Guitarist C.J. Pierce of Texas rockers Drowning Pool has once again weighed in on the fact that Pantera’s surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) and drummer Charlie Benante (Anthrax) for a world tour under the Pantera banner, reports Blabbermouth.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, are headlining a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They are also continuing to support Metallica on a massive North American stadium tour.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given the green light by the estates of the band’s founders, drummer Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn’t tour with Pantera if a reunion were to happen. It is unclear what made Wylde change his mind.

Pierce discussed his views on the Pantera comeback in a recent interview with Indie Power TV. When asked what Pantera was like when the two bands shared a stage on May 6, 2023 at the Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rally in Panama City, Florida, C.J. said, “Dude, it’s so great, man. Zakk is killing it, man. Charlie’s killing it. People, I guess, in the beginning were giving them flak about it, but, dude, it’s epic. We were all friends. I [spent time] hanging with Dime and Vinnie and Zakk and Charlie. So, they’re not gonna be mad about this. I knew Dime and Vinnie personally. So I’m just telling everybody right here, knowing them personally, I’m not pissed off about the fact that these guys that we’re friends with keeping the legend going.”

Pierce continued: “[Zakk and Charlie are] never gonna play like that — nobody’s gonna play like the genius, like the Abbott brothers — but the fact of the matter is I’m out there in the crowd after we played with fans my age and with their kids who have never seen Pantera. So to see them see this metal show and the look on their face is amazing. So they’re doing a great thing.”

He added: “To play with Pantera always, it’s, like, lucky us to do it. I hope we get to do more shows with them. Again, [they are] one of the biggest influences one of the best, man. And we do a tribute — last night we played the Whisky [in Hollywood], man. We threw [in a cover of Pantera’s] ‘Cowboys From Hell’. We keep throwing that in the set, and a hats off to Pantera as well because they’re killing it, man. They’re awesome. Go see ’em if you haven’t seen the show… They’re keeping it going, man. They’re carrying the torch, keeping the music alive. I’m looking forward to hopefully rocking out with our brothers in Pantera again soon. I know they’re doing an awesome tour with Metallica. So lucky them, man. That’s epic, dude.”

Pierce previously talked about Pantera’s comeback in a July 2023 interview with the “Brutally Delicious” podcast. He stated about sharing the stage with Pantera at the Motorcycle Rally in Panama City: “Pantera was great, man. I know people have said a lot of stuff about it. Rex and Phil, it’s a reunion of those two guys coming together. Hats off to Pantera and what it was about. Of course Dime and Vinnie were a big part of that [and were] personal friends. Actually, we toured together back in the early days with Drowning Pool. And I’ve known Zakk forever and I’ve known Charlie forever. What better person to pick. And I was actually hanging out with Zakk.”

Regarding Wylde’s approach to performing parts originally written and recorded by Dimebag Abbott, Pierce said, “It’s Zakk Wylde. Dime did Dime, and nobody’s ever gonna play Dime like that… And we were talking about it, ’cause every now and then I’ll get called up and go on stage and do some PANTERA covers. So I stay up on my chops. But him and I, Zakk and I were talking about certain things that Dime did. And we were, like, ‘What the hell is he doing right here? Was he completely drunk or is he just a genius? Why would you do that?’ And Zakk’s, like, ‘There’s one or two things I’m not sure what he’s doing. I’m just gonna play a solo.’ I said, ‘It’s a guitar solo, man. Do your thing. You’re doing it great.'”

Pierce also had strong words for those who have been posting negative comments online before seeing the Pantera show for themselves:

“I don’t know why you would [talk] shit [about it],” Pierce said. “‘Cause the show was great, and you’re keeping that music alive. And you’re keeping what Dime and Vinnie brought to the stage. And they nailed it, to me. Phil sounded great; he never sounded better. And the show was amazing. They let us use a lot of their toys, so our show was amazing. [Charlie] is one of the best [drummers out there]. And they took time and they nailed it, man. Go see the show. Just go see it. You have to see it and you’ll know when you’re there. It’s so great, dude. I hope they keep going with it.”

When he was alive, Vinnie Paul Abbott had repeatedly dismissed talks of a Pantera reunion, telling Germany’s EMP Rock Invasion in 2014: “People are selfish, man. They want what they want; they don’t care what you want. And it’s unfortunate that people go, ‘Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage and it’s Pantera again.’ No, it’s not, you know. It’s not that simple. If Eddie Van Halen was to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, ‘Hey, man, Zakk, go play for Van Halen. Just call it Van Halen.’ You see what I’m saying? I mean, it’s really selfish for people to think that, and it’s stupid. It’s not right at all.”

He continued: “They call it a reunion for a reason. It’s called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there’s a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren’t really reunions. They’ve got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That’s not a true reunion. With Pantera, it’ll never be possible.”

Abbott repeated these sentiments a few months later, telling PlanetMosh in a separate interview: “Without Dimebag Darrell, there is no [Pantera] reunion. And that’s all there is to it. We were a very influential band, and we touched millions and millions of people with that band, but it’s over. People really have to come to grips with that, and that’s all there is to it. If all of us were still here, then the possibility would truly be there, but since it’s not, you know… It’s selfish of the fans to want something that they can’t have. And they don’t ever understand that, and I get it. There’s things I want in this world too. You know, people in fucking hell want ice water, but they’re not gonna get it.”

Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag’s death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Abbott co-founded Pantera. When Pantera broke up in 2003, they formed Damageplan. On December 8, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled individual with schizophrenia who believed that the members of Pantera were stealing his thoughts.

Dimebag’s longtime girlfriend Rita Haney called on Abbott and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag in 2011. The two had not spoken since 2003, and the relationship got even worse when Vinnie suggested that some remarks that Anselmo had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag’s killer.

Haney told the producers of “Behind the Music Remastered: Pantera” that she forgave the singer after they found themselves unexpectedly face-to-face at a concert in California.

Photo Credit: Gary Moratz