The world of heavy metal has seen its fair share of legends over the years, and two of the most iconic names to emerge from the genre are Metallica’s James Hetfield and Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell. Despite the untimely death of Dimebag, the influence that he had can still be felt throughout the metal community, and his impact continues to inspire new generations of musicians.
As reported by Ultimate Guitar, in a recent interview with SiriusXM‘s “Metal Ambassador” podcast, James Hetfield opened up about his relationship with Dimebag Darrell, revealing how the two musicians had a profound impact on each other’s careers. Hetfield stated how it was Dimebag who introduced him to solid-state amps early on, a move that would go on to shape Hetfield’s distinctive sound as the frontman of Metallica.
James Hetfield discusses Dimebag Darrell
Hetfield would say: “Well, what a blessing to have been in his life and him in my life. And yeah, some of those early days, just traveling down there to the Dallas area and meeting with those guys and just hanging out. Yeah, Dimebag introduced me to the solid state amp, I remember. He had this fricking amazing crunch going on. I was, like, ‘What is that?’ You know? So, uh, yeah. [We] inspired each other. He inspired me as well. No doubt.”
Dime would be known to scoop out almost all the mids on his amp and mainly be a world of treble with his guitar high-end frequencies, which wasn’t always the easiest to achieve with tube amps.
Metallica and Pantera’s connection
Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica established a bond with the Abbott brothers from Pantera almost immediately upon meeting, as Metallica was already attracting serious attention on a national level with “Ride the Lightning”.
As Hetfield notes, the connection between the two bands ran deep, and the influence that Dimebag Darrell had on the world of heavy metal is still felt to this day. In celebrating the legacy of these two guitarists, we honor the impact they had on the music we love and the generations of fans and musicians who continue to draw inspiration from their work.
