Zakk Wylde says he’s “honoured” to be a part of Pantera “celebration”

Zakk Wylde, longtime friend of Pantera, has said he’s “beyond honoured to be a part of” the forthcoming tour with the band’s surviving members.

Singer Philip Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown signed a deal with Artist Group International for a series of US tour dates next year, last week, the band’s first in 20 years.

Pantera, formed in 1981 and disbanded in 2003. In 2004 guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot dead at the Alrosa Villa in Ohio and in 2018, Darrell’s brother, Vinnie Paul, died aged 54 from severe coronary artery disease and an enlarged heart.

In an interview in 2019, Anselmo teased the possibility of a Pantera tribute tour with Wylde.

Now, it has been confirmed that the guitarist, who has also worked with Ozzy Osbourne and is the frontman of the Black Label Society, is on board for the tour along with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.

Speaking in a new interview with Jose Mangin and Matt Pinfield for promoter Danny Wimmer Presents’ YouTube channel, Wylde said: “I think it’s a beautiful thing. It’s like when we do the [annual] ‘Dimebash’ [events], it’s a celebration of Dime’s greatness. It’s a Pantera celebration – that’s what it is… You’re celebrating Vinnie and Dime’s greatness and you’re celebrating all the mountains that Pantera conquered and crushed.”

He continued: “Obviously, it’s not Pantera. Pantera is those four guys – it’s Phil, Rex, Dime and Vinnie. But it’s just like when [Led] Zeppelin went out with Jason Bonham playing, it was phenomenal. I told Jason, I was just, like, ‘Dude, you crushed it, man.’ It’s a great thing just to hear them play that music again. I’m beyond honoured to be a part of it.”

The band released nine albums during their career including 1990 breakthrough LP ‘Cowboys From Hell’ and 1992 follow up ‘Vulgar Display Of Power’, which featured one of their biggest hits ‘Walk’.

Their most successful album was 1994’s ‘Far Beyond Driven’, which debuted at Number One on the US Billboard 200.

Meanwhile, Denzel Curry also revealed to NME that the metal veterans were one of his childhood favourite bands.