7 rare Dimebag performances you need to hear
Young Dimebag, Anthrax, King Diamond, Nickelback and more!

Anthrax - King Size
When Anthrax found themselves making Stomp 442 without a lead guitarist, they approached Dimebag. Scott Ian recently told us, “He came to the studio, we hung out for a couple of days. We wanted to pay him but he wouldn't take our money because we were friends. We said we had to do something for him and he said, 'Alright, I want this video camera.' We bought him the best video camera that was out at the time.”
Hear Dimebag's solo, at 2:21.

Nickelback feat. Kid Rock - Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
Nickelback and Dimebag join forces with Kid Rock to cover Elton John. You probably didn’t expect to read that sentence today, but it happened for the Charlie's Angels: Fill Throttle soundtrack in 2003. Chad Kroeger told MTV in 2003 “We were driving and I slipped it in [the CD player] in his vehicle, and he just flipped,” Kroeger said. “So I said, ‘Dude, wanna play the guitar solo on this?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I’d love to.”

Tres Diablos - Heard It On The X
While Pantera had some downtime, Dime, Vinnie Paul and Rex got together to record a cover of ZZ Top’s Heard It On The X. It shows Dime’s more classic side, throwing out some typically impressive country-metal licks while handling lead vocals. This version would go on to be included on the ECW Extreme Music soundtrack.

Sebastian Bach - Believer
Dimebag pays tribute to another fallen guitar hero, Randy Rhoads, on Sebastian Bach’s cover of Ozzy’s Believer. Taken from Bach’s second solo album, Bach 2: Basics, it’s atmospheric, and Dime nails his idol’s style here, with screaming pinched harmonics and a belter of a solo starting at the 3.09 mark.

Dimebag in his youth
Okay, so it’s not really a guest slot, but you’ve read the tales of a young Dimebag conquering guitar competitions in Texas bars and music stores, now it’s time to see him in action. Note the Van Halen and Randy Rhoads references, as he melts the fretboard on his trusty Dean ML with his playing.

Stuart has been working for guitar publications since 2008, beginning his career as Reviews Editor for Total Guitar before becoming Editor for six years. During this time, he and the team brought the magazine into the modern age with digital editions, a Youtube channel and the Apple chart-bothering Total Guitar Podcast. Stuart has also served as a freelance writer for Guitar World, Guitarist and MusicRadar reviewing hundreds of products spanning everything from acoustic guitars to valve amps, modelers and plugins. When not spouting his opinions on the best new gear, Stuart has been reminded on many occasions that the 'never meet your heroes' rule is entirely wrong, clocking-up interviews with the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Foo Fighters, Green Day and many, many more.

