Book Author On DIMEBAG's Murder: 'I Don't Think Anyone Besides The Killer Saw This Coming'

Rock author, writer and photographer Chris Armold — who penned the book "A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa" — was interviewed by Northern Edge Music on the fourth anniversary of PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's passing. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Northern Edge Music: Being such a touchy subject for so many that were directly affected by "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's life and untimely death, were you at all hesitant to put yourself in the position of being the first author to write about an event that is still so fresh in people's minds?

Chris: You know I never considered telling the story to be a "touchy" subject. My opinion was that I personally wanted to know what actually happened at the Alrosa Villa, what motivated the killer to do his deed and who were the men killed with Dime. I never for a moment thought that anyone might object to a factual, historically accurate and very respectful book about the events of December 8, 2004. The time was right to do the book as I was able to get very current information directly from the people involved. The fact is that everyone who reads my book "gets it" and I've never had a reader contact me and jam me up or criticize my book. The only people who have negative comments are people who have some sort of agenda or simply haven't read my book.

Northern Edge Music: You spent time with Nathan Gale's [Dimebag's alleged murderer] mother while writing your book. How has she held up? And is what happened that night something she has grown to understand or are there still questions that linger about what drove Nathan Gale to the breaking point?

Chris: Nathan Gale's mother Mary is a quiet, hard-working private person who I know carries a very heavy burden. As much as she loves her son, she completely rejects his actions and has never made excuses. While I think she understands that her son's mental illness was the impetus that drove the murders, she still feels blame and I'm positive she will never come to terms with the fact that her little boy snapped and killed people.

Northern Edge Music: Being so close to the family's and friends involved with this tragedy and hearing their own words about Nathan Gale, do you think the signs were there that Gale's mental illness and obsession with PANTERA would end the way that it did?

Chris: I honestly don't think anyone besides the killer saw this coming. Nathan Gale was a loner who rarely talked to people and he certainly didn't discuss his plans to murder Dimebag and Vinnie Paul. Paranoid schizophrenia is a very complex condition that affects people in very different ways.

Northern Edge Music: When you were still writing the book, a lot of Dimebag's fans threatened you and harassed you. Has the negative response subsided since the book's release? Or are people still confused on your intent with this book?

Chris: Yeah, that was a real bummer and something that still sort of haunts me. For the most part harassment, threats and talk of writing an "unauthorized book" have pretty much dissipated. The fact is "A Vulgar Display of Power" is a true crime book that was very well researched and is very respectful to the memories of all those murdered. I didn't take cheap shots at people, I didn't try to write a bio on Dime — I simply told the story of three men who did something wonderful on a horrible evening. The fact is Vinnie Paul Abbott was a contributor to my book. He provided audio of [Philip] Anselmo's Metal Hammer magazine interview and even reviewed that chapter. In January 2007, there was an announcement that an unauthorized bio of Dimebag called "Black Tooth Grin" was being penned by some writer in Dallas who previous has nothing but negative comments about PANTERA and Dime. Consequently, the Abbotts put out a press release that said something to the effect that they didn't support any unauthorized bios. They never mentioned the "Black Tooth Grin" book by name so a lot of people thought they were directing that at my book, which was absolutely not the case.

Read the entire interview from Northern Edge Music.