Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger recently gave an interview to Tommy Carroll of the 97.9 WGRD radio station, remembering the close friendship between him and the Pantera founders, drummer Vincent ‘Vinnie Paul’ Abbott and guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott, and how the pair defended Nickelback at every chance they got, saying:
“Vinnie Paul and Dimebag used to say all the time. When the metal community would come down on those guys and be, like, ‘What’s with this love for Nickelback? I don’t get it.’ And they would defend us, and it was really, really lovely. They were, like, ‘Go watch ’em play. And then say they suck. Or then say something negative about them.’
Because my favorite thing is when someone comes to the show, and they go, ‘Honestly, I wouldn’t call myself a fan, but I would definitely go see that show again.’ I’m, like, ‘I’ll take that. I’ll take that all day long. That’s a hell of a compliment.'”
Kroeger then continued by explaining how the loss of Dimebag affected him while discussing the guitarist’s murder in 2004:
“That one hurt. I had a tough time — really tough time — with that one for such a long time. You’d see him on [the cover of] a guitar magazine or something like that, and I’d be standing there in a grocery store. And my girlfriend would go to pull me. She’s, like, ‘C’mon, let’s go.’ And she can’t move me. And then she looks over, and there’s just tears streaming down my face. And I’m, like, ‘Ugh.’ And she’s, like, ‘Do you wanna go home?’ And I’m, like, ‘Yup. I wanna go home right now.'”
Back in 2007, the Canadian band released a single, Side Of A Bullet, as a tribute to Darrell Abbott, featuring an unheard guitar solo from Dimebag that was edited together from outtakes off various Pantera albums.
Blabbermouth also gave more insight into the track’s creative process in 2007, reporting how the Nickelback frontman reached out to Abbott’s brother, Vinnie Paul, to have his blessings:
“I called Vinnie, I wanted to get his blessing, and I play him the tune and I’m telling him that it’s this very Pantera-inspired riff. He was into it. He was digging it over the phone, and then he says, ‘You know what, dude? You gotta write one for Dime.’
And I said, ‘Well, I wasn’t quite sure how to lead into this, but that’s what the song’s about, and I kind of want to get your blessing on it.’And he’s like, ‘Brother, of course, you have my blessing.‘”
There is a live performance video of Nickelback’s Side Of A Bullet where the solo was played by Dimebag over the speakers, and the band was just jamming with it. You can view the video on YouTube by clicking here.
