Desperate Times AI Music
When asked about traveling with the reformed Pantera, Zakk Wylde said it’s “a beautiful thing” that so many fans who were never able to see the band in their lifetime may now do so.
The twenty years or so that went by between Pantera’s last performance with the late Abbott Brothers and that occasion did nothing to slake the fans’ desire to see the band perform live once more. It has been more than a year since Pantera made their huge stage comeback at Mexico’s “Hell & Heaven” festival.
Furthermore, it turned out that Charlie Benante of Anthrax and Zakk Wylde, who has long been the fans’ preference to take over Dimebag Darrell’s position should the chance present itself, were the ideal additions.
Zakk seems to be having a blast with the job too, as he had nothing but the best to say about the experience during a recent Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp Q&A sesh (transcription via Killer Guitar Rigs):
“It was a great time; it was a beautiful thing. It really is pretty mind-blowing because Phil asked the crowd pretty much every night, ‘How many people saw Pantera back in the ’90s, exactly?’ And then you have everybody raise their hand. And then Phil’s like, ‘How many people this is the first time seeing Pantera?’, and it really is pretty amazing, I’m just saying.”
He added:
“And everybody that saw it back in the day — it’s a nice trip down memory lane. And just honoring Dime, Vinnie, and obviously, Philip and Rex and everything that the four of them created — to me, it is a beautiful thing to honor the guys every night.”
Comparing the project to some other gigs he did in the past where the life and works of departed musicians were celebrated in a similar way, Zakk added:
“Just like when we do the Experience Hendrix thing. It’s always a beautiful thing because we’re all up there honoring Jimi’s greatness. And every day when I’m playing with Ozzy, and we play all the Randy stuff, we’re honoring St. [Randy] Rhoads. So to me, it’s a beautiful thing.”
