Reece Eber, former lead vocalist for Nuclear Hellfrost, and the man responsible for vandalizing Dimebag Darrell’s grave, has issued a public apology.

Dimebag Darrell’s Grave Vandalized

On Saturday, Feb. 28, a Tumblr post from ‘crustyplague’ went viral. In the post, ‘crustyplague’ claimed to have vandalized the gravestone of Dimebag Darrell, aka Darrell Abbott, who was murdered on stage while performing with the metal band Pantera.

“i HATE pantera…with a passion. And so does the rest of my band. So on tour going through Texas, we paid douchebag Darrell a visit, we spit on his grave, stole a pair of cowboy boots, and I wrote ‘FAG’ on his grave,” read the post.

‘Crustyplague’ continued, saying he wasn’t a homophone, but hoped only to enrage Pantera fans, adding, “F—K DIMEBAG, buncha racist hillbillies.”

The post went viral, and was soon taken down by ‘Crustyplague,’ but not before Pantera saw the post and shared it on their Facebook in horror. “We are absolutely disgusted by this! We ask that all of you please show Dime & his grave the respect he deserves,” wrote the band.

Reece Eber Apologizes

After Pantera’s post, fans did some online digging and were able to discover the identity of ‘crustyplague.’ The man behind the Tumblr account is Reece Eber, former lead singer of metal band Nuclear Hellfrost. Nuclear Hellfrost were quick to distance themselves from Eber’s stunt, writing on Facebook, “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 band criticized Eber’s actions, but also pointed out that Eber did not, in fact, permanently vandalize the gravestone. Instead, he wrote ‘FAG’ on a piece of paper and took a photo of it placed on the grave to appear as if he had engraved it into the stone. Nuclear Hellfrost dismissed Eber’s post as “a misguided political publicity stunt” and called Eber “a former member with an awful sense of humor.”

A few hours after Nuclear Hellfrost’s post, the band shared a public statement from Eber, in which the singer claims he thought he was making a joke with the photo, adding that he did not, in fact, steal anything from Dimebag Darrell’s grave. He also took sole responsibility for the stunt, admitting, “I left a piece of paper with an insult to a man many people idolize and for a cheap laugh that I didn’t think about the consequences.”

“There is no reason for what I did and it was the worst mistake I’ve made in my young and evidently dumb life…The fact of the matter is I feel awful and guilty and this will stick with me forever, just like the Seinfeld guy using the N word… I cannot express how sorry I am to Vinne Paul and the Abbott family for the distress I caused, and the other members of Pantera and other acts Darrell was a part of. I owe everyone an apology for my actions because they were uncalled for, and horrible, despicable, and I went way too far,” Eber wrote.

Eber also wrote that he realizes that his attempt at a joke was in no way humorous, and hopes that someone will forgive his actions: “I took a joke way too far with a piece of paper and some hurtful words and as I’ve expressed, I don’t expect any sort of acceptance or sympathy. I’m doing this out of the guilt I feel, knowing I caused this and I want to attempt to make it right even though I’m sure many will not accept this…I’m truly sorry for my actions…and upsetting people for my selfish and morbid sense of humor.”

Pantera has not yet commented on Eber’s statement.