PANTERA – Reforming With ZAKK WYLDE Rumor Will Not Go Away

It has snowballed into the biggest rumor in all of heavy music. Will legendary American groove metal band PANTERA reform for a series of final tribute shows that would essentially reunite the surviving CFH (Vinnie Paul Abbott, Philip H. Anselmo and Rex Brown) with guest guitarist Zakk Wylde of OZZY OSBOURNE and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY fame?

No matter how many fans fight ‘against’ it, the other side that ‘supports’ it simply will not back down. A cause to promote the idea was orginally launched on Facebook a year and a half back. After gaining thousands of fans, and plenty of media attention, now the top names in metal are speaking out like this crazy ass idea for a tribute tour (be it 3 or 30 dates) is certainly more of a possibility now than ever, since major interest has been sparked for such an event.

Vocalist Chris Jericho of the metal band FOZZY, a personal friend of Wylde’s recently said in a July 28th interview with examiner.com:

“I’m not sure exactly what my thoughts are. I mean, I would love to see it, if it was done for the right reason. I think Zakk is the perfect guy, and maybe the only guy that could actually replace Dime for a show or two because they were such good buddies and so close and, obviously, two guitar heroes from their generation. But it’s not just that — there’s so much more, obviously, between Vinnie [Paul Abbott, Dimebag’s brother and ex-Pantera drummer] and Phil [Anselmo, ex-Pantera singer], those guys need to hammer out a lot of things for this to even be a thought. But if they did hammer it out and they did decide to do a one-off tribute to Dime, I think Zakk would be the perfect guy for it. I think it would be badass. I think it would be amazing. But it will never happen — not because Dime isn’t here, but because Phil and Vinnie, I think, just have this blood feud that might never go away. So that’s the first thing that has to take place. But if it did, I think Zakk would be the perfect choice to do a couple of shows with them as a tribute to Dime.”

In March of this year, Vinnie Paul himself told radio DJ Cindy Skull of 97.1, The Eagle in Dallas Fort Worth: “If it ever were to happen, Zakk would be the guy.”

Pantera vocalist Philip H. Anselmo was asked for his take on the hypothetical reunion in a recent interview with WGRD out of Grand Rapids, Michigan earlier this month, and he said:

“Vince and I would have to sit in the same room, hash out whatever differences that we have, and as far as Zakk Wylde goes, I am not to [sic] sold on that cause’ [sic] we have to hash some crap out too. That day has not come yet, and until that day comes, I can[‘t] comment further on that, but till then it is just talk. It would be rough not to see Dimebag on stage to my left, I would feel naked.”

In May of this year the site Loudwire.com conducted a Readers Poll to see what fans
actually thought of a Pantera reunion featuring Zakk Wylde and the results are certainly in favor of it happening with 81.24% saying: ‘Yes! – Zakk Is the Perfect Guitarist to Pay Tribute to Dimebag’.

TMD’s Randy “Rocket” Cody adds: “Being the main driving force behind the Facebook cause that truly started all of this big discussion in the first place, I feel confident in saying a Pantera reunion is definitely a possibility now. To be honest, I never expected this thing to actually grow legs. I figured – like everyone else – that these cats would just stay pissed off at each other for the rest of their lives. Most people sadly do, why would they be any different? Do I really care if they get together one last time or not, not really. A longtime Pantera fan asked for my help in promoting the online cause. Who am I to say no to something like that? I know I have received hundreds of notes from diehard fans online saying they want it to happen. Even the harshest critics admit if it does go down it could give the metal industry a big shot in the arm… and so I wonder deep down is that such a bad thing? It does not take a genius to figure out the writing is on the wall. With Vinnie Paul speaking more and more kind words about his surviving mates in new interviews and he himself admitting that if it were to indeed happen Zakk is no doubt the man for the gig. Guess what? If all keeps going down this path, and more of this ‘healing’ occurs so ‘unity’ can finally take place, I feel strongly that the shows could very well happen in and around the 10 year anniversary of Dimebag’s tragic on stage murder.”

http://pantera.com/