EX-PANTERA SINGER SLAMMED ABBOT BEFORE DEATH

Former PANTERA singer PHIL ANSELMO told a British magazine the band's ex-guitarist 'DIMEBAG' DARRELL ABBOT should be "severely beaten" - in an interview published two weeks before he was shot and killed on stage.

METAL HAMMER, which is not published in America, printed the interview with Anselmo, in which he talks about Abbot deserving to be attacked.

Anselmo, who now fronts SUPERJOINT RITUAL, fell out with Abbot when Pantera acrimoniously split. He said, "He deserves to be severely beaten."

Abbott and three other men were shot when NATHAN GALE stormed the stage at the Alrose Villa Club in Columbus, Ohio, and began firing at the band and crowd last week (08DEC04).

Some fans present at the gig claim Gale accused Abbot of splitting up Pantera, just before he shot the guitarist.

A spokesperson for Metal Hammer's publisher, FUTURE, says the company is "really sorry" to hear about the deaths, and adds, "We extend our sympathies to the families involved."