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Rebel Meets Rebel

Rebel Meets Rebel

Written by: PP on 09/03/2007 14:22:25

What used to happen every time Vinnie, Rex and Dimebag Darrell hooked up together to write music? Nothing short of sheer greatness and pure awesomeness, of course. By now everyone will remember Dimebag Darrel if not from his phenomenal, groundbreaking guitarwork in Pantera and Damageplan, from his tragic murder during the last show Damageplan was to ever play, where some possessed freak jumped on stage, shouted "Bring back Pantera!" and shot several bullets into Dimebag before being gunned down by a cop in front of hundreds of shocked fans. But up to and until his tragic death, Dimebag and co had been teaming up on and off with renowned country singer and iconoclast David Allan Coe for jamming sessions, as weird as that thought may be. After Dime's death, his brother Vinnie then decided to release the results of these jamming sessions under the name Rebel Meets Rebel, with music so good it's likely to bring feelings of extreme anger and sadness to fans of Dimebag, as he once again steals the show with his truly original, innovative groovy guitar work.

The four weren't kidding when they coined the new genre 'country metal' describing it as the sound of Rebel Meets Rebel. The guitars are distinctively southern fried, combined with the redneck-style outlaw singing of Mr Coe. The title track "Rebel Meets Rebel" has percussion and other country instruments creating a truly wild west-like atmosphere, after which "Cowboys Do More Dope" defines the meaning of 'country metal' in just under five minutes. Dimebag's trademark shredding and groovy riffs create a robust base for the additional country-influences. Think hammered pianos (yes, hammered, really) that could be straight from a wild-west Salon on top of chugging riffs and solo-bursts more difficult than most readers will ever be able to play.

Every song on the album has that 'wow' effect on you, because you'll be hearing original riffage, innovative and correctly constructed solos, and funky bass lines all different from each other scattered amongst conventional song structures, which are the beauty of Rebel Meets Rebel. It's so familiar to all Pantera and Damageplan fans, but yet so original at the same time. Don't expect any recycled riffs which seems to be the trend in today's music industry, because Dimebag is just that good of a guitarist that he can burst out never-before heard tunes over and over again. "Get Outta Life" starts out aggressively like a southern fried Rage Against The Machine and continues its dwell towards the southern fried metal He Is Legend today is so renowned for, though never quite ending up sounding similar to them at all. It's just a thought that pops in your mind and disappears about as fast as it appeared. With titles like "Arizona Rivers" and "Cherokee Cry", the southern country metal label becomes unmistakeble, and the only question that remains is why didn't anyone think of this before?

It's only appropriate to end this review with a sad note, simply because the album collects so much God damn fantastic guitarwork together, and we will never again be treated to original material from this renowned and much missed guitarist. Buy this as the last standing memory of Dimebag Darrell's legacy, and start working your way from here to the old Pantera records, and then trace their influence to everything metal today. You'll be surprised how big Dimebag Darrel was, and how much respect he had from every single metal musician across the world - Rebel Meets Rebel is a representation of why that is.

Download: Nothin' To Lose, Cowboys Do More Dope, Rebel Meets Rebel
For the fans of: Pantera, Damageplan, He Is Legend
Listen: Myspace

Release date 19.02.2007
Locomotive Records
Provided by Target ApS