In a recent interview with Sense Music Media, Dez Fafara, frontman for both COAL CHAMBER and DEVILDRIVER, was asked if he would consider performing with reunited PANTERA.
He responded: “Oh, I talk to Philip all the time. He’s writing the foreword to my autobiography right now. I love that band and I love what they’re doing for the brothers, and for people who never got to see it, they get to see it now.
“I mean, for me, people will say METALLICA, but PANTERA is the best heavy metal band on earth. End of story. And I know he’s [Philip] got a sordid past and he said some things and this and that, and don’t get me caught up in any of that,” Dez continued, seemingly referring to “Dimebash” event in 2016 when Anselmo made a N*zi-style salute eight years ago.
“I follow the music and that’s what I follow. And then again, I toured the world with him for f**king three and a half, four years and multiple times, and I lived at Anselmo‘s house for years. Whenever I didn’t have a home and I came home, I didn’t have a home, I either went to a hotel in L.A. or went to his house. So that being said, I’m glad that they’re out and people should go check it out.”
“I took my wife — our first date was PANTERA and BLACK SABBATH at the Forum [in Los Angeles], my wife and I,” he continued. “She disappeared with f**king Sharon Osbourne [who managed COAL CHAMBER for a period] for like three hours. And then she comes back, and Sharon told me, ‘She’s the one,’ and I was, like, ‘Of course, I know she’s the one, but you took her for three hours. So where the f**k did you guys go?'”
“So, yeah, if [PANTERA] comes to [play near] you, you should definitely go see that.”
The reformed band, consisting of Phil Anselmo on vocals, Rex Brown on bass, Wylde on guitar, and Charlie Benante on drums, is set to headline major festivals in North America, South America, and Europe. Additionally, they will be performing their own headline concerts and supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2024. This marks a significant moment for PANTERA fans, as it is the first time the band’s surviving members have come together for live performances in over two decades.
According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band’s founders, drummer Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn’t tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It’s unclear what changed his mind.
