Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
More
  • "The most expensive bit of drumming in history”
  • JoBo x Fuchs
  • Radiohead Daydreaming
  • Vanilla Fudge
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Artists
  2. Guitarists

7 rare Dimebag performances you need to hear

News
By Stuart Williams ( Total Guitar ) published 8 December 2014

Young Dimebag, Anthrax, King Diamond, Nickelback and more!

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Anthrax - King Size

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.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
King Diamond - Voodoo

King Diamond - Voodoo

Dime gets dark on this guest slot with King Diamond, the title track from the concept album of the same name. There are a couple of solos, both short but brilliant, appearing at 2.11 and 3.40 respectively.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Nickelback feat. Kid Rock - Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

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.”

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Nickelback - Side of A Bullet

Nickelback - Side of A Bullet

This tribute to Dimebag was written after his death, but features an unused Dime solo from Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven era. Vinnie Paul and Dime’s wife, Rita sent Nickelback the solo for them to use on the track, which appears on Nickelback’s All The Right Reasons.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Tres Diablos - Heard It On The X

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.

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Sebastian Bach - Believer

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.

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Dimebag in his youth

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.

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
CATEGORIES
Guitars
Stuart Williams
Stuart Williams
Social Links Navigation
Drums

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.

Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition. image
Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition.
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Latest in Guitarists
Buddy Guy [left] smiles as he takes a solo on his Fender Stratocaster. He wears a red jacket and black hat. Billy Gibbons [right] wears shades, a wide-brimmed hat and a red blazer as he plays his custom SG-style electric with the V-style headstock.
Billy Gibbons on the tip Buddy Guy gave him after they jammed a T-Bone Walker classic
 
 
Pat Smear performs onstage during the FIREAID Benefit Concert for California Fire Relief at The Kia Forum on January 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California
“In the classic tradition…”: Pat Smear is out of upcoming Foo Fighters dates after “bizarre gardening accident”
 
 
Jimmy Page
“I had such a connection with it”: On his 26th birthday, Jimmy Page played his beloved Les Paul Black Beauty in a legendary Led Zeppelin show
 
 
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 31: Ted Nugent performs at Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre on August 31, 2025 in Sterling Heights, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images)
Ted Nugent has only qualified praise for Jack White, Green Day and Tom Morello, but calls Yungblud "the real McCoy"
 
 
Brian May [left] leans back and feels a chord as he performs live with his Red Special. Steve Vai [right] wears a ballcap and looks pleased as punch as he shows off his custom 'Green' Red Special that May had built for him.
Steve Vai once played Brian May’s guitar “like a baby giraffe on roller skates” – now the Queen icon has gifted him his own ‘Green’ Red Special
 
 
Dave Mustaine, founder, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter of US band Megadeth, performs at the Iconica Sevilla Fest, in Seville on July 3, 2025. (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP) (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images)
“It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth’”: Dave Mustaine says he doesn't want guesting ex-members on Megadeth’s final tour
 
 
Latest in News
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 4: American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker Prince (1958-2016) and American guitarist, singer-songwriter and member of the Revolution Wendy Melvoin perform onstage during the 1984 Purple Rain Tour on November 4, 1984, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)
How Prince and The Revolution turned the bare bones of Purple Rain into a lighters-in-the-air epic
 
 
 Iconic female rap group Salt-N-Pepa members Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper)
"Did not establish they ever owned the copyrights to their sound recordings": Salt N Pepa lose legal battle with Universal
 
 
DAVID BYRNE AND OLIVIA RODRIGO
“I actually cried when I heard his version of this song”: Olivia Rodrigo on David Byrne's cover of Drivers License
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Raye performs onstage during All Points East at Victoria Park on August 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Producer Mike Sabath reveals the surprisingly limited instrumentation in Raye's Where Is My Husband!
 
 
Ibanez Alpha Series: 7 and 8-string guitars with an all-new shape, metallic finishes, and photographed here in profile against a dark gradient background.
Stylistically radical, Ibanez’s multi-scale Alpha series might just be the 21st-century prog-metal player’s favourite new guitar – but do you get the 7-string or the 8?
 
 
Brandon Flowers of The Killers attends the GBK Brand Bar & Meals On Me Backstage Lounge At The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
“In 2027 you will get the best Killers record”: Brandon Flowers is concentrating on solo activity this year
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...