"Dimebag" Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004) (also credited as Diamond Darrell) was the lead guitarist in the heavy metal band Pantera.

Abbott was born in Dallas, Texas, USA. His father, a country songwriter, owned a recording studio, and Abbott watched many blues guitarists play there. This early influence can be heard in many of Pantera's songs. At an early age, Abbott began entering statewide guitar competitions. By the age of 16 he was banned from entering because he had won too often. It was through the prizes he won at these competitions — including the guitar that later become his trademark — that he was able to start Pantera.

Among his other influences were Eddie Van Halen and Ace Frehley. In addition, he cited many of his contemporaries among his influences, including Slayer's Kerry King, Zakk Wylde, Metallica's James Hetfield, and Helmet's Page Hamilton.

Abbott frequently graced the pages of guitar magazines, both in advertisements for equipment he endorsed and in the readers' polls, where he frequented the top ten metal guitarist spots. He authored a long-running Guitar World magazine column, which has been compiled in the book Riffer Madness (ISBN 0769291015).

His brother, Vinnie Paul, played drums in Pantera. The brothers teamed up with country singer David Allan Coe in a project called "Rebel Meets Rebel" and started a new band, Damageplan, in the aftermath of the Pantera breakup. Their debut album, New Found Power, reached number 38 on the charts in 2004.

Abbott was murdered while performing on December 8, 2004 ¹ at a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Nathan Gale, 25, entered the nightclub at about 22:00, just after the performance began, after scaling an eight-foot fence and being chased into the building by club security. He entered the left side of the stage and proceeded across to the right where Abbott was standing. Gale allegedly made some comments about the breakup of Pantera then grabbed Abbott and shot him twice in the head at point blank range. Abbott received a total of 5 to 8 gunshots. Gale then turned and fired at the other band members, wounding vocalist Patrick Lachman in the leg, before firing into the crowd.

Three others were killed in the shooting including attendee Nathan Bray, 23, club employee Erin Halk, 29, and Abbott's bodyguard Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40, of Texas. Also injured were band drum technician John Brooks and tour manager Chris Paluska. According to police, Gale had a hostage in a headlock position and was firing into the crowd. When the hostage moved slightly, Columbus, Ohio, police officer James D. Niggemeyer killed Gale with a 12 gauge police-issued shotgun.

Note 1: Coincidentally, the 24th anniversary of John Lennon's murder.