Philip Anselmo, vocalist for Pantera, recently spoke with Rock Candy magazine editor Howard Johnson about the significance of the band’s current return to touring and performing for sold-out audiences.
“I feel crazily lucky, crazily fortunate,” Anselmo said. “I have a hard time putting it into words, but I’ll try. Oh man, it feels like a blessing.”
Now 56, Anselmo joined Pantera at 18. Despite suffering from chronic back pain since his early 20s, he credits surgery and rehabilitation for his ability to perform nightly on the band’s demanding tour schedule. This tour includes an appearance at the farewell Black Sabbath concert on July 5 in the U.K.
“It’s Pantera, man, so it’s still going to war,” he stated. “I’ll be honest, that’s some young-man s**t to sing, so you’ve got to throw everything into it. It’s a beating, very physical. But when I see the crowd reaction, I love it. I don’t care. That’s the payoff right there. And yet funnily enough, it’s also cathartic. When I get into the zone, it blocks out all the noise and the bulls**t and it’s mellow.”
The reformed Pantera lineup features surviving members Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, joined by guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) and drummer Charlie Benante (Anthrax). This iteration of the band is headlining major festivals across North America, South America, and Europe, alongside their own headline shows and support slots for Metallica‘s stadium tour.
The decision for this reunion tour was first reported in July 2022, with approval from the estates of Pantera’s founders, drummer Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown. Notably, Brown had previously stated in 2021 that Wylde would not tour with Pantera if a reunion were to happen, though his stance has since changed.
Pantera bassist Rex Brown also discussed the experience of performing for a new generation of fans in an interview with AndrewHaug.com at Knotfest Australia. “You can’t see it on the YouTube. You can’t feel that vibe until you actually come to the show,” he remarked. “And we haven’t been doing interviews just for the fact we want people just to come to the show. It’s not about anything prior past or present that I wanna talk about today — just the show tonight.”
Brown expressed his surprise and gratitude for the turnout. “We’re pinching ourselves over these new fans that have never seen this before, and it’s a whole another generation that we either didn’t know a) that were out there, b) that were still listening to us, and the turnout has just been unbelievable.” He also noted the positive impact of live performances on the band’s chemistry. “Of course, at first you had the naysayers and all that stuff, and as we played gig by gig, it’s made us tighter. And I’ve been trying to rehearse this band as much as I can within schedules, and we’ll just go down for no f**king reason and just jam. That’s what makes a band tight.**”
The full exclusive interview with Anselmo and Benante is available in Rock Candy magazine‘s 50th issue, which also features interviews with Dennis DeYoung from Styx, Rich Williams from Kansas, Chris Goss of Masters of Reality, and Josh Todd from Buckcherry, among others.
