from Hell" Wah respectively.

Phil Anselmo

Philip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo (born June 30, 1968, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American musician who is best known as the frontman for the heavy metal band Pantera. He is currently the frontman for the Louisiana-based metal act Down. He is also the owner of Housecore Records.

Childhood and early life

Anselmo grew up in the inner city of New Orleans. He attended Grace King High School located in Metairie. His father owns and operates a restaurant in Metairie called Anselmo's. Anselmo has a younger brother, Jerry Anselmo, and a half-sister, Mary Colclough, who was credited as a backup singer on the Southern Isolation EP. Anselmo has a pet rottweiler named Dracula.

Anselmo has said in various interviews that he was very quiet and secluded as a child. He spent some time working on fishing boats as a young man. During a 2002 Ozzfest interview with the radio show Opie and Anthony, Anselmo shared a story that, at the age of 15, he started a fire in his home to scare his sister but accidentally burned the house down in the process.

While a teenager, Anselmo joined the band Samhain (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig's band Samhain). From the early to mid '80s, Anselmo was a member of the band Razor White. While they did have some original material, they mainly played Judas Priest covers.

Main focuses

Pantera

Pantera was an unsigned glam metal band, with three self-released albums to their name. In 1986 it was decided by the band to replace singer Terrence Lee, who was primarily a glam metal singer, because they were heading in a different direction musically. Seeking a new frontman to continue on this heavier path, the band was led to 19-year-old Anselmo. In 1987 after several meetings, Anselmo was added to the Pantera lineup. The band were so impressed with Anselmo that they re-recorded some of Terrence Lee's vocals for their latest release. Anselmo relocated to Texas to record Power Metal, which was released in 1988 on the band's own record label 'Metal Magic Records'. Following the release of Power Metal, the band dropped its glam image and adopted a more casual look. The band was signed to a record label by a scout who was stranded due to a hurricane. The band saw the scout at the venue and were disheartened when he left mid-set. It turned out that the scout had left to phone the record label and to tell them to sign Pantera as soon as possible. Pantera recorded the album Cowboys from Hell in 1990, and a long tour began. The band documented portions of this tour on their first home video, Cowboys from Hell: The Videos, released in 1991.

In 1992 Pantera recorded Vulgar Display of Power. That same year Pantera released a promo titled Hostile Mixes that contained four songs, three of which were remixes. The first two remixes were done by Justin K. Broadrick of Godflesh and the last was done by J. G. Thirlwell of Foetus. In 1994 Pantera released Far Beyond Driven, which debuted at #1. In late June Anselmo was charged with assault following an altercation with a security guard when fans were prevented from getting on stage. Anselmo was released on $5,000 bail the next day. The trial was delayed three times. In May 1995 he apologized in court, pleaded guilty to attempted assault, and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

In 1996 Pantera released their fourth studio album titled The Great Southern Trendkill. Anselmo recorded the vocal tracks for this album in New Orleans, while the other members of Pantera recorded in Texas. In 1997 Pantera released their first and only official live album titled Official Live: 101 Proof. This album contained two new tracks, "I Can't Hide" and "Where You Come From." In 2000 Pantera released their final studio album titled Reinventing The Steel. In 2003 Pantera released a best-of Album titled The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! (Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera in Europe). The album featured songs from all five studio albums, also including three cover tracks, "Planet Caravan" and "Hole In The Sky," written by Black Sabbath and Cat Scratch Fever, written by Ted Nugent. A bonus DVD was also made, containing all the band's music videos. Later that year Pantera disbanded over communication problems and accusations that Anselmo had abandoned the band.

Following the breakup, Anselmo devoted much of his time to a longtime side project, Superjoint Ritual. Having heard this, the Abbott brothers (Dimebag & Vinnie) formed Damageplan with former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman on vocals and Bob Zilla on bass. Some fans blame Anselmo for the Pantera's disbandment, because of statements in the heavy metal press. Anselmo has accused journalists of twisting the facts, publishing what they think sells best. Also, the Abbotts publicly called Superjoint Ritual "Superarmdope Ritual." Pantera bassist Rex Brown, widely known as being the one neutral voice in the matter, has blamed both sides for the split.

After Vinnie Paul slammed Superjoint Ritual, saying Anselmo could not even keep his eyes open, Anselmo replied, "I just hear a big and sad yellowbelly crybaby fuckin' knowing that his meal ticket is in a different fuckin' band. ...You would have to know those guys to really understand where I was coming from, they're scared of their own fuckin' shadows. And, all that said, I wish them the best of fuckin' luck, I still love 'em." Anselmo had engaged in a war of words with Dimebag since the fall of Pantera, culminating in the statement "Dimebag deserves to be beaten severely" in the December 2004 edition of the UK's Metal Hammer magazine. Initially, he denied making the statement, but later changed his story in a VH1 Behind The Music special on Pantera, claiming that the comment had been lighthearted and made off the record. However, Vinnie Paul told the press that he had heard the audio files of the interview and that Anselmo had not been coerced by the Metal Hammer journalist into making the statement, nor had he been misquoted.

In December 2004 "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was shot and killed while performing with Damageplan. In a 2010 interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Anselmo indicated that he was not turned away by the Abbott family as previously reported, but was worried his presence would have caused drama and thus did not attend. Anselmo said in the article that he regrets not attending, and that nobody would have objected.

In a lengthy and emotional video posted on the website community YouTube, Anselmo describes his regret over his previous behavior, and has written and recorded music dealing with the loss of Dimebag on the new Down record, Down III: Over the Under. The band has dedicated their song "Lifer" to Dimebag.

Down

Down has been Anselmo's main recording and touring band since 2006.

Down is an American heavy metal band formed in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band is a supergroup, its various lineups consisting of members and former members of Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, Eyehategod and Kingdom of Sorrow.

Since its inception, Down has released three studio albums and has gone on hiatus twice to focus on the members' respective bands.

Side projects

Arson Anthem

Arson Anthem is a Southern hardcore punk project whose lineup is as follows: Mike Williams (vocals; Eyehategod), Phil Anselmo (guitar; Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual), Hank III (drums; solo, Assjack, Superjoint Ritual), and Collin Yeo (bass guitar).

After losing everything in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mike Williams moved into Anselmo's spare apartment. The two spent countless hours listening to Phil’s collection of early hardcore bands. They began jamming with Hank III and Collin Yeo, who were united by their desire to have a hardcore/crust punk band of their own.

Superjoint Ritual

Superjoint Ritual was a New Orleans metal band formed by Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III, and Kevin Bond. Their style can be considered a mix of groove metal and hardcore punk. Bands like Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Voivod, and Darkthrone have also been noted as influences. The name Superjoint Ritual comes from a lyric in the Darkthrone song, "The Pagan Winter." According to Bower, Anselmo wrote 70-80% of the group's music.

Viking Crown

Viking Crown was a short-lived and essentially solo side project started by Anselmo in the mid-90s. The members of the band are Anselmo (under the pseudonym Anton Crowley) guitars, bass and drums; Killjoy on vocals; and Opal Enthroned (Stephanie Opal Weinstein) on keyboards. On their first album "Unorthodox Steps of Ritual," Anselmo played every instrument and laid down his own vocals. The band never performed live.

Christ Inversion

Christ Inversion was formed in 1994. The group was a short-lived blackened death metal project formed by Anselmo. Most of their lyrics were based on horror films and Satanism. The band recorded two demos and then disbanded without ever recording a full-length album. The first demo was renamed and re-released in 2004 by Funeral in Hell Records. The second demo is set for re-release on Anselmo's own Housecore Records in October 2008. On the band's MySpace profile, they describe their sound as "the venomous vomit of Satan!" and cite Venom, Celtic Frost, and Satan as influences.

Eibon

The idea for Eibon was conceived in the summer of 1998, when Maniac (of Mayhem) and Killjoy (of Necrophagia) decided they wanted to work together. Soon after, Fenriz (of Darkthrone), Satyr (of Satyricon), and Anselmo joined, and the nucleus of the band was formed. Their MySpace page lists their influences as Venom, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Mercyful Fate, Slayer, and Possessed. Maniac soon left to focus on Mayhem, but the others continued to occasionally record. The band has since disbanded due to the tour schedules of their primary bands. Their unfinished album has been dubbed by fans as "Eibon - The greatest black metal album never released". In 2000 one complete track titled 'Mirror Soul Jesus' was released on the compilation album "Moonfog 2000: A Different Perspective," released by Moonfog Productions. Another track, simply called "Rough Mix," can be heard on their MySpace page.

Necrophagia

Necrophagia was a death metal band formed in 1983 that went in to hiatus in 1987. In 1997 frontman Killjoy reformed the band with then-Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo (under the pseudonym Anton Crowley) on guitars, Wayne Fabra on drums and Dustin Havnen on bass. This lineup released the album Holocausto de la Morte and the EP Black Blood Vomitorium. Havnen was then replaced by Jared Faulk, with Gorelord frontman Frediablo also joining as a second guitarist, and Opal Enthroned (then Anselmo's wife) joining the band on keyboards. This lineup released the Cannibal Holocaust EP in 2001, before splitting up and leaving Killjoy & Frediablo as the only members for a short time.

Southern Isolation

The band released one EP called Southern Isolation. It originally contained four songs, but was later re-released with a fifth bonus track. The band consisted of Stephanie Opal Weinstein on vocals and guitars, Anselmo on vocals, backing vocals and guitars, "Big" Ross Karpelman (of Clearlight) on keyboards, and Sid Montz (of Crowbar) on drums.

One rare track called "Faded" has been credited to Southern Isolation on the Manson Family Soundtrack, which is due to be released on Anselmo's Housecore label.

Amicuss

Amicuss, a black metal side project featuring Pantera front man Phil Anselmo, Amen vocalist Casey Chaos and Killjoy of Necrophagia, are rumored to be planning to hit the studio sometime this year with producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot) to record a full length album. Casey Chaos recently commented on the band stating that it may feature some members of Slipknot as well. Although unconfirmed at present, it seems that the member of Slipknot whom they may have in mind is band drummer Joey Jordison/#1. Meanwhile, Casey recently commented on what to expect from the album stating: "This is going to be a real violent release, just take all of the elements from black metal music and take it to the fullest extreme."

Tapeworm

Main article: Tapeworm (band)

Tapeworm is a defunct side project of Nine Inch Nails that existed in various forms from 1995 to roughly 2004. Tapeworm never released any recordings, but was frequently referenced in interviews. The band started as a side project between Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and live-band members Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser. Over time the group expanded and evolved numerous times to include artists such as Maynard James Keenan, Atticus Ross, Alan Moulder and Phil Anselmo.

In 1999 Lohner reported that three tracks had been completed, and described the various materials featuring Anselmo as "heavy NIN-meets-Pantera" and "mellow Pink Floyd The Wall-type songs."

Guest appearances

In 1993 Anselmo produced Crowbar's self titled album and recorded backing vocals on some of the tracks.

In 1996 Anselmo recorded guitars on two songs ("Van Full Of Retards" and a cover of Manowar's "Gloves Of Metal") and contributed vocals/backing vocals on 18 songs for Anal Cunt's 40 More Reasons to Hate Us album.

In 1996 Anselmo recorded backing vocals for tracks on Crowbar's Broken Glass album.

Also in 1996, Anselmo provided vocals on Soilent Green's album Sewn Mouth Secrets. Although not credited, he is given thanks in the liner notes.

In 1998 Anthrax released the album Volume 8: The Threat Is Real. Anselmo provided backing vocals on track 8 ("Killing Box"). Also, his Pantera bandmate Dimebag Darrell played guitar solos on tracks 3 ("Inside Out") and 7 ("Born Again Idiot").

In 1998 Anselmo sang a duet ("By The River") on Vision of Disorder's Imprint album.

In 2000 Tony Iommi released a collaborative album with various well known vocalists. Initially, Anselmo was going to co-create an entire album with Iommi, but due to tour schedules it never happened. Anselmo managed, however, to lay down some tracks for Iommi's album. Iommi and Anselmo wrote and recorded three tracks together, "Time Is Mine," "The Bastard," and a third unknown track. Iommi picked "Time Is Mine" for the album. "The Bastard" was never officially released, but can be found online. The third unknown track is now highly sought after by fans of both artists.

In 2001 Anselmo provided vocals for "HFFK" on Biohazard's Uncivilization album.

On March 6, 2006, Anselmo made an appearance along with Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan and the surviving members of Alice in Chains at a VH1's Decades Rock Live concert, in honor of fellow Seattle musicians such as Alice in Chains' Layne Staley, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, and Dimebag Darrell.

In 2008 Anselmo recorded vocals for the Mahakali album by Jarboe. The track is sparse musically, features a raw vocal delivery by Anselmo, and a short spoken-word segment.

Further reading

Housecore Records and Anton Crowley persona

Anselmo started his own record label called Housecore Records, to release material by his many side projects and from other bands he supported. Anselmo used the name Anton Crowley for many of these projects, it comes from 'Aleister Crowley' (British occultist) and 'Anton LaVey' (Founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan). For a time Housecore was merged with Baphomet Records, owned by Philip's friend and ex bandmate Killjoy of Necrophagia, to form Baphomet/Housecore Records. They have since split.

House of Shock

Main article: House of Shock

Anselmo, together with Steve Joseph, Ross Karpelman and Jay Gracianette, started the House of Shock, a Halloween-themed attraction. Initially, it began in Jay Gracianette's backyard, but was later moved to a large warehouse outside New Orleans that has been converted into an interactive haunted house with 300+ volunteer workers. Anselmo plays the role of a part-time actor when his schedule permits.

John Kaplan photo essay

Anselmo was featured in the John Kaplan photo essay, 21, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. The photographer documented the lifestyles of 21-year-old Americans. Two pictures of Anselmo were included, one with a snake draped over his shoulders and the second as his head is being shaved to reveal a tattoo.

The Manson Family movie

Anselmo can be heard in the Jim Van Bebber movie The Manson Family as the voice of Satan. The soundtrack for this movie also contains music from several of Anselmo's bands.

Accusations of racism

Since the mid-90s Anselmo has occasionally been accused of being racist, an accusation that he has denied on numerous occasions.

During a Pantera concert in 1995 at the Montreal Verdun Auditorium, Anselmo gave a speech during a break in the performance. During this speech, Anselmo stated that Pantera was not a racist band, but security personnel and some people who attended the performance found parts of what Anselmo said to be racist. Following this, Anselmo released an open letter apologizing for any offense that he may have caused during this speech.

During an interview in August 2003, Anselmo stated in regards to the racist accusations, "I’m anything fucking but, I know there’s shitty people and beautiful people on both sides of the spectrum – black and white. And I know for an absolute fucking fact there’s good Middle Eastern people who live here. And I know there’s good Oriental people. But if I’m writing a song and it has to touch on the negatives of certain issues, I’m not gonna beat around the fucking bush and fence-ride – especially with Superjoint. Before, with Pantera, I had to be slightly careful. Now I don’t. And I can see from the enthusiasm in the audiences that we’re on our way to something extremely relevant – something on top of anywhere anybody thinks we might go."

Personal life

Interests

Anselmo owns an extensive collection of several thousand horror films and possesses an encylopedic knowledge of horror films and horror culture. Anselmo has an interest in the sport of boxing. He owns hundreds of fight DVDs and used to take a boxing trainer on tour with him. He has written articles as a columnist for the Boxing Insider website. Anselmo is a New Orleans Saints fan.

Heroin overdose

On July 13, 1996, at the 'Coca-Cola Starplex' in Dallas Texas, Anselmo went into cardiac arrest due to a heroin overdose after a show. Paramedics revived Anselmo and he issued a press release four days later saying, "I, Philip H. Anselmo...injected a lethal dose of heroin into my arm, and died for four to five minutes".

Anselmo spoke candidly about his past heroin addiction, drug use, and the consequences of Pantera's heavy drinking, during a talk at Loyola University New Orleans in 2009.

Marriage to Stephanie Weinstein

On October 31, 2001, Philip married his longtime girlfriend Stephanie Opal Weinstein. That same year they created an acoustic band called Southern Isolation. Anselmo and Weinstein divorced in 2004. Later that year Weinstein auctioned off some items that were given to her by Anselmo during their relationship. The comment on Ebay for the items said, "To all of you who question my motives for putting items on eBay — RELAX — these are things that will mean more to you than me. I simply am keeping those possessions and memories that I wanted. There's nothing more to it. Thanks & enjoy!".

[edit] Back surgery

On November 21, 2005, Anselmo underwent surgery to repair several damaged disks in his lower back. The surgery was successful, and after several months of recuperation and rehabilitation Anselmo returned to recording and touring.

According to Anselmo, he had been suffering constant pain due to this injury dating back to the mid-1990s, and the medication he took to lessen the pain caused his slurred speech.

Anselmo has stated that he still occasionally experiences pain due to the back injury but is in much less pain than he was prior to the surgery.

Knee surgery

In early 2009 Anselmo underwent knee surgery. He made the following statement in regards to the injury:

"It was a semi-torn ACL anterior cruciate ligament, one of the four major ligaments of the knee and a semi-torn meniscus a common knee injury." Anselmo also stated: "With plans to do some jamming during the healing process, trust me, Down will return."

Influences

Anselmo was mainly influenced by Black Sabbath^{[citation needed]}, Judas Priest, and Slayer. He pays tribute to two of his favorite bands in the lyrics of the Pantera song "Goddamn Electric", singing "your trust is in whiskey and weed and Black Sabbath;" in the second verse, the lyric is tweaked to "whiskey and weed and Slayer." He is also a fan of The Smiths, whose song of the same name inspired the title for the Pantera song Cemetery Gates. He stated in Rolling Stone magazine, "I adore the Smiths: the honesty and great songwriting, and everybody in the band is just a badass."