Iconic PANTERA and DOWN vocalist Phlip Anselmo joined KILL DEVIL HILL, the band featuring his former PANTERA and DOWN bandmate Rex Brown on bass, on stage yesterday (Friday, May 16) at the Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio to perform the PANTERA classic "Mouth For War". Video footage of the performance (courtesy of WGRD.com) can be seen below.
Anselmo recently joined DOWN's Revolver Golden Gods tourmates BLACK LABEL SOCIETY on stage at a couple of shows to perform the PANTERA classic "I'm Broken" as an encore.
During a September 2013 interview with Artisan News, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY mainman Zakk Wylde was asked about the possibility of a hypothetical PANTERA reunion with him filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar. "It'd be up to [former PANTERA members] Vinnie [Paul Abbott, drums], Phil and Rex — they're the guys that make everything happen," he said. "So if they were all gonna do it and honor Dimebag and [if they said to me], 'Zakk, would you wanna honor Dime and do Dime's parts?' Of course, I was a pallbearer for him — I laid him to rest — so, of course, I'd say, it would be a beautiful way to honor him and stuff like that. And to celebrate all things PANTERA and what they achieved. 'Cause they changed the game, as far as extreme metal goes. I mean, they're the kings of it. But it's up to the fellows. Then it would just be me woodsheddin' 25-8, learning all of Dime's parts, you know what I mean?! Yeah, but like I said, as far as I'm concerned, it would just be honoring Dime. Like with the Yankees, you honor… everybody's wearing Thurman Munson's '15' for that day, just because we're honoring Thurman's greatness. So it's the same thing, man."
Asked about the likelihood of a PANTERA "reunion" with Wylde filling in for Dimebag, Vinnie Paul told the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks in March 2012: "I spent two hours with Zakk, sitting down — a really great talk about… [Zakk] calls [Dimebag] 'the old man.' I mean, [Zakk] and my brother were so tight. If [a PANTERA reformation] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]. But I honestly think, out of respect for my brother, we should just leave the 14 amazing years PANTERA had be. We're all happy doing our own thing. We have to continue living and do other things."
Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004.
Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.
Speaking to Fuse News, Anselmo said about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Wylde filling in for Dimebag: "For me, really, I think it would mean a lot for Rex and Vince and myself to sit down and, I guess, bury the hatchet where we can be on more friendly terms. And, you know, I think it would mean a lot to the fans."
He added: "Without Vince, there's not any PANTERA reunion at all; it's useless. But he damn well knows my door's wide open. He needs to bust out the keys and unlock his, man. I'm waiting, but I'm not holding my breath."
Former PANTERA and current DOWN singer Philip Anselmo joined BLACK LABEL SOCIETY on stage last night (Thursday, May 8) at Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts to perform a cover of the PANTERA classic "I'm Broken". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.
During a September 2013 interview with Artisan News, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY mainman Zakk Wylde was asked about the possibility of a hypothetical PANTERA reunion with him filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar. "It'd be up to [former PANTERA members] Vinnie [Paul Abbott, drums], Phil and Rex [Brown, bass] — they're the guys that make everything happen," he said. "So if they were all gonna do it and honor Dimebag and [if they said to me], 'Zakk, would you wanna honor Dime and do Dime's parts?' Of course, I was a pallbearer for him — I laid him to rest — so, of course, I'd say, it would be a beautiful way to honor him and stuff like that. And to celebrate all things PANTERA and what they achieved. 'Cause they changed the game, as far as extreme metal goes. I mean, they're the kings of it. But it's up to the fellows. Then it would just be me woodsheddin' 25-8, learning all of Dime's parts, you know what I mean?! Yeah, but like I said, as far as I'm concerned, it would just be honoring Dime. Like with the Yankees, you honor… everybody's wearing Thurman Munson's '15' for that day, just because we're honoring Thurman's greatness. So it's the same thing, man."
Asked about the possibility of a PANTERA "reunion" with Wylde filling in for Dimebag, Vinnie Paul told the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks in March 2012: "I spent two hours with Zakk, sitting down — a really great talk about… [Zakk] calls [Dimebag] 'the old man.' I mean, [Zakk] and my brother were so tight. If [a PANTERA reformation] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]. But I honestly think, out of respect for my brother, we should just leave the 14 amazing years PANTERA had be. We're all happy doing our own thing. We have to continue living and do other things."
Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004.
Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.
Speaking to Fuse News, Anselmo said about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Wylde filling in for Dimebag: "For me, really, I think it would mean a lot for Rex and Vince and myself to sit down and, I guess, bury the hatchet where we can be on more friendly terms. And, you know, I think it would mean a lot to the fans."
He added: "Without Vince, there's not any PANTERA reunion at all; it's useless. But he damn well knows my door's wide open. He needs to bust out the keys and unlock his, man. I'm waiting, but I'm not holding my breath."
According to The Pulse Of Radio, this Saturday (April 5) marks the 20th anniversary of the death of NIRVANA founder and frontman Kurt Cobain at the age of 27. Cobain, who killed himself with a shotgun in a room above the garage of his Seattle home, instantly joined the pantheon of rock legends who died too early, including Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Bon Scott, and more. Yet while many of those artists lived the rock star lifestyle to the fullest, Cobain was branded as something that he, by all accounts, never wanted to be — the spokesman for an entire generation. It's widely felt that Cobain's inability to reconcile his inner demons and fear of "compromise" with NIRVANA's massive success drove him to depression, drugs, and ultimately, suicide.
KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch recalled hearing NIRVANA's music and sensing that Kurt Cobain was already in a lot of pain. "I just remember tripping and going, 'Wow, that guy must have been like really in a dark place,' you know," he said. "It just shows you, you know, like that life isn't all about fame and being a rock star and making it and money and all that stuff, you know. It's about finding like who you are and being happy inside and finding that place, because you can have the whole world and still want to kill yourself. You know, even 20 years later, it's like a reality check, you know. We should use this, his anniversary of his death, as a reality check."
Former PANTERA and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott said that while NIRVANA's success did a lot of damage to the metal scene at the time, he still liked the band and was shocked by Cobain's death. "NIRVANA was a huge band and I, like everybody else, I think — I don't know anybody who ever said they weren't a fan of them — thought they were great," he said. "And I was terribly shocked and kind of mortified as to what happened, you know. I never knew Kurt was that depressed and that kind of stuff, you know. Just didn't seem that way to me, you know. He was just big and larger than life."
ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell was coming up on the Seattle music scene at the same time as NIRVANA and ran into Cobain occasionally. "I didn't really know Kurt that well, but there was a guy I always admired," he said. "We didn't spent much time together, but the few times we did spend together, you know, were times I'll always remember. You know, he was a really sweet guy, and a really genuine soul, you know, and an incredibly talented artist."
JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford sums up what Kurt Cobain meant to rock music. "He was an absolute genius," he said. "In the legacy of rock and roll music, he'll be there with, like, Hendrix and Lennon and Joplin and Morrison. Incredibly evocative, inspiring, controversial, human musician. For me, there's been nothing great since NIRVANA, in the way it shook up the world. There's been nothing great since that band."
In the brand new issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott recalls how the band began falling apart in the midst of its biggest success after singer Philip Anselmo turned to heroin to combat his back pain.
"This is when the drug thing came about and everything started going sideways with him," Vinnie says. "That's when the band and him started separating and he started demanding his own tour bus. We'd see him before the show and then he'd be gone, and you never knew which Phil you were gonna get. You might get the pitbull that we all knew and loved, or you might get some dude who was completely whacked out on heroin and didn't do what he was supposed to do.
"It did become difficult on that touring cycle, but also we'd never had a break, so we could never get away from it.
"A lot of elements started creeping in, particularly with him. I mean, we were all in some pain. I had to deal with tendonitis, but I never turned to drugs to pacify it.
"None of us had any clue that he was even thinking of doing heroin — we used to be the most anti-drug guys in the world — and when he OD'ed in Dallas, when we played our big homecoming show to 18,000 people, the first thing that came to my mind was that he'd passed out because of the heat. When I saw him laying on the ground, blue, I was, like, 'What the fuck?' If it hadn't been for our drum tech, Kat, chasing down some paramedics, [Anselmo] wouldn't be around anymore. And it really would have been a shock because none of us had a clue.
"It definitely went from being all hunky dory to being a lot more work and not knowing what was gonna happen.
"We kept working, and, really, our intention wasn't to stop. Until Phil decided he'd rather go and do DOWN and SUPERJOINT RITUAL, we never stopped. I really felt like we were gonna be THE ROLLING STONES of heavy metal, and we could have been."
Vinnie, who is late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.
Asked if he thinks Vinnie Paul will ever be open to repairing the rift, Anselmo told Artisan News: "You know, that would be a question for Vinnie Paul; I don't know. But once again I'll say that I love him. I feel his pain every single day. Dime was very much my brother, Rex's [Brown; PANTERA bassist] brother as well."
He continued: "In this life, one thing I've learned is that it does not take pure blood to make family; it's the relationship and how strong you hold that bond. And once again, my door is always open for Vince."
Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney has called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, telling the producers of "Behind The Music Remastered: Pantera" that she forgave the singer after they found themselves unexpectedly face to face at a concert in California.
In Rex Brown's memoir, "Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera", Haney said: "My line has softened over the years since Darrell's death, probably because I feel an element of forgiveness and a desire for everybody to get along. No matter what ever happened, nobody did this to Darrell. I mean, they — Rex and Philip — didn't. The person who did it did it, and no matter what reason the killer — if he was still alive today — could give to justify that, it wouldn't change anything. But when you go through something like this, you want to lay blame somewhere. Obviously I had resentment to Rex and Philip because I had to watch Darrell trying to save his band. I wanted to fix it for him. As far as Philip is concerned, we are at least communicating, albeit on a fairly surface level. We haven't talked about any deep things like resentments because I've told him that I still harbor some resentment for how he handled band issues and how that impacted Darrell and I've made that very clear to him. And it's hard for me to trust him. But we'll see. It's a start and in time we'll probably sit down face to face."
She continued: "Despite all the issues I'll say this: going out selling the merchandise for Darrell every summer has given me a whole different perspective. When you are with all the people that PANTERA's music touched and you hear the stories they have about how a certain song got them through, even if they never got to see them, it makes you realize that you're being selfish and that your issues are petty and false. I'm not the big picture. They are. I'm so grateful for all the things I learned from Darrell and I want to try to be that kind of person you know. Better."
She added: "I wish Vince was more like his brother when it comes to welcoming new people into his world, instead of feeling strapped up or that it's a problem or an inconvenience. Of course it can be overwhelming, I used to watch Darrell every day and marveled at how amazing he was at handling it, but I wish there was more of that in Vinnie. I know he has never really dealt with the death of his brother head on, and instead he's chosen to shut it away and hope that he'll never have to discuss it. If he was open to sharing some of his stories with people, he might just find peace, and if he let people in, he might also just see the big picture I'm talking about."
Asked about the persistent rumors of a PANTERA reunion with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) filling in for Dimebag on guitar, Vinnie tells Metal Hammer: "All I can say is rumors are rumors.
"I'm not interested because there 's no Dime, and, to me, if there's no Dime, there's no PANTERA.
"That's my reason. It's behind me. I've moved on.
"I play in a band called HELLYEAH and I really love doing it.
"I'm looking forward to moving forward; I don't wanna live in the past."
panterametalhammermarch2014
