no vocals. He even stated having some of Dimebag Darrell's favorite musicians, such as Rob Halford of Judas Priest to record vocals for the songs. Vinnie Paul died on June 22, 2018, at the age of 54. Lyrical themes and style According to Johnny Loftus of AllMusic, Damageplan incorporated elements of traditional heavy metal, post-grunge, metalcore, and death metal. Damageplan's sound has been described as groove metal, nu metal and thrash metal. The lyrical process was a collaborative effort consisting of Paul, Darrell, and Lachman. Themes explored on the album included the brothers' experiences, Darrell commented, "the crumbling of one empire and then starting over ... So there are a lot of lyrics about being reborn in a sense, about it being a new day, moving forward, letting go of the past and becoming something new." This is exemplified in the songs "Reborn", "Wake Up", and "Breathing New Life". "Blunt Force Trauma" is about when someone or something comes up behind you when you least expect it, "it could be a situation in your life, it could be a person you know with a beer bottle". When writing music, the Abbott brothers suggested guitar riffs and "grooves", while Lachman added his input to modify the song's structure. The band's sound has been described by music critics to be similar to Pantera. Christine Klunk of PopMatters disliked the similarities and commented, "aside from a constant, driving rhythm, repetitive riffs, and unintelligible lyrics about (I'm assuming) kicking ass—there's nothing of interest to pay attention to". The song "Breathing New Life" features 180 beats-per-minute bass drum pedaling, what Vik Bansal of MusicOMH described as "exploding into a blaze of riffage and a cool chorus". Bansal was impressed with certain elements of the song such as the switch from downbeat singing to "a big chorus lodged in power chord heaven", and the incorporated groove rhythms. However, he felt Dimebag "borrow[ed]" Anthrax's guitar solo from the song "Only". Band members Final lineup Vinnie Paul – drums (2003–2004, died 2018) Dimebag Darrell – guitars, backing vocals (2003–2004, his death) Patrick Lachman – lead vocals (2003–2004) Bob Zilla – bass, backing vocals (2003–2004) Previous members Shawn Matthews – bass, backing vocals (2003) Discography Albums Singles Other appearances Music videos References External links (archived) American nu metal musical groups American groove metal musical groups American thrash metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Texas Musical groups established