PANTERA Plans To Release New Music By Re-recording The Abbott Brothers Demos?

TMD reported first that the Abbott brothers final studio recordings do indeed exist as was confirmed by an engineer working with PANTERA producer Sterling Winfield. Now The band’s replacement guitarist Zakk Wylde has addressed the matter, as to whether new music recorded by, he, Phil Anselmo, Rex Brown and Charlie Benante should be called that same name moving forward or use an entirely different one:

“I mean, how could you call it PANTERA unless it was just pre-existing material and we were gonna record it — stuff that was in demo state or whatever, and it is songs that the guys wrote. But as far as new songs, it would have to be — you’d call it something else.” 

So what Zakk Wylde is saying is that the plan is to re-record demo tracks that the Abbott brothers have already cut themselves prior to Dimebag’s death.As the story goes, these final studio tracks cut by Dimebag and Vinnie Paul Abbott included the guitar, drums and bass minus vocals. They were originally intended to be part of Damageplan’s second album, but that was scrapped and Dimebag went on the record to say that these songs were going back to the “old school” Pantera sound.

Why would you redo the Abbott’s recording of their own song? If it is a demo, that is only because it is lacking the vocals and is an instrumental track in its current state. Just get Anselmo to cut his vocals and mix them in with the Abbott brothers parts already recorded.

In an earlier interview, however, Wylde contradicts himself:

Zakk was also asked if he would be open to working on new material with PANTERA.

He said: “Nah, I don’t think so. Whenever Phil says that and all the younger kids are screaming and yelling, when they put the house lights on and everyone’s got their fists up in the air ’cause that’s the first time [they’re seeing PANTERA live], I just look at like Vinnie and Dime, if they were on the side of the stage, and go, ‘See what you guys created.’ So it’s just, like, yeah, it’s awesome. It truly is, man. But, no, I don’t think [the plan is] to record [as PANTERA]. I mean, it’d be like if [Eric] Clapton was playing with [drummer] Mitch [Mitchell] and [bassist] Noel [Redding], honoring Jimi [Hendrix], they’re not gonna go in and record [and call it] THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE with Eric Clapton. [Laughs] I don’t think anything like that. Obviously, if we were ever to do anything, it would be under a different name. Like Jimmy Page, if he was playing with Paul Rodgers and everything, it’s THE FIRM; they’re not going out as LED ZEPPELIN.”