"In This River" is a song by American heavy metal band

Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vide ...

, a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

featured on their 2005 sixth studio album ''

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''. Performed entirely by guitarist, vocalist and pianist

Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy meta ...

(who also wrote and produced the song), it was released as the third single from the album and reached number 32 on the ''

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chart.

Dedication to Dimebag Darrell

A common misconception is that Wylde wrote the song as a tribute to his close friend "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (former guitarist for bands

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

and

Damageplan Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Diesel ...

), who was killed on December 8, 2004. In fact, he wrote the song many months prior to the incident, and subsequently began dedicating the song to him. On the topic of dedication, Wylde explains that he "was looking at the lyrics, and I just said 'Man, this has gotta be Dime's tune', so we just made it Dime's song and that's how the video came about. I think it's really emotional and it came out great. Everyone loves it –

Vinnie Paul Abbott Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, 'Dimebag' Darrel ...

(Darrell's brother), Rita (Darrell's girlfriend). It's all about Dime's memory and there ain't a dry eye in the house every time you see it." Wylde also states that every time he plays a show, "it will never leave the Black Label set." During the "Pedal to the Metal" concert series, however, the song was not included in the set.

Music video

The music video for "In This River" features the childhood personage of Wylde and Abbott riding bicycles together and diving into a river while Wylde plays both the piano and the guitar in a creek. Midway through, Zakk destroys the piano with an axe and then sets it on fire with a torch before performing the solo. At the end of the video, only the adult version of Wylde emerges, symbolizing Darrell's death. Wylde explains that "The river is a metaphor for life in general, all the bullshit that you deal with from being a kid growing up. The whole thing's just about life and death."

References

{{Authority control 2005 singles Black Label Society songs Songs written by Zakk Wylde Heavy metal ballads 2005 songs