CHARLIE BENANTE Says PANTERA Will Only Play ‘Select’ Shows, Tells Naysayers ‘Don’t Come’

Charlie Benante says that his participation in the upcoming PANTERA tour will not affect any of ANTHRAX‘s touring and recording activities.

It was announced last month that PANTERA‘s surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) will unite with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

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.

At a later point during the question-and-answer session, another fan once again brought up Benante‘s involvement with the upcoming PANTERA tour, noting that there has been some “flak” online regarding the proposed shows. Charlie then asked the fan, “Why is there flak?”, to which the fan responded “People are stupid.” Benante concurred, saying “There you go” and directly addressed the naysayers by telling them “Don’t come.” Ian then predicted that Charlie‘s words would make the news on music sites reporting on PANTERA‘s return. Scott said: “That’s the line online tomorrow: ‘Charlie Benante on PANTERA tour: don’t come’.” Frank agreed, specifically calling out BLABBERMOUTH.NET as a site that would likely carry the story.

Earlier in the month, Bello discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in an interview with “Cutter’s RockCast”. Asked what he thinks about Anselmo and Brown touring again under the PANTERA name, Bello said: “I can’t wait for that, because they’ve got the two right guys to do it. Charlie and Zakk, those are the two right guys [for the job].

“I think it’s great for metal, and I think it’s great for everybody,” Frank, who is Benante‘s nephew as well as his bandmate, added. “It’ll be a great tribute to them, and it’ll be done right… I’m excited for them — I really am — and for metal. I think it’s great.”

Last month, Benante told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” about how he plans to approach the PANTERA gig: “I can’t go do this as the drummer from ANTHRAX because it would be a different sound completely. So the way I’m gonna do that is if you close your eyes, it’s gonna sound like it’s Vinnie, basically. And that’s how it’s gonna be. The sound is gonna sound exactly like him.”

Talk about a possible PANTERA “reunion” intensified when Anselmo regularly joined Wylde‘s BLACK LABEL SOCIETY to perform PANTERA‘s song “I’m Broken” during DOWN‘s 2014 stint on the “Revolver Golden Gods Tour”. That buzz only got stronger after Brown joined the jam on May 23, 2014 when the tour swung through Texas.

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag‘s death.

Source:  www.blabbermouth.net