Earlier today, we shared a story where Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante said that calling the current Pantera shows a band “reunion” was disrespectful to the late Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell – a sentiment that Vinnie would likely agree with.
Back in the day, Paul was vocally against the idea of a Pantera reunion. Given the tragic passing of his brother, and his beef with Pantera singer Phil Anselmo, the idea did not interest Vinnie at all.
Via the YouTube channel The Horns Section, video footage has been uploaded that features the late Vinnie Paul speaking to the idea of a “Pantera reunion” being “selfish.” During this conversation, Paul speaks to being against the idea of Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde filling in as the band’s guitarist.
The idea of Wylde stepping in for Pantera guitarist was a popular and talked about idea well before the official announcement earlier this year regarding these current Pantera shows. Per this past interview featuring Paul, the late drummer expressed that pushing for a Pantera reunion was “selfish.” When asked about why he feels people push for a Pantera reunion, here is what Vinnie Paul had to say (as transcribed by The Pit):
“People are selfish man; they want what they want, they don’t care what you want. It’s unfortunate that people go ‘Oh wow man, they could get Zakk Wylde to jump up on their on stage and it’s Pantera again.’ No it’s not. It’s not that simple. You know, if Eddie Van Halen wants to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, ‘Hey Zakk, go play for Van Halen – just call it Van Halen’? You see what I’m saying? It’s really selfish for people to think that, and it’s stupid.
“They call it a reunion for a reason – it’s called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there’s a lot of these things they call reunions – they aren’t really reunions. They got one dude from the band floating around in them. That’s not a true reunion. With Pantera, it will never be possible.”
What do you make of Vinnie’s points? You can check out the video interview featuring the late Pantera drummer below.
Charlie Benante Says 'Pantera Reunion' Label Is 'Disrespectful'
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