Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante has detailed the emotional second when Eddie Van Halen paid particular tribute to “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott following the Pantera guitarist’s demise.
It was once December 2004, simply days after Dimebag were tragically killed onstage right through a efficiency in Columbus, Ohio. Benante was once one of the crucial many rockers to wait Dimebag’s funeral, and he was once sitting with the individuals of Pantera when Van Halen approached.
“We have been within the circle of relatives room. It was once me, Vinnie was once sitting with me, and Rex (Brown) had simply gotten there, too. So Rex was once sitting subsequent to me,” Benante recalled right through a contemporary look at the Vinyl Information podcast.
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“I spotted that Eddie was once sporting a guitar,” the Anthrax drummer endured. “And (Eddie) got here proper over to us and he crouched down, put the guitar down at the ground and crouched down and was once chatting with us, simply announcing how sorry he was once. And I spotted at the guitar case it had a work of tape that was once there for like, eternally. And it stated VH2 on it.”
Dimebag was once closely influenced by way of Van Halen and wore his fandom proudly. Although he and Eddie had handiest turn into buddies in a while earlier than the Pantera rocker’s demise, they shared a detailed bond. Within the wake of Dimebag’s homicide, Van Halen was once made up our minds to honor his fallen comrade.
“Darrell’s favourite Van Halen guitar was once the bumblebee, which was once on Van Halen II,” Benante recalled. “And (Eddie) opens the guitar and he says, ‘I introduced this on your brother.’ It was once the guitar from the again of Van Halen II.”
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“We went into the opposite room and he positioned the guitar within the coffin with Darrell,” Benante endured, describing the scene. “All of us misplaced it. At the moment, I’m fascinated with it and I am getting choked up simply fascinated with it, as it was once this sort of particular second. And that was once my first come across with Eddie Van Halen. It was once very surreal.”
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Like Dimebag, Benante was once a passionate fan of Van Halen. Although he’d come across the guitar god a number of extra occasions over time, this primary interplay on the funeral all the time carried essentially the most weight.
“What I used to be seeing in entrance of me was once one thing that virtually felt like a dream,” the drummer famous. “It was once completely an overly emotional second and I can by no means put out of your mind that.”
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Gallery Credit score: Matthew Wilkening
