On the eve of their band’s reunion tour which starts next week, Charlie Benante took part in an exclusive question and answer session with Bravewords.
When asked about the future of PANTERA and how he became involved with the reunion, Benante had this to say: “I’ve always talked to Philip throughout the years… then Phil called me up, and we just talked on the phone. When he said it to me, I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I was ready to do it with them because, as I explained it to him, this was more emotional to me than anything else. It wasn’t about financial gain, or anything like that. I know what those guys meant to me; especially Darrell, I was very close with him.
“And the same with Vinnie too. But I would talk to Darrell a lot. The one thing that made me feel good about Philip and Rex, they said, ‘There’s no one else that we wanted to do this but you.’ Not just because of my ability, it goes back to my friendship with these guys throughout the years. That hit me on an emotional level. I wouldn’t want to see anybody else up there but me doing this. After I got off the phone with Philip, I was like, that’s it. I’m getting my sh*t together and I’m doing this the right way. And that’s exactly how I approached it.”
Charlie was also asked if the band could consider recording an EP, full album or at least one song to kill the time, to which he responded: “Oh man… who knows? Creatively, if we are just flowing and getting going, and things are starting to be really good, musically speaking, you never know what could happen.
“I’ve got tons of riffs. But we’re putting the cart before the horse. I like the positivity there, but I don’t know how people would react to that either at this point. I think first, let’s get out there and establish that we can play. I’m always open to the future.”
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.
