"Pantera" Reunion

Kinda surprised that nobody started a thread on this yet, since it's been all over the Net for the past couple of days...

...but anyway, from the "has Hell frozen over?" department, it looks like PANTERA, or at least something calling itself Pantera, will be touring in 2023.

Phil and Rex are back (of course) and the departed Abbott Bros.' guitar and drum positions will be filled by Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante, respectively.

Naturally, the internet response has been roughly 50/50 between "HELL YEA BROTHER GETCHA PULL" and "What's the f**king point?"

Thoughts?

To me, this is kinda like Gary Cherone and Michael Anthony going on tour and calling it Van Halen, but it would be interesting to hear what y'all think.

Release the hounds!

I like Anthrax, I LOVE Zakk, but Pantera is kind of shit. I'm not interested in those guys playing Pantera tunes.

They should drop the two Pantera guys and make some better music instead. Get an actual singer for starters.

Lari wrote:

Get an actual singer for starters.

The sad thing is, on his first couple of Pantera records (Power Metal and CFH) Phil showed that he actually could sing when the material called for it.

Shoot, Power Metal is practically a Judas Priest record, Phil had a pretty wicked Halford-style high end on that, which he has rarely, if ever, pulled out since.

As Pantera got angrier/raunchier over the years, he was just one-note ROOOOOOARRRRRR all the time.

I was about to start a topic on this.
This is quite controversial actually. Is it Pantera or not?
Regardless, i am curious to check out what comes out of it.
Cool news.

Totally unexpected news there. I dunno, I'm not that worked up about it. I'm completely unfamiliar with anything pre-Cowboys, but that one smoked (as did Vulgar, to a lesser degree). It would probably be cool to see and you can't go wrong with Wylde and Benante.

Zakk Wylde is the game changer.
I’m not a fan of Pantera. Too damn heavy and rowdy.
But it does interest me now.
I have friends that LOVE this bands discography.
They swear by them.

Personally, I think that Dime and Vinnie were the heart and soul of that band. And Vinnie still wouldn't even talk to Phil up until he passed away. I think it's a desperate cash grab by Phil and Rex. They should leave the Pantera legacy alone.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Kinda surprised that nobody started a thread on this yet, since it's been all over the Net for the past couple of days...

...but anyway, from the "has Hell frozen over?" department, it looks like PANTERA, or at least something calling itself Pantera, will be touring in 2023.

Phil and Rex are back (of course) and the departed Abbott Bros.' guitar and drum positions will be filled by Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante, respectively.

Naturally, the internet response has been roughly 50/50 between "HELL YEA BROTHER GETCHA PULL" and "What's the f**king point?"

Thoughts?

To me, this is kinda like Gary Cherone and Michael Anthony going on tour and calling it Van Halen, but it would be interesting to hear what y'all think.

Release the hounds!

I personally am a big Pantera fan. I didn’t bother mentioning this news because of the hate they get here (in general). I have mixed feelings about this tribute “reunion”…
On one hand, I had never seen Pantera in concert and it might be a cool novelty show with Zakk and Charlie playing together. But on the other hand… it’s not really Pantera or a real reunion. And it can never sound like Pantera without the Abbott bros (especially Dime).

I will probably go see this circus just because I’m a fan and it’s the closest I’ll ever get to see these songs played with two of the actual musicians that played on the albums. And let’s be honest, Phil and Rex aren’t getting any younger. This could be the last chance for them to do this.

As far as comparing this to Gary Cherone playing VH… WTF?!  
Gary only played on one unpopular album, whereas Phil Anselmo is the guy that helped put Pantera on the worldwide map. Although the haters usually prefer the underground Terry Glaze albums, the world knows Phil, Rex, Dime and Vinnie as the classic lineup. And they also upped the ante in the production department in the 90’s with Terry Date’s help. The early albums sound like demos in comparison.

All in all… I’m okay with this. I thought Vinnie not forgiving Phil was bullshit. Phil didn’t kill Dime. If you know the story, it was a crazy guy that thought they “Pantera” were stealing his thoughts telepathically. It wasn’t even really about that magazine quote that Phil said in the press.  

F it! Life is short. Let them do this for whoever wants to see it. I plan to.

I know this may sound crazy… but if Jeff Loomis wanted to put Nevermore back together (obviously without Warrell Dane, R.I.P.)
I would check it out too. And Warrell had a very distinct voice that made him irreplaceable!

Troublezone wrote:

I know this may sound crazy… but if Jeff Loomis wanted to put Nevermore back together (obviously without Warrell Dane, R.I.P.)
I would check it out too. And Warrell had a very distinct voice that made him irreplaceable!

Sanctuary has continued without Warrel, so yeah... why not Nevermore?

Quote :

As far as comparing this to Gary Cherone playing VH… WTF?!

I was exaggerating for humorous effect, of course, but my point was: Dime and Vinnie were the "heartbeat" of their band, just like Eddie/Alex were the heartbeat of theirs. So anybody else using the name(s) to go out on the road just seems... dishonest.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

I know this may sound crazy… but if Jeff Loomis wanted to put Nevermore back together (obviously without Warrell Dane, R.I.P.)
I would check it out too. And Warrell had a very distinct voice that made him irreplaceable!

Sanctuary has continued without Warrel, so yeah... why not Nevermore?

Good point. Except I haven’t heard a peep about that in a long while.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

As far as comparing this to Gary Cherone playing VH… WTF?!

I was exaggerating for humorous effect, of course, but my point was: Dime and Vinnie were the "heartbeat" of their band, just like Eddie/Alex were the heartbeat of theirs. So anybody else using the name(s) out on the road just seems... dishonest.

No problem, I get it now.

It was indeed humorous!

And you are correct that the Abbott bros were the main talent. But you got to admit Phil did influence them when they recruited him. The Abbott’s didn’t have a clue about anything heavier than Metallica before Phil. And despite the “macho” posturing they eventually became known for, I much prefer the lyrics on CFH over Terry Glaze’s cheap sleaze topics. There was already a million bands doing that Poison/LA Guns glam gimmick (and that shit gets old). I prefer the horror and personal introspection subjects.

I actually don't expect them to use the Pantera name in the end.

When this rumor started floating earlier in the week but they hadn't ID'd the guitarist/drummer yet, my friend and I were chatting about possible names and I actually thought of Scott Ian and Charlie Benante, but then I said "Nah, Scott's a rhythm player, not a lead player."

...the next day, Charlie was confirmed and I was like "Holy shit, I'm psychic!"

...we also joked about Bobby Blotzer and Vinnie Vincent taking those spots. Yes, obviously we'd had a few beers.

Required Fields wrote:

I actually don't expect them to use the Pantera name in the end.

Coming soon to.a venue near you: "I Can't Believe It's Not Pantera!"

Required Fields wrote:

I actually don't expect them to use the Pantera name in the end.

I’m sure the word tribute will be attached in some way.

Pantera (the tribute) or “Tribute to Pantera” are the most logical sequences. Although some might think the word “Heresy” is more fitting.

I see nothing wrong with touring the old songs as a tribute & celebration, making a little cash off the name for the long time bassist & the singer everyone knows.

Now if they attempted to record new material under the Pantera name, I think that would be disrespectful to the brother's families.

I love Pantera, and don't see a problem with this as long as they do it right. I probably won't go see the show, unless the price is right though. I've seen the real Pantera at least 5 times, so I'm good. Seen Zach quite a few times too, so good on that side of the coin too. But who knows, if it falls on my day off and the tickets are cheap, we'll see. Be goo to hear Pantera music live again. I just hope Phil brings his A game. Flipping a coin when dealing with him.

Not interested at all here. Maybe if Dime was still around, but no Dime or Vinnie, no thanks. I saw them live one time on the Cowboys From Hell tour and that's the way I'll remember them.

7thSecond wrote:

Not interested at all here. Maybe if Dime was still around, but no Dime or Vinnie, no thanks. I saw them live one time on the Cowboys From Hell tour and that's the way I'll remember them.

In my opinion, you saw them at their best. Lucky guy!

I had the first Pantera home video and the live footage in the clubs looked really cool and high energy. It was before they got bloated and lazy with years of too much alcohol and Phil’s drug use.

CFH was their rebirth as a band and they had something to prove.

I am so excited to skip this! If they want to do it, fine. It just screams SUCK more and more. They were horrendous when they were a band and are still horrendous.

Nick Bowcott from Grim Reaper loves them (especially Dime).

mc666 wrote:

I see nothing wrong with touring the old songs as a tribute & celebration, making a little cash off the name for the long time bassist & the singer everyone knows.

Now if they attempted to record new material under the Pantera name, I think that would be disrespectful to the brother's families.

This is my opinion as well. Pantera has been dead for over twenty years and never got a proper send off. As a tribute I think this is fine and frankly should have been done long ago when Vinnie was still alive.

mc666 wrote:

I see nothing wrong with touring the old songs as a tribute & celebration, making a little cash off the name for the long time bassist & the singer everyone knows.

Now if they attempted to record new material under the Pantera name, I think that would be disrespectful to the brother's families.

My thoughts exactly MC. I can see them releasing a live album and DVD to cash in more, but any new material under the Pantera name would be silly.