Mudvayne’s Chad Gray Says Vinnie Paul Was “Never Behind” a Pantera Reunion

Pantera in its current form may be touring the world and reigniting the flames of a legacy that’s completely unfuckwithable, but there’s still a contingency of people who believe that what’s out there on stage can’t hold a candle to what once was. The contributions of the late Abbott brothers drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell are definitely a huge reason why that band got as big as it did and without them around, many feel it’s just not the same.

During an appearance on The Jesea Lee Show (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray shared his experience being in Hellyeah with Vinnie Paul and learning directly from the man himself that there was zero chance of a reunion while he was still alive.

“I know what it is, and I know that some levels of the intention are true and pure, but I also know that from sitting in on a million fucking interviews with Vinnie Paul and him and I interviewing together and shit, and the whole time, basically, that [Pantera reunion] wasn’t happening.

“And there was always some clown interviewer [who] apparently was just setting himself up for failure, he’d be, like, ‘So what’s the deal with all the mutterings we’re hearing about the Pantera reunion with Zakk,’ and Vinnie would literally go, ‘My brother’s dead.’ It’s all he would say. That’s all he would fucking say. And they wouldn’t say another fucking word. And that’s where it was. And that’s the way Vinnie thought about it. Pantera was done ’cause his brother was dead.

“So when I hear that and I hear how passionately he said that, and I know how much he meant it… He didn’t care. Vinnie didn’t need the fucking money. Vinnie’s whole heart was in Hellyeah. He loved Hellyeah so fucking much. It was such an honor to be able to play in that band with him and have him literally bleed for that band. It was everything to him, and he didn’t care about Pantera anymore.”

Now, before fans of Pantera’s current lineup get up in arms about Gray’s statements or Vinnie Paul’s sentiments at the time, the vocalist had nothing but good will to send to Charlie Benante and Zakk Wylde, who are both filling in for the roles left vacant by the Abbott brothers’ untimely deaths.

And while he doesn’t begrudge the Pantera “tribute” going out and doing its own thing, acknowledging that “people are loving to fucking be standing on that floor again… blazing into those fucking songs and playing that setlist,” he said he can’t reconcile the fact that he knows exactly how Vinnie Paul felt about the idea, even if his estate has since approved of what’s now going on.

“I was best friends with one of the fucking men that did it, that made that band happen and stuff like that. And he was never behind it, man. He was just never behind it.

“So it’s hard, for me to… ’cause I have a lot of fucking respect for Vinnie Paul. I really do. And I have a lot of respect for Dimebag Darrell. And it’s cool — let it be the tribute thing or whatever, but really question how much longer it goes or what else happens with it.

“I would just like to make sure that we’re giving love and respect to those two fallen brothers, man, because they were a really, really fucking big part of music, man. It seems like kind of a cheat that they’re not here to be a part of it, something that they built with their own hands.”