The song is a tribute to Dimebag Darrell who was shot and killed on stage while performing in Columbus , Ohio , with Damageplan . It features aggressive guitars and double bass drumming . The lyrics for " Side of a Bullet " focus on the murder of Darrell , the anger at the perpetrator Nathan Gale and the aftermath thereof . The guitar solo combines outtakes by Darrell originally meant to be used on the Pantera albums '' Vulgar Display of Power '' and '' Far Beyond Driven '' . Darrell 's girlfriend Rita Haney and his brother Vinnie Paul gave Nickelback permission to use the outtakes . At first Nickelback wanted to have Vinnie Paul playing on the track but he declined by stating that Nickelback 's drummer Daniel Adair performed just as well as he could
shot and killed on stage
Columbus nightclub shooting
Side of a Bullet