Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of Dimebag Darrell Abbott

by Zac Crain

Book Overview

Black Tooth Grin is the first biography of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, the Texas-bred guitarist of the heavy metal band Pantera, who was murdered onstage in 2004 by a deranged fan-24 years to the day after John Lennon met a similar fate.Darrell Abbott began as a Kiss-inspired teenage prodigy who won dozens of local talent contests. With his brother, drummer Vinnie Abbott, he formed Pantera, becoming one of the most popular bands of the '90s and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306815249
• ISBN13: 9780306815249
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Black Tooth Grin

This certainly covers the life and rise of the great Dimebag Darrell Abbott and his climb to stardom. Very interesting. Written in a way that makes you feel like your there. Hard to put down once you start it. Great Book !!! Sad ending !! RIP DIMEBAG !! ROCK ON !!

Well worth reading

In his first book and the first unauthorized biography of metal rocker, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, author Zac Crain provides us a fast, yet detailed account of the life and death of the larger-than-life musician. It is an easy read because it is a joy to read. An accomplished writer about the music scene, Crain knows the lingo and understands what is important to his readers, those devoted to "Dimebag," his band Pantera and the final iteration of that band, Damageplan. Fans who clamor for information on Abbott the man, his character, musical influences (though, of course devotees know about his affinity for KISS and Van Halen) and his associations with other musicians will find a wealth of information in these pages. Crain has talked with former band members and those in the media, such as Juliya Chernetsky, host of the FUSE network's metal show to provide a full picture of "Dimebag" the generous guy, the partier, the musician. Black Tooth Grin, named after the whisky and cola shot drink "Dimebag" loved to down, and pour for others, gives the reader a thoughtful look at Abbott's beginnings in Arlington, Texas, a suburb of Dallas and his development as a skilled guitarist with an instantly recognizable sound to his morphing into a business person of sorts. Crain never merely chronicles "Dimebag's" life and career. Perhaps more importantly and impressively, Crain draws conclusions and suggests causes and effects but never at the expense of the facts. In other words, Crain does not marshal or manipulate mention of incidents in Abbott's life to support his own theories of the whats and whys of "Dimebag's" success, failure, even of his murder. That is exactly what we want in a biographer. As Crain writes, "No one can predict the butterfly effect of the countless--and usually innocuous--coin flips that happen every second of every day." But Crain's volume is not fluffy. In the pages following that observation, he details the circumstances that caused Atco Records scout Mark Ross, stuck in Texas when Hurricane Hugo struck North Carolina, to check out the band. Crain continues the story by explaining that a self-conscious Pantera gives what band members consider a constrained performance in the presence of Ross and think they've blown it. As they see him walk out the door, (as it turns out, only to return from a visit to his car and a phone call confirming his intent to sign the group), they kick into high gear and play with their signature abandon. This kind of fully fleshed out information makes the book a compelling read. Black Tooth Grin tells the story of a man whose end we know. But Crain frames the story nicely by beginning with references to that ending. When, in the chapter titled "Slaughtered" Crain recounts the murder in detail, it is the most illuminating description of the tragedy that ended Abbott's life that has been written. On December 9, 2004, MTV.com published a story about the murder. At the time, the availabl

Dimebag - Domination

I purchased this book and the same was delivered well before the anticipated date. This is true value for money and an excellent book for all Dime fans. Hell yeah

A Metal Historians Perspective

This book is a great synopsis of the life of Dimebag and it really shows who he was as a person ans as a guitar god. Crain gives many insightful facts beginning with Dime and Vinnie's childhood and goes till the tragic and unwarranted death of Dimebag Darrell Abbott. I would highly reccomend this to any metal fan or anyone just interested about who Dimebag was and how he will always be remembered.