Charlie Benante won't rule out writing and recording new Pantera material as part of the band's controversial 'reunion'.
The Anthrax drummer joins bassist Rex Brown and vocalist Phil Anselmo in the new-look Pantera lineup, who hit the road this week for a series of live dates. Benante replaces the late Vinnie Paul, while Black Label Society's Zakk Wylde will take on guitar duties in place of the late Dimebag Darrell.
Pantera were confirmed this week as tour support for Metallica in 2023 and into 2024, meaning the band's new lineup will spend a lot of time together.
Asked whether they may spend some of that time writing new Pantera material, Benante tells BraveWords: “Oh man, who knows? Creatively, if we are just flowing and getting going, and things are starting to be really good, musically speaking, you never know what could happen. I’ve got tons of riffs."
However, he does seem to acknowledge the feeling of some fans towards the name Pantera being used at all without the Abbott brothers.
He adds: "But we’re putting the cart before the horse. I like the positivity there, but I don’t know how people would react to that either at this point. I think first, let’s get out there and establish that we can play. I’m always open to the future.”
Pantera 2022 and 2023 live dates
Dec 02: Toluca de Lerdo Hell & Heaven Open Air, Mexico
Dec 06: Monterrey Metal Fest, Mexico
Dec 09: Bogotá Knotfest, Columbia
Dec 11: Santiago Knotfest, Chile
Dec 12: Santiago Movistar Arena, Chile*
Dec 15: Sao Paulo Vibra, Brazil#
Dec 18: São Paulo Knotfest, Brazil
May 26: Sofia Armeets Arena, Bulgaria
May 27: Bucharest, Metalhead Meeting Open Air Festival, Romania
May 30: Budapest Barba Negra, Hungary
May 31: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Jun 2-4: Nürburgring Rock Am Ring, Germany
Jun 2-4: Nürnberg Rock Im Park, Germany
June 06: Lodz Atlas Arena, Poland
June 8-10: Rock Fest Hyvinkaa, Finland
June 10: Sweden Rock Festival, Sweden
June 12: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
June 13: Berlin Verti Music Hall, Germany
June15: Copenhagen Copenhell, Denmark
June 21: Hamburg Edel Optics, Germany
Jun 22-24: Oslo Tons Of Rock, Norway
Aug 04, 2023: East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium, USA +
Aug 11, 2023: Montreal Stade Olympique, CAN +
Aug 18, 2023: Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium, USA +
Aug 25, 2023: Inglewood, CA SoFi Stadium, USA +
Sep 01, 2023: Glendale, AZ State Farm Stadium, USA +
Nov 03, 2023: St. Louis, MO - The Dome at America’s Center, USA +
Nov 10, 2023: Detroit, MI Ford Field, USA +
* Headline show
# with Judas Priest
+ with Metallica
Pantera 2024 live dates
Aug 02, 2024: Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium, USA +
Aug 09, 2024: Chicago, IL Soldier Field, USA +
Aug 16, 2024: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, USA +
Aug 23. 2024: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, CAN +
Aug 30, 2024: Seattle, WA Lumen Field, USA +
+ with Metallica
