The man who vandalized the grave site of Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell has issued an apology. Reece Eber, the former lead singer for rising metal act Nuclear Hellfrost, owned up to the disrespectful prank of writing a homophobic slur and placing it on the grave of the beloved axeman. The singer sent out an Instagram post claiming to have spit on the grave and stolen some cowboy boots, but he explained in his apology that those actions never occurred, Metal Injection noted.
When members of Pantera saw the photo, they immediately posted a message to Facebook urging people to respect the guitarist's burial site.
"We are absolutely disgusted by this! We ask that all of you please show Dime & his grave the respect he deserves. This conduct will not be tolerated and the authorities have been notified," the message read.
After Nuclear Hellfrost caught the brunt of the criticism for the photo, which was posted by an Instagram account that has since been deleted, the band released a statement explaining their side. The lengthy post revealed that Eber is not a current member of the group and that he acted alone.
"Anything having to do with grave desecration was entirely a hoax put on by our former lead singer completely disconnected from the other members of the band," the group wrote.
Eber issued an apology shortly after, owning up to the whole ordeal. He specifically apologized to Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, who was Dime's brother, and the entire Abbott family. He added that he has been receiving death threats from fans since the poorly executed joke.
"I'm not asking for forgiveness, I'm not asking for sympathy, I am only attempting to express an apology that I want to reach out to the people I hurt and offended with this dumb act. There is no reason for what I did and it was the worst mistake I've made in my young and evidently dumb life," he wrote.
Darrell was gunned down while performing onstage in 2004. This past December marked the 10th anniversary of his death.
