Tom G. Warrior on Pantera Reunion: “If They Say It’s a Tribute Tour, I Don’t Have a Problem with It”

Former Hellhammer/Celtic Frost and current Triptykon frontman Tom Gabriel Warrior discussed the upcoming Pantera shows in a new interview with Meltdown from Detroit radio station WRIF (transcription via Blabbermouth), weighing in on the controversial decision for the surviving members of Pantera to perform under the name with guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante. Warrior himself has performed Celtic Frost and Hellhammer material under the Triptykon and Triumph of Death banners, respectively.

“Well, I do understand it. The music was a milestone, and it has changed a lot of people’s lives. And by now, of course, a lot of people are too young to have seen the original Pantera. And I also understand that if you have been in a band, like I have been in Celtic Frost, after a while you really would like to play this music again, and I’m not even talking about commercial reasons, because for the musician too, it shapes your life; it’s a part of your personality.”

He went on to further elaborate upon his feelings in the interview, expressing that he doesn’t have an issue with a celebration of Pantera’s music but that it isn’t a reunion without Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul.

“I know, of course, where the controversy lies, but I don’t really know how they bill this tour. As long as it’s not billed as a reunion, I think it’s perfect. If they say it’s a tribute tour, I don’t have a problem with it. If they say it’s a reunion, of course it’s more problematic, because how can you reunite? So I think it’s down to how they are advertising it and how they are communicating.”

Current billing for all announced Pantera shows simply lists the band’s name with no mention of it being a tribute. Wylde recently told Ultimate Guitar that “It’s a celebration of Pantera and all the mountains they conquered. It’s the way I look at it.”