Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde recently spoke to Metal Hammer and disclosed a few things about the breaking up and reunion of Pantera. Wylde has been playing with the band ever since the band’s reunion last year. The guitarist recalled the only time he ever talked to Dimebag Darrell after the band first broke up. He said:
“That was the only time I ever talked to [Dimebag] when he wasn’t a force of positivity. Clearly, he was still upset about Pantera. They had worked so hard to get to where they did, and then it all ended, and he basically had to start over again. He was like, ‘Zakk, what am I gonna do?’”
The guitarist then revealed what Phil Anselmo’s actions caused the band to do. He continued:
“With the last couple of Pantera records, we kept getting more and more narrow-minded, not due to our preference in music, but because of Phil [Anselmo]. He was always like, ‘No, we can’t do that. We have to stick to our sound.’”
It appears that the band has altered their sound after creating a new band and deciding to progress forward. The rocker clarified:
“So, with the new band [Damageplan], we said, ‘Well, hey, let’s put everything we ever played in the past in there and then some. Let’s check out these new bands that are out now and get inspired again and move forward.’”
There have been numerous issues and conflicts within the band, largely due to Anselmo’s actions. He has been accused of being responsible for Dimebag’s death, which has only intensified the feud between him and others in the band. The situation has become so heated that Anselmo has even been prohibited from attending Dimebag’s funeral.
Wylde is paying tribute to Dimebag as a member of Pantera. The band is currently on tour, which is scheduled to end next year. Check out the tour dates here.
