Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, active between 2003 and 2004. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halford guitarist Patrick Lachman on vocals, and later Bob Zilla on bass. Damageplan released New Found Power, their only album, in February 2004. New Found Power debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, selling 44,676 copies in its first week.
While Damageplan was promoting the album at a concert on December 8, 2004, at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, deranged fan Nathan Gale climbed on stage and killed guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others before being fatally shot by a police officer. Although no motive was found, some of Gale's friends reported that he believed that Pantera had stolen his lyrics and that its former members were attempting to steal his identity. Damageplan's manager confirmed there are unreleased Damageplan recordings, although they have not surfaced, and the band has been inactive since the incident. Vinnie and Zilla joined the band Hellyeah, and Lachman joined the Mercy Clinic. Vinnie Paul died in 2018.
History
Formation
By 2003, drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell were plagued with difficulties that their previous metal band, Pantera, was experiencing. Both described the performance level of Pantera's vocalist, Phil Anselmo, as "hit and miss, depending on what type of chemicals he was on".
A demo of the song "Crawl" was sent to former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman who auditioned as vocalist. Lachman was hired, and New Found Power was formed in early 2003 with former Jerry Cantrell guitarist Shawn Matthews on bass initially, who was replaced after the album recording with the brothers' tattoo artist, Bob Zilla. When writing music, Paul claimed; "we put no boundaries on it ... we wanted it to be very diverse", and Darrell said "We wanted to stretch out and expand our capabilities to their fullest." The band changed its name to Damageplan and decided to name the first album New Found Power. Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society, and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains made guest appearances on the tracks "Fuck You", "Soul Bleed", and the bonus track "Ashes to Ashes" respectively, and Sterling Winfield handled co-production duties.
New Found Power sold 44,676 copies in its first week to debut at number 38 on the Billboard 200. The album received mixed reviews from music critics; Christine Klunk of PopMatters commented "I'm not in the least bit interested in where this band goes or what new and exciting ways they'll think of to abuse the listeners," while Johnny Loftus of AllMusic felt it was a "blazing new beginning".
Alice in Chains' vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrell attended a Thanksgiving party hosted by the Abbott brothers. Darrell and Paul had a demo of the first song they wrote, titled "Ashes to Ashes". Lachman insisted that it was on the "backburner" until Cantrell showed interest. The band entered the Abbott brothers' backyard studio with Cantrell to record "Ashes to Ashes". Although the song was not completed in time to be featured on New Found Power, it was included on the Japanese version, and for the soundtrack The Punisher: The Album. To promote New Found Power, the band toured with Hatebreed, Drowning Pool, and Unearth on the second installment of the Headbangers Ball.
A foundation called The Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund was founded after the incident, which donated its profits to cover medical expenses of drum technician John Brooks and tour manager Chris Paluska, who were among those injured during the shooting. A public memorial service for Darrell took place on December 14, 2004, at Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas. Many musicians paid tribute to Darrell on message boards and at live performances.
In May 2005, Niggemeyer was called before a grand jury, which was convened by the Franklin County prosecutor's office to examine the actions taken on the night of Dimebag Darrell's demise, a standard practice when deadly force is used. The jury found that there was no wrongdoing on Niggemeyer's part. Franklin County prosecutor Ron O'Brien commented, "There was little doubt [the shooting] was lawful, given the 200 eyewitnesses and the circumstances that surrounded the shooting. Nevertheless, we still have an independent body review the facts". Niggemeyer was nominated for a bravery award on the TV show America's Most Wanted.
Aftermath
In a 2005 interview, Damageplan manager Paul Bassman said that unreleased recordings before Darrell's death were near completion. He commented, "Vinnie Paul has said there will be a follow-up album down the road, as Dime would have wanted his music to be heard." Hellyeah released its debut album on April 10, 2007. One week later, Zilla joined the band as its new bassist, after left due to "personal reasons". The album was recorded at Abbott's backyard studio, Chasin' Jason, where New Found Power was also recorded.
Vocalist Lachman joined The Mercy Clinic, which aided the grieving process. He commented, "you have to get back on the horse. You could easily let a decade go by and not do anything. I'm happy to have walked away with my life after the situation I was thrown into. But, I mean, what do you do? I'm a musician. I'm going to make music. What Dime would have told me was, 'You make music, motherfucker. Get back on it. Do what you do.' So, that's what I did." Before the shooting, Phil Anselmo stated in the December 2004 edition of Metal Hammer that Dimebag "deserves to be severely beaten".
A book titled A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa was penned by author Chris Armold. For 14 months, Armold interviewed people and researched the events leading up to December 8, stating "It's not a book about rock stars, but heroes, regular guys who made the ultimate sacrifice." In his research, Armold found no evidence that the comments Anselmo made before Darrell's death had influenced Gale's actions. The book was released in 2007.
Vinnie Paul died on June 22, 2018, at the age of 54.