Heavy Metal Musicians Remember DIMEBAG DARRELL

MTV News spoke with members of some 30 hard rock and metal bands about their memories of late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. They told MTV how much he'd meant to them, they shared fond memories and spoke of the impact he made on their lives and their music. A few excerpts from the article follow:

Kerry King - guitarist, SLAYER: "One thing we were going to do — me and Dime and I think Vince [Paul, Dimebag's brother] was going to play drums — we were going to do this tune together. They were going in to record the DAMAGEPLAN record, and I said, 'Dime, there's a song we need to do. I've always dug this song, and it always makes me think of you. I think we need to do it.' It was 'Snortin' Whiskey, Drinkin' Cocaine' by PAT TRAVERS. We were all geared up to do it. He's like, 'Well, you know, they're busting my balls for press for the new record.' And I said, 'Well, what are we rushing for, dude? We've got all the time in the world.' And then something like that happens, and the harsh reality is, we could have done it then. It probably wouldn't have been as good as it could have been, but at least it would have been done, 'cause now it'll never get done. Maybe me and Zakk will do it and dedicate it to Dime."

Mark Hunter - frontman, CHIMAIRA: "When we were recording 2003's 'The Impossibility of Reason', our producer was DAMAGEPLAN's manager, and Dime told him to tell us to send him some tracks because he wanted to do lead over them. Unfortunately, we declined, and now we're kicking ourselves in the ass. We didn't want any guests and we wanted to establish ourselves as a young band and make our mark."

David Draiman - frontman, DISTURBED: "During our second Ozzfest, we were holed up in Dallas for about two or three days ... hanging out at Dime's place — it was an eclectic house. There's all kinds of PANTERA memorabilia and Dimebag memorabilia all over the place. But you could never make the mistake of falling asleep at Dime's. He'd wake you up the way he always did: with firecrackers. He'd always set off an entire chain of firecrackers not two inches from my head. One time ... Dime took us to a strip club where we all judged a bikini contest. There was never a wrong time in the day for Dime to hit a strip club. ... Dime was just this character who was very easy to love. He didn't have a bad bone in his body, and was ready to give you the shirt off his back at all times. It was his mission in life to make sure every single moment you spent with him was the best moment of your life. He was selfless."

Zakk Wylde - frontman, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY: "Whenever you were around Dime, there was never a boring moment. He was the coolest guy on the planet. He was an even better person than he was a guitar player, if that's even possible. Whenever me and him would hook up, forget about it, bro. We'd always have to have a spare kidney, liver and pancreas on ice."

Chad Kroeger - frontman, NICKELBACK: "The last time I saw Dime, we were on tour in Dallas. He jumped up on our bus and he'd brought me this little tiny miniature guitar. It almost looked like a ukulele. He goes, 'I brought you something.' And I hate when someone gives me a present and I don't have something to give them back. So, that night, we were both getting pretty sloppy, and I go in the back and I grab my favorite leather jacket. I come out and give it to him and he throws it on. I'm like, 'There you go. What do you think?' We were both ecstatic, and I gave him a big old hug. We jumped back into his Escalade, and we're sitting there, talking for a bit. We were passing this bottle of Jack Daniel's back and forth. ... I tell him I love him and to be careful, and he tells me he loves me and to be careful. I gave him a big old hug and went back to my bus. ... That was the last time I saw him, and that's what I'll always remember when I think of Dime. I miss him a lot."

Read the entire article — including additional tributes by members of KORN, SHADOWS FALL, MACHINE HEAD, ILL NINO, GOD FORBID, UNEARTH, DEVILDRIVER, BRAND NEW SIN, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM and AS I LAY DYING — at MTV.com.