Last month, it was announced by the Billboard magazine that drummer Charlie Benante and guitarist Zakk Wylde were to join bassist Rex Brown and singer Phil Anselmo during a string of Pantera tribute shows next year.
Photo: tama.com
At a meet-and-greet with Anthrax fans in Orlando, FL on Aug 12, Benante was asked about how the Pantera tribute shows are going to influence Anthrax schedule. He said: ‘The Pantera thing is not going to change anything we [Anthrax] are doing‘. When asked whether it would be a full-blown Pantera tour, he replied: ‘I don’t think so‘. In response to another fan’s question about his feelings about the flak the surviving Pantera members as well as Zakk Wylde and himself have been receiving over the idea to dust off the legendary band’s fascia, he said: ‘Why is there flak?‘ ‘Because people are stupid’, the fan answered. ‘There you go!‘, was Benante’s reaction.
When asked by Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM about the forthcoming Pantera shows, Charlie Benante said: ‘I can’t go into this as the drummer from Anthrax because it would be a different sound completely. So, the way I’m going to do that is if you close your eyes, it’s going to sound like Vinnie, basically. That’s how it’s going to be. The sound is going to sound exactly like him.’
Quite honestly, we never expected anything else from one of the Abbot brothers’ best friends simply trying to pay homage to his late compadres…
