Dimebag Darrel over-rated?

I personally think not cuz he was just amazing at what he did but ive met metal fans that say hes way to over rated kinda like Van halen or Hendrix

I'm not a huge fam, but I do respect him. I voted no. he's pretty good in his own right.

I already hate this thread. It's going to get stupid.

That said. No, he was not overrated. In fact, it would now appear that he's underrated.

Quote :

I already hate this thread. It's going to get stupid.

This doesn't help. If it gets out of hand, it will be done with. BUt this prediction doesn't help the matter.

Why do u say that eyesore?

i voted yes... sure he was an amazing guitarist & his death was a tragedy. i just think that the way that he died gets more emphasis in the media, making him more valuable (to the scene) than he actually was.

it's not a disrespect to the man, but more to the media.

ya i see ur point

- NO! He was an awesome guitarist

I voted "yes" he's overrated.

Don't get me wrong, the man was an awesome guitarist, but if he hadn't died so tragically I doubt he'd be getting as many props as he does. If he were still alive, he'd still be in Damageplan, playing hole in the wall clubs to 300 people a night, and he'd still have his cult of fans, but he wouldn't be an icon.

Yes and No - It depends


It's scary how thin the line is between Over Rated and Under Rated


- All these 15 year-old Hot Topic kids praise him way too much, just because he was in Pantera and because he died

- Some grumpy ol' OLD-SCHOOL-TILL'-DEATH metalheads under rate him a little.

I voted yes. Now, please don't anyone take that as disrespect to the man or his talents. I certainly was and still am a fan of Pantera and Damageplan, but mc666 and fatfreddy said it best, it was his death and the way he died that elevated him to a higher status. As for the comment of Hendrix and EVH being overrated, I respectfully disagree. Both of those men changed the way people looked at the guitar and how it was played. Both were innovators. DD was not. Peace.

mc666 wrote:

sure he was an amazing guitarist & his death
was a tragedy. i just think that the way that he died gets more
emphasis in the media, making him more valuable (to the scene) than he
actually was.

This is my view on it, put into better words by mc666.

i've gotta disagree slightly. even if you think he is overrated (i don't), it wasn't his death that did it.

for example: do ANY of you guys read Guitar World? holy crap, the guy has been a mainstay in that magazine since the early 90's (i started buying the magazine in 1993), always showing up in reader's polls, gracing the cover many, many times, had an extremely popular column for many years - the point is that people had Dime up on a pedestal pretty from the Vulgar Display of Power days. and yeah, he gets some more recognition after he died, but i don't think it's substantially more than what he had during his life.

Overrated, underrated, it's all a matter of opinion. I've never been a big Pantera fan, but there is not doubt that Dime has had an influence on the music scene in general. Look how many bands were cashing in on the Pantera sound at one time. Sure his untimely, tragic death might have immortalized him, but the same thing happened with Randy Rhoads and many other musicians and artists that died before their time.

Now if you wanna talk overrated guitarists, I vote for Stevie Ray Vaughn. Good guitarist, no doubt, but I heard fans talking about him like he was a guitar god. Personally, I just don't hear it. A friend said of him, "he plays Hendrix better than Hendrix." Hardly! However, even if that were true, Hendrix was the innovator, SRV was the follower.

ultmetal wrote:

Now if you wanna talk overrated guitarists, I vote for Stevie Ray Vaughn. Good guitarist, no doubt, but I heard fans talking about him like he was a guitar god. Personally, I just don't hear it. A friend said of him, "he plays Hendrix better than Hendrix." Hardly! However, even if that were true, Hendrix was the innovator, SRV was the follower.

SRV was a follower and he would have been the first to tell you that. He knew who he was and who he owed it all to.

To fully appreciate SRV as the excellent guitarist he was, you have to have seen a live performance by him. Impossible to in real person now, but there are several amazing DVDs showcasing him and his immense talent.

SRV used the guitar as an extension of his soul, Dime was just another metal guitarist that had a little extra something that people latched onto, if you ask me. Perhaps if Dime were in a listenable band, I would appreciate him more, but alas Pantera were terrible, IMO.

But as you stated ult, these are all just opinions.

Btw, I agree with your friend: "he plays Hendrix better than Hendrix." But had Hendrix lived, I feel as though he would have slayed all other guitarists.

Nobody plays Hendrix better than Hendrix. The SRV covers were too clean and dry. The originals had an emotion and raw delivery that cannot be matched.

He died too young and thus became overrated through no fault of his own.

I think he was a great guitarist and seemed like a cool guy but all this hype after the tradegy makes it seem over-rated.

Just because people over hype him does not make him over-rated IMO. He was an awesome guitarist and because of the over hype by the mainstream there are some metal fans that just won't give him the credit he deserves.

I think he is overrated. Sure he died in a tragic way and watching the footage I seen made me throw up. However, I was not a Pantera fan at all and still hate them to this day. Damageplan were even worse. Was he a good guitarist? Sure he was. But he isn't/wasn't what all these people make him out to be.

Dime is the man. He was an incredible guitar player and even a better person. NO WAY is he over-rated imo. Dime did a lot for the music industry when Pantera finally broke through the mainstream. He had a huge influence on a lot of people. As a guitarist the man is one of the best and most creative metal guitarists ever...

Fat Freddy wrote:

I voted "yes" he's overrated.

Don't get me wrong, the man was an awesome guitarist, but if he hadn't died so tragically I doubt he'd be getting as many props as he does. If he were still alive, he'd still be in Damageplan, playing hole in the wall clubs to 300 people a night, and he'd still have his cult of fans, but he wouldn't be an icon.

Totally agree. The man was a talented guitarist but has become an icon due to the nature of his death. I have come across far more talented guitarists in the metal scene than Dimebag who won't be remembered as much as he will be.

Same thing happened with Kurt Cobain. Yes Nirvana were important to grunge but would he have the same legacy he has now if he hadn't blown his head off with a shotgun.

I voted "no." He crafted some awesome riffs, and tore it up on his solos.

UltraMagnus007 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I voted "yes" he's overrated.

Don't get me wrong, the man was an awesome guitarist, but if he hadn't died so tragically I doubt he'd be getting as many props as he does. If he were still alive, he'd still be in Damageplan, playing hole in the wall clubs to 300 people a night, and he'd still have his cult of fans, but he wouldn't be an icon.

Totally agree. The man was a talented guitarist but has become an icon due to the nature of his death. I have come across far more talented guitarists in the metal scene than Dimebag who won't be remembered as much as he will be.

Same thing happened with Kurt Cobain. Yes Nirvana were important to grunge but would he have the same legacy he has now if he hadn't blown his head off with a shotgun.

I'd be willing to agree with the death part (that definatly moved him up) but IMO Dimebag had infinitely more talent than Cobain.

DallasBlack wrote:

UltraMagnus007 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I voted "yes" he's overrated.

Don't get me wrong, the man was an awesome guitarist, but if he hadn't died so tragically I doubt he'd be getting as many props as he does. If he were still alive, he'd still be in Damageplan, playing hole in the wall clubs to 300 people a night, and he'd still have his cult of fans, but he wouldn't be an icon.

Totally agree. The man was a talented guitarist but has become an icon due to the nature of his death. I have come across far more talented guitarists in the metal scene than Dimebag who won't be remembered as much as he will be.



Same thing happened with Kurt Cobain. Yes Nirvana were important to grunge but would he have the same legacy he has now if he hadn't blown his head off with a shotgun.

I'd be willing to agree with the death part (that definatly moved him up) but IMO Dimebag had infinitely more talent than Cobain.

Nearly every professional Rock/Metal guitarist alive has more talent than Cobain ever had.