How to play like DimeBag Darrell
It’s 1981, Dallas Texas and you’re the real deal. Inspired by Eddie van Halen and Randy Rhoads you’ve wailed, shredded and tapped your way to the top of the tree. Known around town as the big cheese shredder cheddar you’re a 200bpm+ freak of nature whose hands resemble hungry spiders crawling franticly over a flaming trapped-fly fretboard. One day in the saloon, you see a wanted poster style advert on the wall, you read it aloud “Think you have what it takes? Real Guitar is a new competition looking for the next six string sensation of Texas, to enter just hand a demo tape into the local music store, good luck lone strummer”. You sip the last of your bud light, spit into the spittoon and turn to the barmen “Sam, I’ll be missing the jam night Thursday, I got practicing to do”.
You get picked for the final fifteen and go to the Agora ballroom. The tension is tangible, the air thick with the musk of ego and the smell of unwashed led zeppelin t shirts. You take the stage and play for the allotted five minutes, you’ve got this, now just to watch the losers compete. The crowd goes silent, the judges look impressed and you can’t believe it, a 14/15 year old has just taken to the stage, so young his parents had to accompany him into the venue. You look around “ha didn’t know they were letting kids in, hope he can reach the first fret” you joke as the teenager starts to let rip. Sharing the same influences as you, he plays like no one else there. The judge’s verdict is cast and you come second, Matt Johnson second, Darrell Abbott first.
Having picked up the guitar at 12, Darrell won his first guitar competition at 14 and his prize was what would later become his iconic signature guitar, the Dean ML. By the age of 16, not only was he banned from entering every future guitar comp in Texas, he had released his first album with the then glam metal group, Pantera. He was already using the nickname Dimebag Darrell and was a gifted teen prodigy who was set to change metal forever. The band would go on to change vocalist in 1986 and release ‘Power Metal’ in 1988, showcasing a new more aggressive sound, a preview of what was to come on their 1990 major label debut, the genre defining ‘Cowboys from Hell’.
‘Cowboys from Hell’ and the shortly followed sequel ‘Vulgar display of power’ changed the face of metal and introduced a Texan swagger to power metal, pioneering what would be known as groove metal. Darrell’s guitar sound and style would be integral to setting the tone for this new spin on the genre and would inspire almost every metal musician to follow. Groove metal was born out of thrash metal, but placed more emphasis on heaviness and swagger, usually played at slower tempos and with syncopated rhythms. It drew more on traditional blues based heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath and generally featured drop tuned guitars, raspy singing, screaming vocals, laying the foundations for metal-core and nu-metal throughout the 90’s. ‘Cowboys from Hell’ is generally considered the first groove metal album, so let’s break down some tracks from the album and it’s follow up, ‘Vulgar display of power’ and see what groovy metal nuggets we can dig from Dimebag’s discography.
Cowboys from Hell
The song starts with a now iconic flanger drenched intro that leads into a catchy pattern based riff using the E minor blues scale. The pattern is using either the 7th fret or the 12th fret E as the root before going down an octave using open strings for the main groove laden riff. This riff embodies Pantera and exemplifies the heavy swagger the band would define. To steal these ideas, try messing around with syncopated riffs, heavy gain and open strings, the licks being played here aren’t incredibly complex, taking most of the notes from the blues scale, yet it’s all about tone and feel. I personally worked the song out using standard tuning, but some of the album is recorded a 1/4 step down and live it was often played standard, a ¼ step down or in Eb. The riff gets slightly simpler and loses some notes for when the vocals come in, this is a great way of creating space for singers in a metal band, leaving the fiddly bits for the end of the bar, when the singer ends their line. Most of the song is just a masterclass in groove, cutting back on the pre choruses before hitting hard with the main riff for the choruses.
The solo is immense using the quintessential Dimebag formula and trick book. It starts with very melodic phrases which complement, take ideas from, the vocal melody before diving into fast runs to get us up the fret board. From here its blues style repeater licks before crashing into a breakdown kind of bridge part which uses crystal clear pinched harmonics. Pinched harmonics are a vital Dime tool and learning to get sustained clear ones is an important step to getting the sound, remember to use a trebly, overdriven tone to make it easier. Using a template to help write solos is a great way of designing catchy memorable fret work. Look at how Darrell usually uses a similar structure and flavour of run, using legato or heavy palm muting and the natural minor scale.
Cemetery Gates
“Reverend, he turned to me,
Without a tear in his eyes,
Nothing new for him to see,
I didn't ask him why”
Probably one of the most emotional and contemplative Pantera cuts to make it to an album, ‘Cemetery Gates’ is a reflective, sombre song which discusses religion, grief and loss. The song starts with big ambient arpeggiated chords being played with what sounds like chorus and a touch of delay, and goes through F#m7-Asus9-E5-D. The third chord has all the notes of an E5 but is easier to view in this context as the Asus9 with an E in the bass and the D chord is a D, B, C# and E, so label that how you wish but I’m just thinking of it as the same shape as before, just putting D in the bass and fretting the C#. This is a beautifully haunting progression and shows how much we can do with one chord shape, in this case an Asus9, creating interest by moving the bass notes, the progression itself really just using two different chords, the F# and the A. The song is very riff based but I’m treating it as in the key of F# minor/A. The first lead part sounds creepy, almost like a ringing bell and starts with chromaticism from E down to D, an idea which carries on in the song, using chromatic lines for tension. The main riff itself that plays throughout the song uses Dimebag’s signature cutting, heavy tone and chugs on an A5 that is broken by a dissonant line that uses the tritone and chromaticism. These type of riffs appear in a lot of Pantera songs and are sort of part of the recipe, crushing tone, groove and dissonance.
The solo to a ‘Cemetery Gates’ showcases everything which makes Dime’s soloing so captivating and venerated. The solo starts with melodic phrases, reminiscent of the intro lines, before descending into a rampant display of speed and technique. The run that starts to ramp up the ferocity is a deft phrase which uses hammer on’s and pull off’s to ascend up the fretboard, the rest of the solo uses palm muted low to high runs, blues style ‘repeaters’ and ends with an awesome descending legato with hits of the trem. Dimebag is synonymous with trem abuse and mastering your whammy bar, Floyd rose or otherwise, will instantly give you a more Dime feel, this combined with the lightning fast, accurate left hand fingering is classic Darrell. The best way to work on trem bar acrobatics is to listen to the masters and emulate, trust your ear and be careful not to snap a string. The song ends with a crazy cat death screech which is caused by his Digitech whammy and his Floyd rose.
Walk
From the album ‘Vulgar display of Power’, nothing displays vulgar power quite like the crushing main riff from ‘Walk’. Being possibly the simplest riff imaginable, ‘Walk’ is drop tuned to Eb and uses mostly the open Eb and the 1st fret E to sound like an angry chainsaw. Of all of these songs I’d say ‘Walk’ is the best to start with and to learn if you’re getting into Dimebag as the majority of the song is straight ahead barre chords and open string riffing and the solo is relatively short for a Darrell one. Speaking of the solo, the fast shred parts are all mostly contained to the 12th fret position Eb minor pentatonic shape, adding in the blues note and ones from natural minor where necessary. Being based around that shape, the licks learnt here are hugely transferable and can be used over and over again. Also being arguably the most used shape in guitar orientated music, you’ll probably already have good muscle memory for getting around it fast. The second part of the solo uses the 7th fret area and has some bluesy lines and some crazy tapped slides, before doing a classic dissonant ‘sloppy’ sounding Dime run up the fret board before hitting a squeal straight from the depths of a Percy Pig fuelled nightmare. The ending of the song is simply epic, you can literally see the mosh pits as the guitar becomes a grinding, spark spitting axe of audible death.
Tones and Takeaways
Dimebag changed metal guitar forever and defined a style of playing which would influence every guitarist to follow, from searing technique, to swagger-ific riffs and surgical trem bar manipulation, Darrell had most bases covered. Things we can incorporate into our playing would be feel and groove to our riffs, crushing tone and milking that blues note. Planning solos as miniature pieces and practicing all types of soloing technique. Dime’s use of pinch harmonics, dive bombs and crazy guitar squeals revolutionised how metal guitarists make blood curdling noises live and wow audiences with just mad sounds. Other recommendations to check out would be ‘Art of shredding’ for sheer face melting fret board tomfoolery and definitely ‘This Love’ for quite possibly the heaviest breakdown section ever put to record. ‘I’m Broken’ is this authors personal favourite Dimebag riff and if he was in Mad Max it’d be blaring from his spikey, oil leaking, weaponised Vauxhall Corsa. Bands influenced by Pantera which are well worth a listen would include most metal bands, but Lamb of God and Machine head are great examples. Live versions of Lamb of God ‘Walk with me in Hell’ are pretty life changing listens. Now let’s take a look at the weapons of war that Dime used to destroy ear drums.
Guitars;
1. Dimebag Darrell will forever be known and associated with the Dean ML. Being the first high end metal guitar he owned, Darrell would use basically the same silhouette exclusively until his deeply unfortunate and tragic passing. As there are with many iconic origin stories, there are conflicting stories of how Dime got his first ML and the age he was when he received it. The story from the man himself goes that on the night of the infamous guitar competition, he was 14 and won a Dean ML standard in cherry red and later he then repainted and hot-rodded it to become what would later be christened the ‘Dime from Hell’ guitar. This story is in conflict with a plethora of other sources, including interview tapes from himself and newspaper articles that state the cherry red was bought for him, with the Dean from hell being another ML that he won, and stating that he was an elderly 16 at the time. With the benefit of hindsight, maybe he merely got his age wrong when remembering the story and which ever the case there was a lot of ML’s involved. A video does exist of Dime at 16 playing a ML at a guitar contest, but considering he entered and won three before being banned this could be from the last one, a prize from a former contest. Either way, the legendary ‘Dime from Hell’ guitar was a customized ML standard, with a new crazy lightening paint job finish and a Bill Lawrence L-500-L bridge pickup which Dime would call the key to his tone. The instrument featured on the cover of ‘Cowboys from Hell’ and was only replaced temporarily between 1994 and 2004 when Dean ceased production and Washburn took over making his signature with the ‘333’ model which was for all intents and purposes just a ML with a different name. Dimebag’s name is most likely one of the most milked in the guitar industry, famously slapped on products he had nothing to do with in tasteless ways, meaning many questionable Dime ‘signature’ pieces exist. To get a legitimate Dime signature, the best bet is to go straight to Dean, who make a variety of different ML models in all kinds of amazing finishes, most of which Darrell designed and played at some point. The average price point for a Dean Dimebag ML with one of his classic finishes is around the £600-£800 depending on specifications, although the majority come with one Seymour Duncan Dimebucker and one DMT bucker, a special Dean designed pickup. Dean also release American standard models that retail for £2.5k to £3k, and a yearly special custom that sells for more. As with every high end release, great used examples find their way on to the market so it’s always worth keeping your eyes peeled. Having models in most price brackets, it’s not really worth looking at alternatives, as most budgets can get on to the ML/Razorback ladder.
2. Dimebag only ever really used his ML guitars live and when recording with Pantera, although he was seen on occasion using a Randy Rhoads flying V at informal events and jam nights at places. Seeing as Randy was one of his biggest guitar heroes, it makes sense that he would play V’s from time to time and pay homage to another young talent taken from this world too soon. Jackson RR V guitars are arguably one of the most exhausted signatures (obviously not counting Slash’s 100+ signature les Pauls), and examples can be found in all price brackets from £250 to £3,000. The classic ivory with the back pinstripes currently sits at around £1,200, a really reasonable price for one of the most iconic instruments in history.
3. To cover his posthumous guitar releases, before his tragic passing, he was in the process of designing the Razorback and the Razorback V with launch special art and colour ways. The Razorback was going to be a true signature model from him and would bring his beloved ML shape into the modern day. A range of examples exist, even including 7 string versions, priced from £400 to custom shop prices, and all come spec’d similar to the ML’s with Dime’s choice of pickup and either a hardtail or Floyd rose. The Razorback V on the other hand is probably a way to pay tribute to Randy Rhoads and is in essence a more aggressive symmetrical V. They seem harder to find, although guitarists from other bands now have signature versions of them. At time of writing I can only really find used examples for sale, hopefully there’ll be a restock or new release soon.
With the signature models in mind, it’s also worth looking at how we can make our existing or favourite metal instruments more Dime friendly. In his last few years, from 2000 onwards he’d been mixing Seymour Duncan’s into his rig, trying his prototype signature pickups on different guitars. The final combination which he used in his standard/Eb tuned guitar was a Dimebucker bridge and a ’59 neck, two pickups which Seymour Duncan still sell. The company produce a Dimebucker set which features a Dimebucker bridge pickup and a modified ’59 neck that is calibrated to work with the hotter Dimebucker, priced at a competitive £200. Darrell also used a Floyd rose on most his guitars and having one is essential for the huge dive bombs Dime would perform, a Floyd will set you back between £70 and £200 depending on model, but will also cost you a lifetime of awkward restringing so prepare for the extra time, effort and headaches.
Amplifiers;
1. Infamous as the Solid state champion of metal, Dime used Randall RG100ES heads for most of his career before getting a signature amp, the Warhead, in the year 2000. The Warhead had a second incarnation in 2004 with a Dime written manual full of inspirational quotes about ‘turning the mutha up’ and ‘jamming balls out’. Not in production anymore, the RG100ES can be found 2nd hand for around the £800 mark on reverb, so it’s just a waiting game. The Warhead, not really featuring on any recordings can be found for marginally less, with the last used example selling on reverb for £530. There are plenty of solid state amps on the market built for heavier styles and many that can function as great pedal platforms, as always Quilter heads exist and provide a professional level piece of equipment marketed at a competitive price point starting at £300. The Marshall MG series and the Orange Crush range offer solid states with gain channels and are priced in correlation with their wattage, so most budgets can cover them.
2. A few years before Dime’s passing, he pulled a complete 360 and started using tube amplifiers for the first time on recordings and live. The amps were by a small company called Krank and he was quick to get a signature model called the Krankenstein. Unlike the Randalls which featured on the Cowboy’s and Display of Power albums, the Krank didn’t feature on any legendary recordings so aren’t as associated with his sound. Looking online, I could find one retailer still selling Krank amps and at very good prices too, under £400, the Krankenstein is unfortunately discontinued, though certain ones can still be found for reasonable prices on reverb with the last sale being £600. If one isn’t prepared to wait, then whole companies exist to sell high gain tube amps, the most obvious brands being Orange and H&K which come in all sizes, flavours and prices.
Pedals;
1. The Digitech Whammy is vital to get those crazy freshly stepped on cat sounds which Dime scatters through his playing, most memorably from ‘Cemetery gates’. Still in production, expect to pay £170-£200.
2. A Cry-baby is just essential for any board really and Dime used his extensively. A Dimebag Darrell signature Cry-baby exists and is probably the most versatile gain-orientated cry-baby Dunlop have ever made. Currently not in production in its original camo colourway, the pedal is quite a grail item, featuring a host of modifications like a built in boost to cut through when soloing (with a gain control to adjust the level of boost), a 6-way range selector for different tones and a fine tune knob to adjust what is an extended sweep range. The pedal is truly a one of a kind for high gain playing, now being made in a black camo colour, expect to pay £150 to £200 for one. There really aren’t any other cry-baby’s quite like it, the Jerry Cantrell, Slash and Kirk Hammett models are all going to suit high gain, but are all going to cost a similar amount. The best thing to do is just look through the models on offer and choose the Cry-baby that’s right for you.
3. High gain distortion is the order of the day where Dimebag was concerned, and he used a lot normally sourced from the amp. But for us mere mortals playing at terrestrial volumes and usually having to play through a mix of amplifiers, pedals are necessary. In around late 2003 Dime started working with MXR on an overdrive and it got released after his death. The pedal sits at around £150 and will deliver heavy tones through any amplifier. The market is saturated with high gain pedals at any price point, JHS make some great pedals although sit at a similar price. For cheaper options, MXR make a distortion pedal for around £80 and TC Electronic, as always, never disappoint with a range of gains from £50 to £120.
4. An EQ is integral to nailing that scooped Dime tone and in the studio he used a range of devices whilst on stage he only used a MXR 6-band stomp box. These days there is a signature Dime EQ, but he only ever used the stock one. £90 is an average price to pay for a new example, and it’s regarded as an industry standard piece of kit so is worth every penny.
