In July, the famed Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde announced that he and Anthrax drummer Charlie Bentante would be joining the long-awaited reunion tour for the legendary heavy metal act Pantera. Wylde and Bentante intend perform in the stead of brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Abbott, who passed away in 2004 and 2018, respectively. Now, Wylde has given fans some ideas about what they should expect for the upcoming tour.

According to Blabbermouth, Wylde has explained that fans should expect him to play like himself, not completely matching the style of the legendary Dimebag Darrell. In a recent interview, the guitarist explained that  he has been unable to recreate Darrell’s sound, saying that “No matter what I do, it’s going to sound like me. I can practice all I want and stay as faithful as I want, but I am never going to escape that. It’s like if Randy Rhoads were to play Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’. No matter what he did, it would sound like Randy playing, not Eddie. You’re never going to mistake Randy for Eddie or Eddie for Randy, and it’s the same thing here with me playing Dime’s stuff.”

The musician goes on to explain how he intends to learn and play Darrell’s music, comparing his intended approach to his strategy for playing with Ozzy Osbourne: “I am going to go in, learn the parts, be as faithful to what Dime did as possible, and just be me. I’m gonna have fun with it, knowing that I am not expecting myself to sound like Dime, and no one else should either, which is how it is when I play with Ozzy or whatever else.” Wylde has recently teamed up with Ozzy on his track “Nothing Feels Right,” and previously played guitar on Ozzy’s last album.

Previously, it had been reported that Dimebag Darrell’s guitar Tech would be joining the new reunion tour, bringing the original gear used by Darrell. Giving more information on this, Wylde explains that “I’ll be using my guitars, effects, and pedals, a lot of the pedals that Dime actually gave me, and yeah, I’ll definitely be using some of Dime’s pedals and stuff, too. I’m still working out how it’ll all come together, but I am looking forward to seeing how it all flows once I do. Dime’s tech, Grady [Champion], is gonna be coming down too, which is great. I’ve got my tech, but it’ll be great to have Grady here to help pay tribute to Dime.”

In August, it was announced that Pantera’s first performance in two decades would take place as part of Slipknot’s Knotfest.

Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado