Vinnie Paul's 'Heavy Metal Graceland' in Arlington Appears to Have Been Bought

The plan from Avenged Sevenfold singer M Shadows to buy Vinnie Paul's house sounded like something from AMC Theatres owner Adam Aron’s playbook: create a decentralized autonomous organization that would allow fans of Paul's bands Pantera and HELLYEAH to purchase tokens, also known as NFTs, which the band would then use to buy the late drummer's four-bedroom, five-bath Arlington mansion.

Nearly four years after Paul's death, the 3,784 square-foot home with 30-foot barrel ceilings and checkered tile floor went on the market in early February for $750,000, a steal for a mansion with a safe room, a hidden sex room and decades of rock star mojo on a hilltop in the hottest retail market in the country.

The idea came to the Sevenfold singer with the help of his guitarist Zack Vengeance. Shadows laid out their plan in a Twitter thread where he said that they wanted to preserve Paul's legacy.

“This is the place where any musician that came through Dallas would come after a long night at Vinnie's famous strip club or after the shows. Musicians, actors … you name it … It was like the 'Graceland of Heavy Metal,'" Shadows tweeted.

And it's quite a legacy to preserve. It started in the '80s with Paul's brother Dimebag Darrell in the glam version of Pantera at the Heavy Meadow parties on the outskirts of Arlington. It continued into the ’90s and early 2000s with the Cowboys from Hell version of Pantera.

Paul had a short stint with Damage Plan, a band he joined with his brother after Pantera's implosion in the early 2000s. Together they produced 2003’s New Found Power, a debut album that promised a possible repeat of the Pantera phenomenon until Dime was gunned down on stage by a disturbed fan in early December 2004 at a small venue in Ohio.

After his brother's death, Paul only left his house to drink at The Clubhouse, his golf-themed all-nude club in Dallas, and avoided the drumkit for a year. In February 2005, he finally returned to the drums for a tribute show with Drowning Pool at the Arlington Ballroom. He'd go on to form heavy metal supergroup HELLYEAH with a few other rock stars, Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, Mudvayne singer Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett. Over the next 12 years, the band produced six albums: HELLYEAH, Stampede, Band of Brothers, Blood for Blood, Undeniable and Welcome Home.

Though their lineup changed, Paul remained a consistent force driving the band from his drumkit until his sudden death in 2018 at age 54. Paul’s legacy as a rock star unfolded at the "Heavy Metal Graceland." The 1.5 acre property on a man-made hill was more modest than Elvis’ $55 million, 13.8-acre-sprawling estate. Paul designed the house in the early ’90s, with a hidden room behind a bookcase, a balcony with views of Dallas and Fort Worth and a Crown Royal-shaped swimming pool that would later be replaced. The Arlington mansion became known for its annual Super Bowl parties, with food themed around the teams who were playing: seafood for the Seattle Seahawks, for example, BBQ for the Atlanta Falcons and 100 Big Macs for the Pittsburgh Steelers because, according to website Uncovering PA, the first Big Mac was sold in Pittsburgh in 1967.

At Vinnie's, friends and rock stars would mingle with Dallas Stars players and, of course, strippers, sometimes 20 or 30 at a time, depending on whom you ask.

Legend has it that the Stanley Cup, which the Stars won in a six-game series against the Buffalo Sabres in 1999, received a dent at an afterparty at Paul’s. Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley's car may or may not have rolled down Paul's steep driveway at an after-party. (People normally rode golf carts up the hill to reach the property.)

KNON's heavy metal DJ Alan Tuggle referred to the home as “Vinnie Paul's Playhouse,” as he says it was affectionately known.

“I have roughly 20 years of precious memories from [his house],” he wrote in a Sunday night Facebook message. “Going there for the first time in the late Pantera days was like you'd think going to a 'rock star' style house in Beverly Hills would be. Through the years, I would spend countless holidays, special occasions, late night throwdowns and Sunday Fundays around the pool. The most important thing I'll always remember about that house was the owner. VP made you feel right at home, whether he had known you for years, or had just met you. He was BEYOND welcoming and his generosity knew no end. In addition, some of the best food in the DFW metroplex was made on that hill, in that house. I'm forever grateful for my times there.”

But it wasn’t all rock star parties at the Playhouse. Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell, one of Paul's close friends, sought refuge there, says Paul's business partner Jeff "Murder" Murtha, who'd sometimes  after stop by after a long night at The Clubhouse. He remembers fondly the Christmas Eve gatherings hosted by Paul, where he offered mostly gag gifts to all in attendance. His generosity was one of several reasons people gravitated to his place.

“He never forgot where he came from and never played the rock star part,” says Murtha. “He always had a Sharpie in his back pocket. He was just a great guy."

When Paul died of heart-related issues on June 22, 2018, he left his fortune to his girlfriend Chelsea Yeager, his best friend Charles Jones, to a tour manager, a drum technician, a producer and another friend.

“I changed my will because of him,” Murtha adds.

In a thread on his Feb. 3 Twitter post, Shadows laid out his idea for token holders to have a vote over what actions were taken by the token committee and offered his take of what would happen if fans didn’t rally together.

"Option 1: Someone that doesn’t give a fuck about Pantera buys it and lives in it, remodels or tears it down,"  Shadows wrote. "Option 2: A @Pantera fan buys it, lives in it and treats it as their own personal trophy. Option 3: The @Pantera community buys it, governs it and decides what’s best for the legacy of this important piece of Heavy Metal History. Anyway, this may sound crazy to some ... and if I’m way off I’d love to get opinions. I’d love to discuss it and hear another side."

Shadows and Vengeance weren't the only ones wanting to preserve Paul's legacy by purchasing the estate.

When news spread that Pantera's Graceland was on Zillow for the low price of $750,000, fans and friends flooded social media with "I wish I could buy it" comments.

Dr. Rock, a strip club DJ who spent years playing heavy metal at The Clubhouse, thought about buying the property. He says he’d leave it just as Paul had left it before his death, like Dime's loved ones had done to Dime's house after his death.

Similar to his brother, Paul hung ample memorabilia on his walls. There were snare drums, hockey helmets and sticks, and a wall of TVs to get a good view of the Super Bowl no matter where you were standing.

Then there were the memories that Dr. Rock had made there, such as the time WWE's Chris Jericho parked in front of him, blocking him in, or when “the other singer of Evanescence” was standing next to him at the pool, but he had never heard of the band.

“There was one party, a summer one, when Vinnie hired some local guys to play,” he says. “Sully [Ema from Godsmack] was playing conga drums, and Vinnie got on the microphone and started singing.” He pauses before continuing, “If I won the lottery, I’d buy the house.”

But someone already has a contract pending. Dr. Rock heard it was an individual who may have been part of a realty group. Murtha confirmed it was an individual, but was unclear on the details. Zillow indicates that the sale is pending.

Given its size and history, the $750,000 price tag was low — unless you add in the foundation work that may need to be done because Paul built the house, as Murtha points out, on a “man-made mountain.”

“[Still] everyone wanted to buy it,” he says.