DAMAGEPLAN

Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas Texas that officially formed in 2003 led by drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. After twenty years in Pantera the Abbott brothers were looking for a new musical outlet for their brand of sonic mayhem. The two musicians began writing songs for this project in 2002 with the working title being New Found Power. During this time, ‘Metal God’ Rob Halford decided to put his solo band (Halford) on hold so he could reunite with the band that made him famous, Judas Priest. This left his backing band looking for work. Over the years Dimebag had developed a friendship with Halford guitarist Patrick Lachman after they met at NAMM in January of 2000 and the two would meet up to hang out and talk music whenever their schedules allowed. One night in Dallas, Lachman asked to hear the new material the Abbott’s were working on and he loved it, so he asked for a chance to be involved. Legendary axe man Dimebag Darrell told him that the guitar parts were covered but they were looking for a singer, so they gave him a song to see what he could do. The Abbotts had six songs already written, so they gave him one and a few days later Lachman sent the brothers the demo version of the song ‘CRAWL.’ Vince and Darrell were impressed with his ability to both sing cleanly and scream viciously. Lachman got a few more demos to work with and soon after the former Halford guitarist was hired as the front man and the creative core of this New Found Power was in place.

The three musicians worked throughout 2002 on what would become their one and only album. The goal for this new project, from the Abbotts perspective, was to be more experimental than their main band. It was an opportunity for these legendary musicians to spread their wings after more than a decade pummeling their audience over the head in Pantera. For the first time in twenty years a conscious effort was made by Vinnie and Dime to try new ways of writing. Instead of the tight, mechanical sound they were known for in Pantera, the brothers tried a looser approach. They experimented with new gear to differentiate themselves from Pantera, but it soon became clear they didn’t need to drift too far from their trademark style but embrace their past and branch out with new sounds, rather than new equipment. “I tried all these different guitars and amps I don’t normally play, trying to get something different out of the deal, but nothing sounded right,” Darrell said. “Then I realized the Pantera sound is the old-school sound of me and Vinnie ripping it up and anything we play is always gonna sound like us.” The songs were recorded at Darrell’s home studio, Chasin’ Jason studios. All music was written by Vinnie & Dime while Patrick Lachman handled the lyrics and vocals. Dimebag pulled double duty on the album for the first time in his career, performing both guitar and bass. Shawn Matthews from Alice In Chains had played bass during the early 2003 jam sessions but now the guys needed a touring bassist to play Darrell’s parts for the live setting. They recruited local Texas tattoo artist Bob Kakaha, later nicknamed Bob ‘Zilla’ by Vinnie Paul, because he sounded like Godzilla, to round out the official lineup. New Found Power became the title of the album and the band was officially named Damageplan.

Damageplan released the song ‘Save Me’ as their first single in late January of 2004. The song was a huge success becoming the most successful single of the brother’s career as it reached #16 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. A few weeks later in February of 2004, Damageplan released their debut New Found Power to mostly positive reviews. The record did well, debuting at #38 on the Billboard 200 selling 44,676 copies its first week. It went on to sell over one quarter million copies in the USA. The album featured brutal tracks like the aforementioned ‘Crawl’ and the Pantera-esque ‘Explode.’ It also had guest appearances from some of metal’s finest maniacs on four of the songs. The heaviest on the album, ‘Fuck You’ was a [Fucking] hostile track with a guest vocal spot by iconic Slipknot screamer Corey Taylor. ‘Reborn’ is a slow heavy song that features an outro solo by Ozzy’s axe man Zakk Wylde on lead guitar. The first song written, ‘Ashes to Ashes’ is a mid-tempo juggernaut with Lachman sharing vocal duties with Alice In Chains main man Jerry Cantrell. The heavy but catchy ‘Save Me’ might be the albums most memorable song. ‘Moment of Truth’ is Damageplan showing off their Black Sabbath stomp with the albums best vocal performance by rookie front man Patrick Lachman, while the 90 second guitar solo from Dimebag ranks among some of his best lead work of his incredible career. The title track is one of the heavier songs on the record with some of Vinnie Paul’s best drumming of his career. The middle section features a sing along vocal arrangement reminiscent of Pantera’s ‘Walk.’ The song ‘Soul bleed,’ is an Alice In Chains like acoustic album closer with a beautiful guitar solo from the late great Darrell Abbott. Zakk Wylde joined in with Pat Lachman for backing vocals on this fantastic track. It was the perfect way to cap off this diverse record. ‘Breathing New Life’ is another highlight from the underappreciated gem of an album which showcases just how tight the Abbott brothers can be when they lock in together. ‘Pride’ was one of the more sensitive tracks, almost a more modern, reengineered version of Pantera’s ‘This Love’ for the 21st century featuring great vocals from Pat while Darrell’s solo is one of the best on New Found Power. ‘Breathing New Life’ and ‘Pride,’ were released as singles with the former becoming the first music video to promote the record on the recently resurrected MTV’s Headbangers Ball, while the latter had significant radio success hitting #30 on the mainstream rock charts. Two additional videos were made for the hit single ‘Save Me,’ along with the heavier track ‘Explode.’

A tour was arranged to support the album. Damageplan made their live debut in Japan with a trio of dates in early 2004. They returned home and slayed the USA as part of the MTV2 Headbangers Ball tour with Drowning Pool and Hatebreed. They also played shows in Germany, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Canada. The band sounded fantastic each night, but there is no doubt the highlight of the evening was their performance of the album’s title track. Anyone fortunate enough to catch Damageplan on tour was in for an extra special treat. Half way through the song the lights dimmed down, the singer walked off stage, and all eyes were on Dimebag as he shredded through an extended guitar solo that had him paying tribute to the icons that inspired him like Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. His trademark squeals showcased both his creativity, and skill as THE GUITAR PLAYER of his era. Looking back on Dimebag’s career this is what made these tours legendary. If you weren’t lucky enough to catch Pantera in their 80s club days, this was the only opportunity fans had to see Dimebag take center stage in the middle of a set, with the spotlight on him for a lengthy guitar solo. It was amazing. Afterwards Darrell would smile as the crowd chanted “DIMEBAG” in approval. To end the night Damageplan would play a couple of Pantera classics as an encore for their longtime fans.

New Found Power was the final album Dimebag Darrell supported with a tour around the world. It was arguably the most diverse record of his career. Unfortunately, it is too often the overlooked LP by the greatest metal guitarist of all time. Next time you are in the mood to hear the late great Abbott brothers kick ass for an hour knock the dust off Damageplan’s New Found Power, crank the volume up to ten and take it out for a spin. This record deserves more recognition for showcasing these iconic musical soulmates exploring new territory while also retaining the musical integrity that made them the leaders of the metal genre.