THE BEAST

In a new interview with   Tommy Carroll   of the   97.9 WGRD   radio station,   NICKELBACK   frontman   Chad Kroeger   reflected on his friendship with   PANTERA   founders, drummer   Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott   and guitarist   "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott . He said (as transcribed by   BLABBERMOUTH.NET ): " 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   said that   Dimebag 's murder in 2004 affected him deeply. "That one hurt," he said. "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.'"

Chad   went on to call   Dimebag   and   Vinnie   "talented, down-home, amazing individuals. And   Jerry Cantrell   from   ALICE IN CHAINS   actually introduced me to them," he said. "We were on tour together, and he goes, 'Hey, you're gonna meet the brothers tonight.' And we were pulling into Dallas. And I said, 'The brothers?' And he goes, 'Yeah, buddy. You'll see.' I didn't know what the hell he meant at first. And the next thing I know I've got   Dime   and   Vinnie   on my bus. And I was just, like, 'Dude, this is the coolest day of my life.'"

In 2005,   NICKELBACK   recorded a song called   "Side Of A Bullet" , which was inspired by the death of   Dimebag .   Chad   first penned the song's aggressive, metallic riff, then wrote call-and-response lyrics from the perspective of a   PANTERA   fan so enraged over   Dimebag 's murder that he vows revenge, not realizing the shooter had already been killed by a policeman.   "Side Of A Bullet"   featured a previously unheard guitar solo from   Darrell   that was edited together from outtakes off various   PANTERA   albums. The song was written shortly after   Dimebag   was killed.

"I was very upset, and for two months, if I saw his picture somewhere I would get angry,"   Kroeger   told   MTV.com . "I hadn't lost somebody to a shooting before — it wasn't as though he'd been killed in some sort of accident. He was taken in such a horrible, malicious way that just made it more painful."

Once   Kroeger   finished demoing   "Side Of A Bullet" , he called up   Vinnie Paul   and played it to him to get his take on the tune.   Paul   liked what he heard and urged   Kroeger   to write lyrics about   Dime . "I said, 'Well, funny enough, that song is about your brother,' "   Kroeger   recalled.

Vinnie Paul   volunteered to play on the song, so   Kroeger   overnighted him the tape and encouraged him to record a new drum track over the one played by   NICKELBACK   drummer   Daniel Adair . "He thought about it for a while,"   Kroeger   said, "then he decided that   Daniel   had done such an amazing job that we should leave it the way it was. That's when he sent the guitar parts from   'Vulgar Display Of Power'   and   'Far Beyond Driven' , which we used for the solo."

Chad   spoke to   Launch   about the first time he played the track for   Vinnie Paul . "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,"   Chad   said. "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.'"

Last September,   Chad   weighed in on the news that   PANTERA 's surviving members   Philip Anselmo   (vocals) and   Rex Brown   (bass) were uniting with guitarist   Zakk Wylde   ( OZZY OSBOURNE ,   BLACK LABEL SOCIETY ) and drummer   Charlie Benante   ( ANTHRAX ) for a world tour under the   PANTERA   banner. He told   LA Lloyd : "Well, selfishly, I wanna see those songs performed live. When you listen to a   PANTERA   record and you think to yourself — well, as we thought for the last, I don't know how many years, since the band broke up — it's, like, 'Oh, I'm never gonna get to see these songs [performed] live again.' And it's heartbreaking. So the fact that the boys are getting called in from here and there… [I] love   Zakk ; [I] love   Charlie   — great, great guys. I think the fact that they're gonna get on stage and do this… All   Phil   has to do is just get up there and crush it.

"I would go see that," he continued. "I would buy a ticket to go see that show. I wanna see it. I wanna scream those songs. And I think that calling it more of a tribute is probably closer to what it's gonna be, which is great; that's great. People that love that music that wanna recreate it live every single night… And like I said, as long as   Phil   brings it, it's gonna be great. Just to be able to sit back and watch those guys to do it up… And I think all the   PANTERA   fans are gonna love it.

"Anybody who's sitting back hating on the idea, I think when it comes to town, they're gonna do the same thing that happens with those people that say they don't like   NICKELBACK ,"   Chad   added. "They always find themselves at the show. Strangely enough — shocker! It's, like, 'Ah, I hate those guys. They suck.' 'Are you going?' 'Of course' [ Laughs ]" Via Blabbermouth