THE BEAST

Rex Brown   says that the surviving members of   PANTERA   have been "close" to reuniting in the twelve years since the passing of the band's guitarist,   "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott .

Talk about a possible   PANTERA   reunion intensified when singer   Philip Anselmo   regularly joined   Zakk Wylde 's   BLACK LABEL SOCIETY   to perform   PANTERA 's song   "I'm Broken"   during   DOWN 's 2014 stint on the   "Revolver Golden Gods Tour" . That buzz only got stronger after   Brown   joined the jam on May 23, 2014 when the tour swung through Texas.

In a brand new interview with   Loudwire ,   Brown   confirmed that substantial offers have been made to   PANTERA   to stage a reunion. Asked how close the members of the band came to accepting the offers,   Brown   replied, "Close."

"Well, I just speak for myself," he continued. "I mean, I'd love to get out there and play those songs again. And if everybody else was willing to do it… You know, I think the whole thing would be get us all in a room and get that water underneath the bridge all settled and make some music again. But it would be different. We'd be missing something."

Although   Brown   clarified that he was "not saying that there's ever been any talks at all" about a   PANTERA   reunion, he repeated that he would be willing to reconnect with his former bandmates and perform the music that made them all famous. "I never say 'never' on that kind of thing, and I'm tired of saying, you know, 'hell freezes over,' or whatever, but at the same time, life is getting too short," he explained.

"Would I do it? I just saw   Phil   not long ago. We're all doing our own things.

"I'd get up there and do it for fucking nothing."

Back in 2015,   John Reese , the producer behind the   Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival , revealed that he approached the three surviving members of   PANTERA   about resurrecting the band for an appearance at the event, explaining that "it would be badass to see   PANTERA   out there." He said: "Do I think it's going to happen? I have no idea. I know that a heavy, heavy tragedy happened and there are some hard feelings, but it's up to those three dudes to decide if they ever want to do something or not. If they would decide to do I would support it wholeheartedly and I would do whatever I could to be involved. But it's up to them."

Dimebag 's longtime girlfriend   Rita Haney   in 2011 called on ex- PANTERA   drummer   Vinnie Paul Abbott   and   Anselmo   to settle their differences in honor of the guitarist, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with   DAMAGEPLAN   at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004.

Vinnie , who is   Dimebag 's brother, and   Anselmo   have not spoken since   PANTERA   split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when   Vinnie   indirectly blamed   Philip   for   Dimebag 's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about   Dimebag   in print just weeks earlier might have incited   Dimebag 's killer.

Wylde   has consistently said that he would be open to taking part in a hypothetical   PANTERA   reunion with him filling in for   Dimebag . He explained in a December 2014 interview: "It's definitely a good time [whenever I get to play   PANTERA   songs with   Philip Anselmo   and bassist   Rex Brown ]." He continued: "I mean, if somebody was to say 'a reunion,' I'd go, well, it's a reunion of   Phil ,   Rex   and   Vincenzo   [drummer   Vinnie Paul Abbott ]. But I'm just saying, for me, it's just… it's me going in and honoring and paying tribute [to   Dimebag ] at the same time."

Wylde   added: "Whenever we've gotten together and jammed on the tunes… and   Vinnie   sometimes is at   BLACK LABEL   gigs and   Vinnie   has gotten up on drums and jammed a   BLACK LABEL   tune. And between   HELLYEAH , we've all [toured and played] together. So it's always a good time whenever we're all hanging out together. But, like I said, whenever… 'Cause people always ask me, 'Is it ever gonna happen?' You know, that's all up to the fellows. But I love the guys. [And] I'm just a phone call away."

During a 2014 interview with   Matt Pinfield   of   Fanpass ,   Anselmo   said that "the situation would have to be correct" in order for a   PANTERA   reunion to happen. "There would have to be a meeting at a table — or without a table — between   Rex ,   Vince   and I, and there would have to be a bigtime understanding between the two of us [ Vinnie   and   Philip ] before anything happens at all," he said. "Otherwise I think… There is a great percentage of me that says, 'This generation deserves it. Let's do it.' And then there's a reservation in me that says, 'You know what, man? Legacies get passed down. This, that, the other. Maybe we should leave it alone and just let it be part of lore and the history and whatnot.'"

Later in the chat,   Anselmo   once again spoke about a hypothetical   PANTERA   reunion, telling   Pinfield , "If there was ever a proper presentation, like, okay,   PANTERA   is back together,   Zakk 's on guitar, that would be a massive feeling. That would be outrageous. And I would go to war. I would be in the best shape possible."

Vinnie Paul   has repeatedly shot down any talk of a hypothetical   PANTERA   reunion, telling Brazil's   Wikimetal   back in 2014: "The bottom line is they call it a reunion, and that means to bring the original members back, and we can't bring   Dime   back, and he was such a huge part of   PANTERA . I don't wanna damage or tarnish the legacy of him or the band. We had 14 amazing years together and it's time for everybody to move on. And I have definitely moved on in my life. I don't live in the past. I like to live for today and what's coming up tomorrow, and I love what we're doing with   HELLYEAH . And that's my focus and that's my goal, man."

Vinnie Paul   later weighed in even less enthusiastically on the subject, telling   Revolver   magazine: "If you had an ex-wife, and it was a pretty bitter split, you might not ever want to talk to her again. Who cares if everybody in the family and your friends want you to say hello again? It's your choice whether you want to do it or not. And I think a lot of people are selfish. They say, 'Oh, he oughta just kiss and make up with   Phil   and everything will be cool. And then they can go get   Zakk Wylde   and everything's gonna be great.' No, everything's not gonna be great."

During a June 2016 question-and-answer session in Louisville, Kentucky,   Anselmo   was asked if he thought   Wylde   could fill   Dimebag 's shoes in   PANTERA .   Anselmo   responded: " Zakk   is such a badass fucking player, but I just think he's a   different   player, man — different style. And also, you've gotta remember, tonality comes into it — he has a different tone than   Dime , you know? So there would be, I guess, so many things to tweak about what [ Zakk ] does to not fill [ Dimebag 's] shoes but actually play   PANTERA   parts. 'Cause there ain't no filling them fucking shoes."

Anselmo   continued: "Make no mistake:   Zakk Wylde   is a fucking awesome motherfucker, down to earth, cool as shit, and can rip his fucking ass off. But I even said something to him after a show. I said, it's that grip. Nobody had   Dimebag 's fucking grip on that fucking axe — nobody." Via Blabbermouth