A collective of hard rock and heavy metal luminaries converged on The Belasco in Los Angeles Thursday night (January 22) for the 2026 installment of “Dimebash“, the annual all-star jam session honoring the legacy of late Pantera and Damageplan guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.
The event featured a rotating lineup of high-profile musicians performing classic tracks from Abbott’s catalog. Among the notable participants were Charlie Benante (Anthrax, Pantera), Chris Jericho (Fozzy), Dino “Jelusick” Jelusić (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Whitesnake), and Doug Pinnick (King’s X).
The roster was rounded out by Tony Campos (Static-X, Fear Factory), Joey Vera (Armored Saint), Monte Pittman (Ministry), Billy Graziadei (Biohazard), Carla Harvey (ex-Butcher Babies), Roy Mayorga (Jerry Cantrell, Stone Sour), and Chris Broderick (In Flames, ex-Megadeth). Fan-filmed footage of the performances has surfaced online and can be viewed below.
Abbott was murdered on stage on December 8, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. The gunman, 25-year-old Nathan Gale, shot the guitarist multiple times just moments into the band’s set. Gale killed three others during the rampage: Damageplan crew member Jeffrey Thompson, club security guard Erin Halk, and audience member Nathan Bray. The assailant was eventually shot and killed by police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who entered the venue shortly after the shooting began.
Investigations later revealed that Gale, a former Marine with a history of mental illness, may have targeted Abbott specifically, though a definitive motive was never officially established by Columbus police.
Abbott co-founded Pantera in the 1980s alongside his brother, drummer Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott. Following a transition from glam metal to a heavier groove-oriented sound with 1990’s Cowboys From Hell, the band became one of the most commercially successful metal acts of the decade. Their 1994 release, Far Beyond Driven, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Following Pantera‘s dissolution in 2002 amid tensions with vocalist Philip Anselmo, the Abbott brothers formed Damageplan, releasing New Found Power in February 2004.
In recent years, the Pantera name has returned to the road. In 2022, surviving members Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown recruited Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne) and Charlie Benante to fill the roles of the late Abbott brothers for a worldwide tour, which included a support run with Metallica throughout 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Vinnie Paul passed away in June 2018 at his home in Las Vegas due to dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. He was 54. Both brothers are buried at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas.
