Roughly seven months ago, Vinnie Paul stated that in the unlikely event of a Pantera reunion, he’d pick Zakk Wylde to fill in for his late brother Dimebag Darrell. Since then, both Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown have publicly said that such a reunion could never happen, while Zakk Wylde said it would “be an honor” to fill in. Though Pantera reuniting without Darrell still seems unlikely, it appears that Anselmo and Wylde have least been talking about it.
In an interview with The Village Voice, Anselmo revealed that he recently spoke with the Black Label Society guitarist about possibly setting something up. When asked if such a reunion would include him, Anselmo said:
“Well, it would better damn well fuckin’ include me, or it wouldn’t be Pantera. I talked to Zakk about two weeks ago, and he’s very open for it. He’s got an open mind about it. But, truth be told, Vince [Abbott] has got a grudge against me that is really unfounded. And, honestly, I’ve always had a wide-open door when it comes to Vince.
If it takes me standin’ there and lettin’ that little guy punch me in the fuckin’ face repeatedly, over and over and over, til his hands were tired of hittin’ my rock-hard fuckin’ head, as long as we could sit down and talk afterwards, I’m all for it, man.”
However, Anselmo was quick to point out that such a reunion remained unrealistic, saying:
“Well, now, I didn’t say that the Pantera thing is a realistic thing. I don’t think that’s the important thing. I think what the important thing is, what Zakk and I discussed, is just Vince actually dropping his guard and realizing there is no treachery afoot.”
Shortly after calling such a reunion as “wishful thinking,” Anselmo stated that he and Wylde had to “hash some crap out” before moving forward with anything. So to hear that not only are the two talking but appear to be on the same page regarding a potential reunion is pretty astounding. However, Anselmo himself points out that Vinnie Paul still wants nothing to do with him, making such an endeavor even more impossible. And as we said before, maybe it’s for the best that the remaining members hold off on playing without Dimebag. Still, the fact that Anselmo and Wylde have been “talking” will definitely get a lot of fans’ hopes up.
