For many metal guitarists, the thought of playing with PANTERA would be a dream come true. But when the offer was put out to CREED/ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti by Rex Brown, he refused even to contemplate it and auditioning for it.
During a recent interview with Overdrive in Ireland, Tremonti was asked if he’d accept the offer to fill Zakk Wylde‘s spot for PANTERA‘s comeback shows.
“Hell no! [Laughs] A number of years ago, I was talking with Rex [Brown, PANTERA bassist] at the Download festival, and he was talking about a possible PANTERA reunion,” Tremonti responded. “He looked at me and said, ‘You should put your name in the hat’, and I was like, ‘No way, man.’ You have to be a certain type of personality to take on that role.
“It’s not just about the playing, it’s very much the personality, and Dime [late PANTERA guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott] had a huge presence. Put it this way, nobody’s gonna flip off Zakk Wylde onstage. They very well might do that to me, but there’s just no way I would put myself in that situation.”
As previously reported, PANTERA surviving members, Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown, reformed the band with Zakk Wylde on guitar (from OZZY OSBOURNE and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and Charlie Benante on drums (from ANTHRAX). They will be playing at festivals all over North America, South America, Europe as well their own headline concerts.
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.
