Remembering Dimebag Darrell: Johannes Eckerstrom on Avatar’s Dimebag Fandom

Dec. 8, 2014 marks the 10th anniversary of Pantera / Damageplan guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott‘s tragic death. In remembrance of the guitar great, we’ve spoken to a number of rock and metal musicians to gather stories and testimonies of admiration towards the immortal shredder.

In the clip above, Avatar's Johannes Eckerstrom shares the band's fandom when it comes to Dimebag Darrell. While Eckerstrom is definitely a fan of Dimebag Darrell and Pantera, he's definitely trumped in his band by guitarist Tim Ohrstrom, who sports three Pantera-related tattoos, got the group to visit Dimebag's gravesite upon touring the U.S. and figured out that their current tour bus was once owned by Pantera. According to Eckerstrom, Ohrstrom immediately figured out which bunk would have been Darrell's and claimed it for himself.

As for Pantera, Eckerstrom says they were definitely an influence and even more so after they added Ohrstrom on guitar, who leans toward some of those great Dime grooves. "Riff is king and riff is groove, and Pantera is one of those clear examples of that," says Eckerstrom. Watch the full video above and stay tuned for more Remembering Dimebag Darrell videos as we near the 10th anniversary of Dimebag Darrell's death.

Watch Mastodon's Brann Dailor Remembering Dimebag Darrell

Watch Anthrax's Scott Ian Remembering Dimebag Darrell