Zakk Wylde explained his interest in completing unfinished demos by Dimebag Darrell using a detailed musical comparison, speaking with Guitar World.
Wylde framed the potential work as helping an existing composition reach a finished recording. He used an imagined collaboration involving two guitar legends to illustrate his thinking.
“That was the germ of an idea, looking at it as an unfinished thing,” Wylde said. “As if Jimi Hendrix recorded Purple Haze but just on acoustic and then gave it to Eric Clapton, who teamed up with Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding to finish as it had never been recorded properly. It was that kind of idea. Would I like to record something like that? Of course I would.”
Wylde’s remarks show his openness to working with Dimebag Darrell’s remaining material.
Discussions about new Pantera recordings have been underway among the reunited band members and Dimebag’s estate. Rita Haney, Dimebag Darrell’s longtime girlfriend, possesses cassette recordings of Dimebag writing riffs, and these materials have been central to conversations between Wylde, Phil Anselmo, Rex Brown, Charlie Benante, and Haney about recording new material. Wylde joined the reunited Pantera in 2022 as a touring guitarist.
Dimebag Darrell was killed on stage during a December 8, 2004, performance with his band Damageplan in Columbus, Ohio. Since then, his unfinished riffs and musical ideas have remained in the hands of those close to him. Wylde recalled that discussions about these recordings had taken place, noting that Dimebag had written and recorded tons of unfinished riffs with material lying around.
In March 2025, Wylde expressed his willingness to consider recording new Pantera music based on ideas that Dimebag Darrell had begun writing. He acknowledged that the other band members were talking about doing something with the material that Haney has preserved. Wylde previously stated he was open to making new music with Anselmo, Brown, and Benante, provided that it was presented differently than just Pantera.
