Here’s What Rock + Metal Artists Think About Pantera’s Return
What do rock and metal musicians really think about the return of Pantera? While at this year’s Louder Than Life festival, we asked a bunch of artists their opinion on the historic return of the surviving Cowboys From Hell.
The reaction to Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante filling in the for late Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul was a decision that was met with unanimous praise from our collection of musicians. “It’ll be awesome and I think that Charlie and Zakk doing the honors… I don’t think the Abbott brothers would have it any other way,” Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor said. “If they had to handpick the people that were gonna play their parts, those are the guys.”
Actually, the one musician who didn’t like the choice of Zakk Wylde on guitar was GWAR vocalist Blothar the Berzerker. “I heard they hired some fancypants… Zakk Wylde? Geez, c’mon. He’s just gonna do a bunch of pinch harmonics,” Blothar bellowed.
The one point of contention that existed for some of the younger artists we talked to were some of the ill-fated comments Philip Anselmo has said concerning race on a few occasions. Though Anselmo has made penance for those comments, certain members of Wargasm and Dropout Kings still view Anselmo as problematic.
“It’s a difficult one because I don’t agree with Phil an awful lot,” said Wargasm’s Sam Matlock. “I’m going to go see them because I think it’s education for me. I think you’ve gotta earn your stripes and seeing Pantera live is one of the stripes. I just wish Phil would shut the fuck up.”
See what else members of Sevendust, Tetrarch, Crown the Empire and more had to say about Pantera’s return in the video below.