Domination

THIS MUSIC IS COPYRIGHTED BY CYCLONE MUSIC, LUBBOCK, TX 2005!!!!

Domination started out as an idea to record one of the best Pantera tribute albums ever! The idea was brought forward by Al Pollard, owner of Cyclone Music (Lubbock, TX) and Russell Jones in the summer of 2004.

What initially started as a fun & jubilant idea quickly turned bitter in the midst of his plannings. As we are all aware, "Dimebag" Darrell Lance Abbott was tragically taken from the world late that same year. Al's plans were put on hold, for nobody really knew exactly what to do. Confusion begat sorrow. Sorrow begat anger. Those emotions were shared amongst all fans of Pantera/Damageplan, Dime, and the music world all together.

After the fog had lifted, a meeting was called among friends and musicians. Al, together with Russell Jones, Tommy Vernon, Kory Prince and James Urias, decided to go on with the plans with a new direction and fervor!

With the help and support of Jimmy Collins (Big A Entertainment), Alan Crossland (Route1 Acuff Studios), Wes Hardin & Doug Stapp, pre-production began in late January 2005 at Cyclone Studios.

The daunting task of having to learn songs by a band as great as Pantera was somewhat minimalized by the spot-on, powerful drumming of Russ Jones and the nuanced and passionate vocals of Tommy Vernon. As the backbone of the band, Russ hit every roll, every kick and every cymbal strike, which set a resounding standard for the rest of the band! Tommy's vicious, and sometimes hauntingly beautiful vocals lent a character to the band that sets Domination apart from the average run-of-the-mill Pantera tribute.

Bass chores were easily handled by the guitar-transplanted Kory Prince. His abilities are amazing, being from the Victor Wooten school of bass shredding! What was most important was that Kory laid down a SOLID performance without over-doing it. What more could you ask for?

Easily the most scrutinized role in a Pantera tribute band belongs to the guitarist. With the help of Wes Hardin and tips from Doug Stapp, James Urias learned and performed the tracks as good as anyone could hope for, playing super tight rhythms and screaming leads filled with Dime's trademark squeals and whammy bar acrobatics.

What truly sets this tribute album miles apart from the rest is the incredible people who lent their talents to this project. Thurber T. Mingus, lead singer/guitarist for Pumpjack and long-time close friend of Dime's, added his unique vocal talents to "Drag the Waters" and "Floods". Also providing background vocals for "By Demons Be Driven", "This Love", and "Cowboys From Hell", Thurber's immediately recognizable voice added a real, filled-with-love connection to Dime himself!

Adding to that is the vocal styling of Jason Pate (100 Proof Revolution). Jason gave a different and powerful vibe to "I'm Broken".

Last, but certainly not least, is the extra tracks on this record. The emotional "Dimebag R.I.P." instrumental was written by the talented Gilde Flores, with one-of-a-kind voice recordings of Dime that were harvested from the answering machine tapes belonging to Thurber T. A truly unique addition to an already stellar performance! Summing everything up is a hidden track of "Diamond" Darrell Lance in the early days, recording a Christmas promo for Z-Rock. Very entertaining!

Production chores were handled by the team of Al Pollard, Allan Crossland and Russell Jones. These guys did a magnificent job, capturing not only the sounds, but a very live-like atmosphere. Recording was done at both Cyclone and Route1 Acuff Studios.

The album has gotten great reviews from on-line purchase customers, but the one review that is cherished the most is the one word review offered by Vinnie Paul - "Spooky"!



The first four "Top Friends" are the band members. Feel free to add, comment, buy beer for or otherwise make compu-love to them! They're all attention WHORES!!