Is Dirt Fest 2015 The Place Where Vinnie Paul and Phil Anselmo Make Up?

It’s no secret that former Pantera members Phil Anselmo and Vinnie Paul Abbott are not the best of friends. The general belief is that there is still some bad blood left over from around the time of Dimebag’s death, and that that grudge is the primary reason a Pantera reunion will probably never happen.

Which is why it’s interesting that Phil Anselmo’s band Down and Vinnie Paul’s band Hellyeah are both playing Dirt Fest 2015 this year in Birch Run, MI. Not only that, but even though the bands are playing different nights, the poster makes it look like they’ll be playing back to back:

The promoters are basically telling you, “If you want that grimy Southern druggie thing Pantera did so well, we got Down, but if you’re into that groovy Van Halen worship shit that Pantera was famous for, YEEHAW, we got it too!”

This can’t be the first time these bands have run into each other (feel free to refresh my memory in the comments), but still, this does feel a little aggressive. It makes you want to reach out and press the two names together in the hopes that they’ll merge into the Pantera logo.

But there’s morel! The plot thickens: Loudwire recently posted an excerpt from a new interview in which Phil says the following:

“I would jam with Rex [Brown, bass] any time he felt like it. I adore Rex. Do I want to play with Vinnie Paul again? Honestly, I could give a fuck. However, I will say this: If we went into it and I knew that Vince had an open mind–listen to the drum beat and his feet on a tune like “Becoming.” If I got that Vinnie Paul–shit, I would love to be in the studio with him.”

“To this day, Vinnie Paul is still the most talented, tightest, most awesome drummer that I’ve ever fucking played with.”

Let’s all pray that this is the event where Abbott and Anselmo end up locked in a dressing room together, where they’re forced to confront their demons, say the things they never said back then, and decide that they’re big enough men to do one more show together with Zakk on guitar. But somehow I doubt Dirt Fest is going to be the site where this hatchet gets buried.