THE BEAST

In a recent interview with Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, Zakk Wylde shared his openness to releasing a live album from the current lineup of PANTERA. The BLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman, alongside ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante, has joined forces with surviving PANTERA members Rex Brown (bass) and Philip Anselmo (vocals) to bring the legendary band's music back to the stage. Wylde commented on the idea of a live album, saying, "Yeah, whatever the fellas wanna do, we knock it out. Let's be real — it's a live album every night. People with their phones and everything are recording it anyway, so it doesn't [matter] to me. You go up there and you play to win every night."

However, the possibility of new songs from the reformed PANTERA lineup seems unlikely at this point. Wylde noted, "No, we haven't sat and talked about, like, 'Oh, guys, let's get together and write songs,' or whatnot; there hasn't been anything like that. I mean, the only discussions we'll have is just what other new songs we wanna put in the setlist. Like when we put 'Floods' in and then we got together at rehearsals, got together over at Phil's house, we just rehearsed everything. But no, nothing like… We haven't been sitting around writing riffs and things like that."

When asked whether he views the current PANTERA lineup as a tribute or something else, Wylde emphasized that it is a celebration: "Yeah, that's what I feel it is. It's not even a tribute. It's more just a PANTERA celebration. Like whenever we go out and do the 'Experience Hendrix' [tours], which I always have a blast when I do that, it's all of us going out and celebrating Jimi's greatness. To me, this is [a] PANTERA celebration. We're celebrating all the mountains that PANTERA conquered. So that's what this is."

Wylde also addressed the fact that he doesn't exactly reproduce the parts originally written and recorded by the late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. He explained, "Oh, yeah, even if Dime was up there playing the solo to 'No More Tears' or 'Mama I'm Coming Home', it's gonna sound like Dime playing the solo to 'No More Tears'. 'Cause he has his touch and his feels. Like when Randy Rhoads was playing BLACK SABBATH songs, it sounds like Randy Rhoads playing BLACK SABBATH songs. You listen to the 'Tribute' album [from Ozzy Osbourne], when Saint Rhoads was playing 'Iron Man' and he was playing 'Paranoid' and 'Children Of The Grave', it sounds like Randy playing BLACK SABBATH songs. It's Randy's guitar tone and Randy's touch and Randy's playing. But that's what makes it cool. Yeah, to me, it's just common sense. Dime just sounds like Dime no matter what he's playing."

The reformed PANTERA lineup is currently headlining major festivals across North America, South America, and Europe, as well as supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2024. The collaboration between Wylde, Benante, Brown, and Anselmo was first reported in July 2022 and has been met with enthusiasm from fans and the estates of PANTERA's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

Reflecting on the decision to tour with the reformed PANTERA, Wylde shared with Ultimate Guitar three months ago that he feels Dimebag's presence in the journey. He recounted instances where signs, such as the number "333" (Dimebag's favorite number), seemed to affirm Dimebag's spiritual involvement in their endeavor. "When we were in New York, just like signs, when we just did [a headlining show at] the [Madison Square] Garden [in February 2024], my wife Barbaranne was, like, Check this out.' Something came up and it just reminded us of Dime, and I was like, 'Wow, that's crazy.' Or we would look on our phone and it would be '333'. It's just these signs everywhere. And I could see Dime just doing it, going, 'I hope these idiots realize it's me sending these signs.' [Laughs]"

Rex Brown echoed similar sentiments about feeling the presence of their fallen bandmates. He described an eerie, cold sensation during rehearsals that he interpreted as the spirits of Dimebag and Vinnie Paul watching over them. "To me, they're angels. And I think you know who they are. Those guys, I think they're looking down, or they're looking around us, with us, and I think they're digging what they're seeing, man. I really do. And that's the only kind of way I can look at it, and get as close as we can with Charlie and Zakk. And God, it's getting really, really good. And there's so much more potential to get even tighter."

Performing PANTERA's music to new generations of fans has been a powerful experience for Brown. He shared with Rolling Stone Australia the emotional impact of seeing fans' reactions at their shows: "There's a lot of memories in this band that are hard to put down. And losing the brothers, I just never in a million years thought that something like that would happen. Here we are 22 years later, and to see these new fans' faces. You've got one kid sitting there, or man, woman or child crying, and you have this other guy just going, 'You did it right.' It's just amazing."

Brown emphasized that the current PANTERA lineup is not a tribute band but a continuation of the band's legacy: "This is no tribute band — Philip and I get to play these songs of ours that we haven't played in 23 years. And to be able to do that and connect with the enormity of what's happened is just extraordinarily fucking insane, you know?"

The reformed PANTERA has indeed faced some criticism for touring under the PANTERA name without Dimebag and Vinnie Paul. Brown addressed these concerns by stating, "I don't call it anything. I call it PANTERA. The show itself is a celebration of the lives of all four of us. Two are sadly not with us, and we cannot bring them back. God, do I want them back. But that's just not possible. So we're doing the best thing that we can to keep our music alive. And I think they're smiling down and saying, 'You guys are doing all right, man.' And they're with us. And I'm not shittin' you."

Reflecting on the initial decision to reform PANTERA, Brown recalled, "Philip and I talked for several months before. He got on the phone and said, 'Hey, man, you wanna do it? I didn't have — maybe a six-second… not a hesitation, but just to wrap my head around the full gravity of the enormity of it. I went, 'Okay, I've got a couple of questions.' And, man, ever since that call we've worked really, really hard to get this thing going. And we've jumped over a lot of mountains."

PANTERA's legacy has been marked by tragedy, including the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell in 2004 and Vinnie Paul's passing in 2018. Despite these losses, the reformed lineup continues to honor their memory and bring PANTERA's music to fans old and new. As they tour the world, they not only celebrate the band's storied past but also look forward to creating new memories with audiences around the globe.