A Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage and Carnage At The Alrosa Villa Perfect Paperback – April 14, 2007

If you already know the answer to that, you will know why this book is special.Parent, Ott, and Bonnin have nothing to do with this book. However, AVDOP briefly covers the lives of three others - Jeffery "Mayhem" Thompson, Nathan Bray, and Erin "Stoney" Halk - who died at the Alrosa Villa on Dec. 8, 2004, when a schizophrenic gunman came to the Damageplan heavy metal concert on a mission to kill two brother musicians, Darrell "Dimebag" and Vinnie Paul Abbott. They succeeded in killing Darrell.It's a sad fact that the names and life stories of killers usually eclipse those of their victims, heroes or not. Chris Armold defies that norm by writing a book with long chapters celebrating the difficulties and triumphs in the lives of these three murdered heroes. I see that some have complained that the book covers too little of Darrell Abbott, but as a well known rock star, his story can be easily found all over. The author inserts short "Dime Time" interludes between chapters, statements about him by friends and fans. I had never heard of Abbott until shortly before I came across this book, and felt the author gave enough information to give the reader an insight into the man and his unique, loveable personality, enough to make a person want to discover more about him. I first heard of Abbott when I saw a list of actors and musicians who died on stage.As a true crime reader, I found this book to be an exceptional read. It did not matter that I was new to the story, or that I'm not a heavy metal fan. The book piqued my interest enough to get me to listen to some Pantera and Damageplan to get a better feel for the story!Some great true crime books are like a large, beautifully cut gemstone (example  Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders ); this one is like a handful of smaller, equally beautiful precious gemstones. The sections and chapters are not overly long, making it a quick read and making it easy to find information you want to return to. Sections include:1. chapters on each hero/victim and the story of the Alrosa Villa club2. a few chapters on the life of the killer3. short "Dime Time" bits with bites of information about Darrell Abbott4. a list of FAQ which the author couldn't easily cover in the body of the book5. footnotes, references6. a list of witnesses, employees of the club, and first responders7. dozens of photographs of the principles and locations8. diagrams of the floor plan of the Alrosa Villa, including ones showing the movements of the killer, where people were shot, and photographs which are matched up with those key spots - especially helpful!9. brief statements by the family of the three hero/victims10. a descriptions of the funerals with photos of the memorials11. statements by Officer Niggemeyer and Lt. Col. Dave GrossmanIt's clear Chris Armold put a large amount of time, effort, legwork and love into this story. It's a fitting tribute to all those involved - family, friends, victims, and both surviving and deceased heroes. Thanks Chris A. for introducing me to this sad yet fascinating story!I highly encourage readers to visit Find A Grave and leave free virtual flowers at their memorials.

Much like many heavy metal fans across the world, I felt like I hit a concrete wall face-first at 100 miles per hour upon hearing the news of Dimebag Darrell's tragic death. Being a long-time metal guitarist, I always looked up to Dime during my formative years as a player. The events at Alrosa Villa, where 3 other individuals were murdered on the night of 12/8/04, piqued my curiosity as to what really happened, how it happened, and what caused it to happen. Not only does this book objectively describe the volatile personality of the perpetrator (I refuse to mention his name), it also does a great job at presenting all the facts that led him to "snap". However, the true purpose of this book was to offer a glimpse into the lives of the 3 other people who died at Alrosa Villa: Nathan Bray, Erin Halk, and Jeffery "Mayhem" Thompson. Considering the fact that a rock superstar was murdered that night, it's easy to overlook the less prominent victims of this tragedy. What Chris A accomplished here was a humanization of those whom the media overlooked or relegated to the sidebars. Three seemingly different individuals showed remarkable courage, willingly putting themselves in the path of gunfire in an attempt to end a lethal situation and help the injured. This is what this book is REALLY about. It is NOT an attempt to capitalize on the death of a celebrity.

The book has a dual thesis; one being the victim's lives and the second the nightclub rampage and police shooting. What I did not realize while reading the book is that the author did a splendid job of weaving Thompson's, Bray's, Halk's and Abbott's seemingly unintersecting lives into the tragic end. I felt this book was in-depth and gripping.There is no shortage of research done by the author. He has credited numerous people for contributions of photos, interviews and documents. Given the subject matter, it may have been easy to invoke a morbid fascination from the reader for the sake of selling books but, he tastefully used hundreds of crime scene photos. He obviously established a repor with CPD Officer J. Neggemeyer as well as other investigators. He did a fine job of delving into the lives of the victims and articulated what good people they really were, which made the occurrence that much more disturbing and tragic.I thought the book was accurate for the most part, save for a few mistakes in municipalities. The only reason I didn't give the book 5 stars was I felt that referring to Nathan Gale as "the beast" was childish. Although he slowly changed into a beast given his mental illness, changing the moniker does not change the fact that Gale was single-handedly responsible for immeasurable pain and damage.

Even non-fans of metal such as myself will find it difficult not to appreciate the profundity of this story and its place in Metal history. While the summation contained a couple of speculations; and perhaps, one hasty inference from Columbine about parenting, the account was crafted with a view to responsibly researched and written history.