Pantera bassist Rex Brown , in a recent interview with American Musical Supplement , revealed details about reviving the band on tour and spoke about the addition of Charlie Benante and Zakk Wylde . It seems that this lineup had the support of the heirs of the late Abbott .
Regarding this year's shows, Rex highlighted how well the new members are fitting together (transcribed via Blabbermouth.Net ): “This is a completely different thing, man. We have Charlie and Zakk now, and they are just – number one, they've been great friends of ours all these years. We get along really well. Charlie and I were working, we probably put about 80, 100 hours of tape of all the songs we were going to do for the set, and others that we wanted to do. Charlie and I worked on that for six months before we even got into a rehearsal room. That's how good friends we are.”
“Charlie has been one of my best friends for years. So, this is another band. It’s difficult to fill the brothers’ shoes. At the same time, this has become a very close-knit unit. And Zakk just adds the extra… Dime was a unique guitarist and my best friend, and it’s great to see those guys on screen and with us.”
Check out excerpts from the interview on YouTube at the link below:
The legacy of Pantera
The bassist spoke about how Pantera, with the return of activities, maintains its legacy and this concerns the fans: “We want to keep that legacy alive in many ways, because the music is still played everywhere. We have a whole new generation of fans who probably wouldn't have heard this stuff if we weren't playing here. And then, that generation of fans – let's say, the 15-18 year olds who show up – will soon have children, and that keeps that new generation alive.”
And he concluded by saying: “We’re not doing this for ourselves; we’re doing this for the Pantera name and brand. And, by God, this music needs to be heard again. And that’s what we’re doing here tonight… It’s simply wonderful to be able to do this and pay homage to my music, to the riffs I wrote, or the riffs Dime wrote, or the patterns Vinnie played, and what Phil did – a tremendous impact on this music.”
READ ALSO: Charlie Benante talks about the possibility of Pantera releasing an album with the current lineup.