“It wasn’t me,” Charlie Benante says with a chuckle when asked about the decision to use the Pantera name for the band’s celebratory comeback shows that started covering the globe last year.
He is currently in Pantera with guitarist Zakk Wylde and classic members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown. The reformulated group has frequently stressed that it is not a reunion, however, but a celebration.
“For us, it was about the celebration of the music and [late Pantera members the Abbott brothers] Dime[bag Darrell] and Vinnie [Paul],” Benante, the drummer also in Anthrax, continues in a chat on host Eddie Trunk‘s new show, That Rocks. (via Blabbermouth)
“That’s what it was about since day one,” Benante adds. “No one called it a tribute, no one called it a reunion. It can’t be a reunion — this is a celebration of the music of Pantera. Come and enjoy it, and that’s it.”
READ MORE: A Supergroup With the Late Dimebag + Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee Was Once Discussed
Still, the drummer says some had “preconceived notions of what they were gonna think — Oh, I don’t dig this without Vinnie and Dime. But when we start playing the songs, and you just see the faces in the crowd, all that shit goes out the window, the negative stuff.”
It was last summer when word emerged Pantera would tour again. Naturally, rock and metal fans responded. Get Pantera tickets here.
Vinnie, later of Hellyeah, died in 2018. Dimebag was fatally shot in 2004 amid a show by his and Vinnie’s Damageplan. Their joint gravesite is in Texas.
See Pantera’s upcoming dates underneath the video. Subscribe to Loudwire’s newsletter and download the Loudwire app for more.
Charlie Benante on That Rocks – May 11
Pantera 2023 Tour Dates
May 20 – Daytona, Fla. @ Welcome to Rockville
May 26 – Sofia, Bulgaria @ Armeets Arena
May 27 – Bucharest, Romania @ Metalhead Mtg
May 30 – Budapest, Hungary @ Barba Negra
June 5 – Lodz, Poland @ Atlas Arena
June 8-10 – Hyvinkaa, Finland @ RockFest
June 10 – Solvsborg, Sweden @ SwedenRock
June 12 – Prague, Czech Republic @ O2 Arena
June 13 – Berlin, Germany @ Verti Hall
June 15 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhell
June 21 – Hamburg, Germany @ Edel Optics
June 22-24 – Oslo, Norway @ TonsOfRock
July 13 – Cadott, Wis. @ Rockfest
July 15 – Mansfield, Ohio @ Inkcarceration
July 28 – Burgettstown, Pa. @ The Pavilion
July 29 – Noblesville, Ind. @ Ruoff Music Ctr
July 31 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ American Fam. Amp.
Aug. 2 – Camden, N.J. @ Freedom Pavilion
Aug. 4 – New York, N.Y. @ MetLife Stadium
Aug. 5 – Hershey, Pa. @ Hersheypark
Aug. 6 – Scranton, Pa. @ Pavilion
Aug. 8 – Syracuse, N.Y. @ St. Joseph’s Amp.
Aug. 9 – Darien Center, N.Y. @ Darien Lake Amp.
Aug. 11 – Montreal, Quebec @ Olympique
Aug. 12 – Toronto, Ontario @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 15 – Rogers, Ark. @ Walmart Amp.
Aug. 17 – Woodlands, Texas @ Mitchell Pavilion
Aug. 18 – Arlington, Texas @ AT&T Stadium
Aug. 20 – Austin, Texas @ Germania Amp.
Aug. 23 – Denver, Colo. @ Ball Arena
Aug. 25 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ SoFi Stadium
Aug. 26 – Chula Vista, Calif. @ North Island Amp.
Aug. 29 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amp.
Aug. 31 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amp.
Sept. 1 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ State Farm Stadium
Sept. 3 – Pryor, Okla. @ Rocklahoma
Sept. 7 – Bangor, Maine @ Maine Savings Amp.
Sept. 8 – Gilford, N.H. @ Bank of N.H. Pavilion
Sept. 10 – Alton, Va. @ Blue Ridge Rock Fest
Sept. 12 – Alpharetta, Ga. @ Ameris Amp.
Sept. 14 – Virginia Beach, Va. @ Veterans Utd
Sept. 15 – Bristow, Va. @ Jiffy Lube Live
Sept. 23 – Louisville, Ky. @ Louder Than Life
Oct. 7 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Aftershock
Nov. 3 – St. Louis, Mo. @ The Dome
Nov. 10 – Detroit, Mich. @ Ford Field
Aug. 2, 2024 – Foxborough, Mass. @ Gillette Stadium
Aug. 9, 2024 – Chicago, Ill. @ Soldier Field
Aug. 16, 2024 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ US Bank Stadium
Aug. 23, 2024 – Edmonton, Alberta @ Commonwealth
Aug. 30, 2024 – Seattle, Wash. @ Lumen Field
These Are the Songs Pantera Have Never Played Live
The Philip Anselmo-era songs Pantera have never played live.
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