Former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott has launched Big Vin Records, a new Dallas-based record label with distribution via Fontana.

Vinnie was a founding member, producer, and one of the masterminds behind the success of PANTERA, the seminal ‘90s Grammy-nominated metal band whose worldwide album sales total 13.5 million. After the breakup of PANTERA, Paul and his brother, guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, formed DAMAGEPLAN, whose debut album (“New Found Power”) was released by Elektra in early 2004.

Big Vin Records’ first release will be an album from REBEL MEETS REBEL, a unique crossover of country, metal and rock. It features three of the founding members of PANTERA (Vinnie Paul, Dimebag and bassist Rex Brown) together with legendary country singer/outlaw David Allan Coe. REBEL MEETS REBEL's CD was recorded over a four-year period and is set to contain a total of 12 tracks, including “Nothin' To Lose”, “Rebel Meets Rebel”, “Cowboys”, “Panfillo”, “Heartworn Highway”, “One Night Stand”, “Arizona Rivers”, “A Man With Nothin' Ain't Got Nothin' to Lose”, “New York City Streets” and “Get Outta My Life”.

The title track, “Rebel Meets Rebel”, was previously said to be a duet with PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo, although it is not presently clear if Anselmo's contributions will make it to the final product.

“Being from Texas, not only do we have rock roots, but we listen to country and blues,” Paul explained to MTV News in early 2000. "Before our shows, we'd play ‘Jack Daniels, If You Please’ off of one of [Coe's] CDs…. He caught wind of it, and we went out to see him when he played Billy Bob's. He was just a super cool dude. It was fun to check him out, and we hooked him up with a couple of our home videos, and he called us back a couple days later and just said, ‘Man, these f***ing videos are incredible. I really dig what you guys do.’ He knows more about PANTERA than I do now.“

”Rebel Meets Rebel“ is scheduled for release in March 2006.

The second project to be released via Big Vin will be a DVD, ”Dimevision“, as a tribute to Dimebag, one of metal's all-time guitar greats who is credited by some for creating the original concept which eventually became the MTV hit series ”Jackass“. ”Dimevision“ features Dime's stellar guitar playing and offbeat brand of humor, and is sure to be a title every serious PANTERA fan will have to own.

PANTERA's career overview CD, ”The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!“, has sold 452,000 in the United States since its September 2003 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The 16-song ”Vulgar Hits!“ CD was packaged with a bonus DVD boasting 12 videos, including two live performances. The bulk of the material was culled from the band's six major-label releases, but also included are non-album cuts ”Cat Scratch Fever“ (a cover of the TED NUGENT song that originally appeared on the Polygram soundtrack to ”Detroit Rock City“) and the BLACK SABBATH cover ”Hole in the Sky", previously available only on import.