Formed by brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen in the 1970s, Van Halen became one of the most successful and influential Hard Rock bands of all time in the following decades. The impact of Eddie’s guitar playing was tremendous, and he was often compared to Jimi Hendrix because of the many possibilities he revealed the electric guitar still had.
Unlike many bands formed by brothers, Alex and Eddie were always united and never ended their partnership. That is quite rare, but there were a few other cases, like Pantera, where Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell also remained close throughout the decades. During his career, Eddie gave his opinion on many bands, including Pantera and their guitarist.
What was Eddie Van Halen’s opinion on Pantera and Dimebag Darrell
Eddie Van Halen respected Pantera’s music and admired especially Dimebag Darrell as a guitar player. Shortly before the guitarist’s tragic death, they finally had the chance to meet and they connected instantly. Unfortunately, that would be the only time they ever saw each other. Just a few weeks later Dimebag was killed on stage by a fan who reportedly could not accept Pantera’s break-up.
His family asked Eddie for a replica of Dime’s favorite Van Halen guitar, the “Bumblebee” from the Van Halen II era. They told him that it would be placed in his casket, which was from Kiss, his favorite band. But in an unexpected gesture, Eddie personally attended the memorial service. He brought with him the actual guitar he used during that period of his career. “Dime was an original. He deserves the original,” he told the family and friends.
Eddie Van Halen said during his speech:
“I’m here for the same reason as everyone else: to give some love back. … This guy was full of life. Dime was the epitome, he lived, breathed and is Rock ’n’ Roll”. Then he held his phone and played a voice mail from Dime that he had kept. The late musician was saying: “Thank you so much, man, for the most awesome, uplifting, euphoric, spiritual rock ’n’ roll extravaganza ever!”
Pantera’s current drummer Charlie Benante (Originally from Anthrax) was there and recalled the incredible Eddie gesture. “Eddie was carrying a guitar and came right over to us and he crouched down. (He) put the guitar down on the floor and crouched down. (He) was talking to us, just saying how sorry he was. And I noticed on the guitar case it had a piece of tape that was there for like, forever. And it said VH II on it.”
“Darrell’s favorite Van Halen guitar was the bumblebee, which was on Van Halen II. And (Eddie) opens the guitar and he says, ‘I brought this for your brother.’ It was the guitar from the back of Van Halen II. We went into the other room and he placed the guitar in the coffin with Darrell. We all lost it. Right now, I’m thinking about it and I get choked up just thinking about it, because it was such a special moment,” Charlie Benante told Vinyl Guide Podcast in 2024.
The first and only meeting between Eddie Van Halen and Dimebag Darrell
The first time they talked to each other was over the phone, when Eddie was at Vinnie Paul‘s strip club in Dallas, Texas in 2004. As the late Pantera drummer Vinnie told Noisecreep, at the time he received a call from his night manager saying that the guitarist was there and wanted to meet him. Van Halen was his favorite band, so he rushed to see one of his heroes.
“So I dropped what I was doing and went straight to the club. I meet Eddie and we start talking about music right away. After about 5 minutes into the conversation, he says to me, ‘Man, I feel like I’ve known you for a lifetime. We have so much in common!’ I couldn’t believe it. Later that night, I put Eddie on the phone with my brother. They spoke for over 90 minutes,” Vinnie Paul said.
Van Halen would perform in the city the following day, but the band already had a show booked in another place on the same date, so they were unable to attend. However, a few days later, the Abbott brothers received an invitation to see Van Halen play in Lubbock. Eddie event sent a limousine to pick them up at the airport.
He continued:
“So we do it and get to see Van Halen do a sound check from the stage. Me and my brother were like kids in a candy store. I remember being on the plane, on the way back home from the Van Halen show, and my brother saying to me, ‘Man, if this plane crashed, and I died tonight, I would be OK with it because we got to meet Van Halen,” Vinnie Paul recalled.
Dime’s girlfriend Rita Haney, had previously also talked about this meeting. She said that Darrell even had the chance to play through Eddie’s rig during that soundcheck.
Dime and Vinnie reportedly had plans to record with Eddie and Alex
According to Neil Daniels’ book “Reinventing Metal” (2013), Dimebag and Vinnie had plans to record something with the Van Halen brothers. “They (Dime and Eddie) got on so well that it was suggested they make an album together with drums by Eddie’s brother, Alex, and Dimebag’s brother, Vinnie. According to Walter Trachsler, they had even a date set for when they were due to start work on what would have been the first full album that Eddie and Alex made outside of Van Halen,” Neil Daniels said.
The Abbott brothers were both big fans of Eddie and Alex. They used to cover many Van Halen songs during the early years of their careers. Dimebag, for example, often played his own version of “Eruption” live. On Pantera’s second album, “Projects in the Jungle” (1984), the guitar instrumental “Blue Light Turnin’ Red” is frequently cited as being influenced by “Eruption.”
According to the book, if they were asked to pick their favorite album of all time they would probably say Van Halen’s “Women and Children First” (1980). Alongside Kiss’ Ace Frehley, Eddie Van Halen was Dime’s biggest influence.