THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE ASSASSINATION OF DIMEBAG

by Dr. Zoltan!

I am not going to indulge in a heart-wrenching, personal tribute to the best drop-D metal guitarist of the 90's who, along with drummer Vinnie Paul, formed a pair of rhythm-section siblings that could rival even the great and unknown Nomeansno. Plenty of others can cover that ground of intense grieving, so I will keep this section brief and to the point: Pantera's music and lyrics contributed positively to my life when I was in high school, as it did for millions of other alienated teenagers. The lyrics were strong, the music had a heavy groove, and the production was trademark. End of story.

With that out of the way, what I want to share with you are the social implications of Dimebag's assassination. Here are my thoughts:

1.) Dimebag presented a lifestyle that glorified violence through the use of theatrical allegory. His attire, album covers, and other merchandise were covered in skulls and other violent images that illustrated the macho will to dominate and destroy other beings. Among the adjectives used to describe Damage Plan's and Pantera's line of work on Allmusic.com are "Volatile, Aggressive, Menacing, Confrontational, Hostile, Angry, Malevolent, and Nihilistic." Projecting a social atmosphere in adherence to such "ideals" naturally involves a level of extreme risk and responsibility -- a risk and responsibility all such figureheads must be willing to take.

2.) Dimebag made his living off of countless unstable, confused people that could have shot him dead at any point in his career, had they wanted to. He led the life of a public figurehead, appearing in the forefront of large gatherings of angry young men and women on a nightly basis. At these gatherings, it is not uncommon for youngsters who hear his musical soundtracks to begin flailing about the room and striking nearby concertgoers who similarly lash out against willing and unwilling participants alike. They see this as a safe alternative to football or boxing, but without the protective gear. But these sports do share an important parallel to rock music, as shown below.

3.) The utter shock on the part of the general public at this recent assassination proves beyond a doubt that all violent heavy metal lyrics and imagery are hereby rendered invalid and should only be relegated to the realm of fantasy. That's right: ALL BANDS, even the ones with tattoos and menacing costumes & personas are as fake and contrived as an Ashlee Simpson show; Dimebag's work was a common expression of Thanatos (The "death instinct" identified by Sigmund Freud) which is meant, in this society, to be consumed on a subconscious level for entertainment purposes but never acted upon. ATTENTION: Do not believe these people when they lead you (or allow you) to believe they are real: They are ACTORS, performing on a STAGE -- this is how they make their MONEY. Some of them may dress the same on and off stage, but this makes no difference.

4.) This phenomenon of celebrity assassination will continue to intensify, as the powerful manipulative forces inherent in the Entertainment Business continue to profit from FOOLING PEOPLE. In interpretation of the words of Pantera Vocalist, Phil Anselmo: "A fake god rests dead inside you... For your sacred sow is left Slaughtered. System destroyed. Exposed and unployed. The fruit of intention cry for their dead, but turning their head to ignore reality's claw... Give what you made, and under your name on your grave, is salvation. A big Fucking joke." We are entering a critical era in entertainment where the audience is highly desensitized to traditional forms of "safe" show-business, and the artist is therefore forced to cross a dangerous boundary -- a boundary that puts their very lives on the line in order to reach people. That boundary is the border between FANTASY and REALITY, and we are all inherently powerful magicians mesmerizing ourselves, with our without the help of celebrities. This is a time for everyone to think about what sort of entities we are conjuring into existence.

I thank you all for reading. You should do it more often.

-Dr. Zoltan!

P.S. Here is what Phil Anselmo has to say.