The saga of the quirky Arlington home once owned by the late Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul has taken an interesting turn.
Earlier this year, the home went on the market for $750,000. Just a few days later, a buyer snapped up the home for an undisclosed amount. In the meantime, the home has been razed. The demolition seems to have happened in April.
In a recent Facebook post, former radio deejay Derek “D-Rock” Walker of North Richland Hills published two photos of the leveled homesite. A bulldozer and a dump truck can be spotted in the photos.
Walker called the razing of Paul’s former home — which he dubbed a “monument” to the heavy metal musician — “absolutely gut wrenching and heartbreaking.”
“This was not only a heavy metal landmark, but a staple in Pantera’s rock and roll legacy. Sold off to private investors to be leveled for a new build,” Walker wrote. “If you were fortunate enough to be invited over, cherish the memories forever...”
In a comment on Walker’s post, Leah Winfield, the wife of longtime Pantera engineer Sterling Winfield, implied that Paul had wanted the house to be torn down.
“His estate has been handled according to his wishes. Heartbreaking at times, but his stated terms. Maybe this can help folks be a little kinder to those fulfilling his final wishes,” Leah Winfield wrote.
“His wishes were to have it demolished?” Walker shot back.
“There’s so much to it that doesn’t need to be public,” Winfield replied. “And it was never going to be the place it was. We can’t go backwards.”
“None of this is about money, contrary to a lot of opinions,” she subsequently added. “And absolutely none of it has been easy.”
Tarrant County tax records indicate the property was purchased from Metrotex Acquisitions LLC in North Richland Hills. Metrotex was established in 2018, the year that Paul died.
The 3,784-square-foot hilltop home, built in 1995, sat on a nearly one-and-a-half-acre plot. From the outside, the home’s distinctive 30-foot barrel ceilings looked like small silos. Paul (full name Vincent Paul Abbott) and his Pantera bandmates hosted a number of raucous parties at the house.
Paul founded Pantera in 1981 with his guitar-playing brother, Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott. The group went on to record nine studio albums.
The home was at 1209 Hickory Valley Ct. in Arlington.
