Pantera, who's new lineup includes vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, along with Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne) on guitar, and Charlie Benante (Anthrax) on drums - replacing the late, great Abbott brothers, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul - recently wrapped up a South American tour.
Guesting on the Talk Is Jericho Podcast, hosted by Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, Benante discussed being asked to join the tour.
Benante: "Maybe it was the beginning of January (2022) when Philip called me up, and I immediately said, 'Yup, I wanna do it.' It just felt right. For some reason, with Darrell and Vinnie being gone, I, myself, missed these songs. You can listen to 'em all you want, but I think having them being performed in front of you and being performed the right way, it really resonated with a lot of people once they really found out that this was gonna happen."
"There's die-hard fans who have their issues, but for me and Zakk, we're just honoring our friends, to be honest with you. That's what we're doing, and that's it. I enjoy playing these songs. And seeing the reaction… the people are just loving it. So why would you even be so negative about something when you see how much fun people are having and the joy that it's bringing?"
Benante recently shared a new video clip along with the following message:
"Here is our view of some clips Compiled by techs, friends and family members of our first tour as Pantera. I was blown away by the reaction from the audiences; there were times I wanted to stop playing and just enjoy the sea of passion. The fans down there are a different kind, they get involved and they even put their phones down at times. Thank you Dima Levanchuk for editing."
Pantera's confirmed live dates are listed below.
May
18-21 - Daytona Beach, FL - Welcome To Rockville
26 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Armeets Arena
27 - Bucharest, Romania - Metalhead Meeting Open Air Festival
30 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
31 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
June
2-4 - Nürburgring, Germany - Rock Am Ring
2-4 - Nürnberg, Germany - Rock Im Park
5 - Lodz, Poland - Atlas Arena
10 - Sölvesborg, Sweden - Sweden Rock Festival
12 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
13 - Berlin, Germany - Verti Music Hall
15 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Copenhell
21 - Hamburg, Germany - Edel Optics
22-24 - Oslo, Norway - Tons Of Rock
August
4 - East Rutherford, NJ - MetLife Stadium (with Metallica)
11 - Montreal, QC - Stade Olympique (with Metallica)
18 - Arlington, TX - AT&T Stadium (with Metallica)
25 - Inglewood, CA - SoFi Stadium (with Metallica)
September
1 - Glendale, AZ - State Farm Stadium (with Metallica)
7-10 - Alton, VA - Blue Ridge Rock Festival
November
3 - St. Louis, MO - The Dome at America’s Center (with Metallica)
10 - Detroit, MI - Ford Field (with Metallica)
