Scott Ian on Pantera Tour: “This Is a Tribute, and that’s What It Is Meant to Be”
Pantera kick off their reunion/tribute/whatever tour in the next two weeks, which means the focus is now even more on the groove legends’ string of shows, which unites classic members Rex Brown and Phil Anselmo with Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante.
In an interview with Primordial Radio (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian discussed his bandmate’s participation in the shows and whether or not he thinks it’s a reunion. All in all, nothing surprising about what Ian has to say.
“Oh, man. You know what? The two of those dudes [Zakk and Darrell], they were as thick as thieves, those two guys. They were so close, there was definitely a bond… I won’t go as far as to say… Look, obviously, Darrell and Vinnie were brothers. Zakk was probably as close as you could get to actually having a blood relation to Darrell. Those two dudes were, like I said, thick as thieves, man.
“As long as I knew Darrell, and I hate to ever say, ‘I knew the guy and this is what he would want — I feel a little uncomfortable ever doing anything like that — but in this situation, I feel like I would make an exception because I would truly think Darrell, based on my many, many, many, many conversations over the years with him, would have definitely said, ‘If I ain’t here, you’ve gotta get Zakk up there to fucking fly the flag. It just sounds like something Darrell would have said. So, yeah, I think Zakk is — he’s the guy; he is the guy.
“And I think the other thing… Not to get too much into the weeds on this, ’cause I know there’s a lot of people out there with a lot of opinions. That’s how it is — because of the Internet, everybody gets to put their opinion out there.
“There’s no editors anymore — it’s just opinions. So if you want my opinion, this is a tribute, and that’s what it is meant to be. This is a tribute to one of the best bands in the history of heavy metal. It’s a tribute that also happens to have two of the band members in it, along with two guys who, I don’t think there’s anyone better to be able to pay tribute to Pantera than Zakk and Charlie.”
See all the currently-announced Pantera dates below. USA in late 2023?
Dec. 02 – Texicoco, Mexico – Hell & Heaven Metal Fest
Dec. 06 – Monterrey, Mexico – Monterrey Metal Fest
Dec. 09 – Bogotá, Colombia – Knotfest Colombia
Dec. 11 – Santiago, Chile – Knotfest Chile
Dec. 12 – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena
Dec. 15 – São Paulo, Brazil – Vibra São Paulo (with JUDAS PRIEST)
Dec. 18 – São Paulo, Brazil – Knotfest Brazil
May 26 – Sofia, Bulgaria – Armeets Arena
May 27 – Bucharest, Romania – Metalhead Meeting Open Air Festival
May 30 – Budapest, Hungary – Barba Negra
May 31 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
Jun. 2-4 – Nürburgring, Germany – Rock Am Ring
Jun. 2-4 – Nürnberg, Germany – Rock Im Park
Jun. 05 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
Jun. 10 – Sölvesborg, Sweden – Sweden Rock Festival
Jun. 12 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
Jun. 13 – Berlin, Germany – Verti Music Hall
Jun. 15 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Copenhell
Jun. 21 – Hamburg, Germany – Edel Optics
Jun. 22-24 – Oslo, Norway – Tons Of Rock
