Later this year, Pantera and Metallica will be hitting the road together for an epic North American tour. As two of the biggest names in heavy metal history, it is nothing short of astounding to see these two bands tour together.
While Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has shared what he thinks about the Pantera reunion, more recently, guitarist and singer James Hetfield talked about how he and the late Dimebag Darrell “inspired” one another.
While chatting with Jose Mangin on the Metal Ambassador podcast, Mangin talked about how much of a Metallica fan Dimebag was; Mangin mentions how Dimebag covered Metallica songs, and Hetfield expresses how much of a “blessing” it is to have been in Dime’s life.
Per Hetfield, here is what he had to say about his relationship with the late Pantera guitarist (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“Well, what a blessing to have been in his life and him in my life.
“And yeah, some of those early days, just traveling down there to the Dallas area and meeting with those guys and just hanging out. Yeah, Dimebag introduced me to the solid state amp, I remember.
“He had this fricking amazing crunch going on. I was, like, ‘What is that?’ You know? So, uh, yeah. [We] inspired each other. He inspired me as well. No doubt.”
As two of the greatest guitar players to ever grace heavy metal, it’s incredible to hear that both James Hetfield and Dimebag Darrell had an impact on one another. In just a few months, Metallica and Pantera will be hitting the road for their North American tour. Will you be attending?
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Upcoming Metallica tour dates in 2023:
- August 4th and 6th – East Rutherford, NJ – Metlife Stadium
August 11th and 13th – Montreal, Canada – Stade Olympique
August 18th and 20th – Arlington, TX – AT&T Stadium
August 25th and 27th – Los Angeles, CA – SOFI Stadium
September 1st and 3rd – Phoenix, AZ – State Farm Stadium
November 3rd and 5th – St. Louis, MO – The Dome (At America’s Center)
November 10th and 12th – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
In 2024:
- August 2nd and 4th – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
August 9th and 11th – Chicago, IL – Solider Field
August 16th and 18th – Minneapolis, MN – US Bank Stadium
August 23rd and 25th – Edmonton, Canada – Commonwealth Stadium
August 30th and September 1st – Seattle, WA – Lumen Field