Pantera is Touring in 2023 for the first time in over 20 years! Let that sink in. Wow I never thought that the surviving members would ever get together to do it again.
Pantera‘s surviving members have signed with Artist Group International to book their North American dates. Dennis Arfa and Peter Pappalardo will be the responsible agents.
“We are thrilled to be working with such an iconic band and bringing their music back to the fans,”
Peter Pappalardo
The Legacy
Pantera is one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history. They combine elements of hardcore and thrash. This creates a menacing sound that many have tried to replicate. The late brothers Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott on drums and “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott on guitar forged this sound. Pantera broke through the noise with their fifth album, 1990’s Cowboys from Hell, with singer Phil Anselmo and the 1992 follow-up Vulgar Display of Power. Tracks like “Walk” gained mainstream popularity for the band.
Raw aggression, energy, thrash riffs and Phil Anselmo’s deep growling range. Pantera gained a reputation for being one of the hardest-hitting major label acts of the 90s. Their most successful album was 1994’s Far Beyond Driven, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
According to reps for the band. Pantera has sold 20 million plus albums. Platinum status for five albums and received four Grammy nominations.
Tragically we lost “Dimebag” Darrell on stage in front of a live crowd in 2004 . “Dimebag” Darrell and his brother Vinnie Paul were performing on stage wit Damageplan in Columbus, Ohio. We lost Vinnie Paul 2018 from natural causes including heart disease.
The new line up for the band
Legendary drummer Charlie Benante of ANTHRAX is a choice pick for a Drummer to replace Vinnie Paul. Zakk Wylde, the insanely talented OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist and Founder of The Black Label Society is an incredible choice to fill the spot left behind from “Dimebag” Darrell.
No one could truly fill the holes left behind from the losses of the Abbott brothers. Charlie and Zakk are incredible choices. This is still just making to rounds as a very popular rumor.
Billboard on Wednesday (July 13) announced that Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown have signed with Artist Group International to book their North American dates, there has been no official word about who will fill out the rest of PANTERA‘s touring lineup.
Benante and Wylde have both voiced their appreciation for PANTERA‘s musical legacy on a number of occasions in recent years. Back in June 2018, just one day after the death of Vinnie Paul Abbott, Benante told SiriusXM about the first time he met the PANTERA drummer:
“The very first time, it was the first time we ever were in Texas. And those guys [PANTERA] were there. We played at this club, and I believe PANTERA were the opening band. A mutual friend of ours, who everybody knows now — Rita [Haney, longtime girlfriend of PANTERA guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott] — she kind of was the conduit to grouping us together to become friendly. We’ve known those guys since 1985, and just the two of them, Darrell and Vinnie, after you met those two, it was like you had a friend in Texas, both of them, and they just made the experience so much better, and you immediately bonded. So throughout the years, we just remained friends.”
Charlie Benante
Benante went on to draw a parallel between PANTERA and another legendary rock band which featured siblings who achieved notability together.
Pantera is managed by Scott McGhee of 1 Degree Music Entertainment. The band’s legal representative is Nick Ferrara and Associates. Pantera is booked internationally by Rod MacSween at ITB.