A Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage and Carnage At The Alrosa Villa (Perfect Paperback)

~ Chris Armold (Author)
Key Phrases: volume dealer, fat farm, drowning pool, Alrosa Villa, Nathan Gale, Columbus Police Department (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anticipating the third anniversary of revered heavy-metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's onstage murder, author Chris A. (abbreviated from "Armold") presents an exhaustive account of the people and events involved in that December 2004 evening. Abbott, known primarily for his work with fan favorite Pantera, is relegated to secondary-character status, along with his band, Damageplan, while Chris A. focuses on the three other men who died that night at Columbus, Ohio's Alrosa Villa concert venue while coming to the guitarist's aid. (The gunman, Nathan Gale, was also killed at the scene, by Columbus Police Office James Niggemeyer, who provides an introduction.) In the first half, Chris A. recounts individual stories of doomed Damageplan security honcho Jeffery "Mayhem" Thompson, Alrosa Villa roadie Erin Halk, fan Nathan Bray and the murderer (referred to throughout as "the Beast"). The second half provides gripping minute-by-minute documentation of the tragic night. Despite an amateurish style, which occasionally reads like a term paper and contains little dialogue, Chris A. has reconstructed the crime in admirable detail, and includes 240 black-and-white photographs (many from the crime scene). Chris A.'s narrative is gripping, but not a rock bio by any means; as such, it's more fitting for the true crime crowd than hard-core headbangers.
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Review

"...chillingly precise. Truly brilliant detective work ...one of the most heartfelt books you'll ever read on the awful subject of murder." --Guitar Player Magazine

"The author should be congratulated. The book was hard to put down, the pictures were awesome, the research well done." --BC Book Review

...chillingly precise. Truly brilliant detective work ...one of the most heartfelt books you'll ever read on the awful subject of murder. --Guitar Player Magazine

The author should be congratulated. The book was hard to put down, the pictures were awesome, the research well done. --BC Book Review

An incredible accomplishment. -Zakk Wylde, Black Label Society & Ozzy

...Heavy, Respectful and Emotional... -José Mangin, Sirius Satelite Radio: Hard Attack

Salute and Congrats on a Great Book! -Ted Nugent

...possibly the most important book about rock and heavy metal to ever be written. --RockUnited.com --BC Book Review

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Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: MJS Music & Entertainment LLC; 1st edition (April 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976291770
• ISBN-13: 978-0976291770
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,538 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping account of a terrible tragedy., October 28, 2007

By	detonator (Oh) - See all my reviews

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fallen Heroes At The Alrosa Villa, April 19, 2007

By	Shirley Lynch (Decatur, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a book that should be read by everyone, not just Heavy Metal fans. It is a true story honoring the memories of not only Dimebag Darrell Abbott, but also about Erin Halk, Jeff Thompson and Nathan Bray, each of which lost their lives trying to help Dimebag and others from the attack of an armed madman.This book goes into the background of these men, and also of the killer, his motives, and the actual incident at Alrosa Villa. "A Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage And Carnage At The Alrosa Villa" is a deep, moving story. I think that anyone who reads this book will be enlightened and find the book as interesting as I did. I would highly recommend it!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Highly Recommended Reading for ANY Music Fan, July 18, 2007

By	K. Gant "Wire Manipulator" (NYC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.