JAKARTA - Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde are confirmed to fill the Pantera reunion formation with vocalist Philip Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown.
Launching Blabbermouth on Saturday, the lineup will tour, headline a number of major festivals in North America and Europe and stage several solo concerts.
According to Billboard, the line-up had actually been warned by the rights holders of the band's founders - drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and "Dimebag" guitarist Darrell Abbott - as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde would not tour with Pantera if this reunion occurred. It is not clear what changed their minds then.
Meanwhile, both Benante and Wylde have both voiced their respect for Pantera's musical heritage on several occasions in recent years. Back to June 2018, just one day after Vinnie Paul's death, Benante told SiriusXM about his first encounter with the Pantera drummer.
"The first time, it was the first time we were in Texas. And those guys [Pantera] ] were there. We played at this club, and I believe Pantera was the opening band. A friend with us, who now everyone knows — Rita [Haney, Dimebag's longtime girlfriend] — she's kind of a link for us to get along with," said Benante.
"We've known these guys since 1985, and it's just the two of them, Darrell and Vinnie, once you meet the two of them it's like you have friends in Texas, both of them, and they've just made the experience so much better, and you bonded. So over the years, we remained friends."
Meanwhile, in 2019, Anselmo, who has spent the last few years playing a Pantera-centric setlist with his solo project, The Illegals, told Chile's Humo Negro that he would consider getting together with Wylde and Brown and performing classics. Pantera in concert.
"Well, Zakk is a busy man," he said. "He made his own band, he did stuff with Ozzy and all that stuff. We talked about it maybe once. And I think everyone - everyone - is... I guess they're like me. Keep an open mind about it. We will see."
Zakk was also open to the idea, telling "The Cassius Morris Show" in October 2019: "When Saint Vinnie was around, they were talking about it then. I mean, the way I've always looked at it is a celebration of Pantera and an honor. I mean, every the night I played with Ozz, we honored Saint Rhoads [the late Ozzy guitarist Randy Rhoads]. I play Randy's songs every night, and I'm blessed and it's an honor to do so. Basically, we pay tribute to Randy every night — keep the music going stay alive.
"No one replaces anyone. No one replaces Randy Rhoads—he's only been once. Just like no one has replaced Jimi Hendrix and no one has replaced Dime—or Vinnie.
As for April 2021, Rex told Eonmusic that he and Philip were still getting offers for a Pantera tribute tour. "But if you don't have anyone else (Vinnie and Dime's equivalent) in the band, it's not going to sound the same," he said.
"If we ever do something like that, it has to be right, or I wouldn't have done it. That would be a tribute."
Vinnie Paul and Dimebag are the two founders of Pantera who founded Damageplan in 2003 after Pantera disbanded. On December 8, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed on stage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that members of Pantera were stealing his mind.
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