David Draiman can't wait to see 'respectful' Pantera reunion

A picture of David Draiman — (Image credit: Travis Shinn)

Disturbed singer David Draiman says he can't wait to see Pantera live on their upcoming tour.

And he described the decision to bring in Zakk Wylde in place of the late Dimebag Darrell on guitar and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante to replace the late Vinnie Paul as "respectful" and "appropriate".

Speaking to Rock Antenne, Draiman says: "I can't wait. I'm gonna go see it. There's an entire generation of fans of the music that never got the chance to see it played live. They deserve the opportunity.

"And I couldn't think of any two guys who are more appropriate and skilled to fill the shoes of the brothers than Charlie and Zakk. I think that was the respectful and smart way to go. Charlie was very, very close to Vinnie, very close to the Pantera camp.

"And Zakk, basically, it used to be Zakk and the Pantera guys in the dressing room backstage at Ozzfest that we'd always be hanging with all the time anyway. He was one of the closest guys to them as well."

The reunited Pantera – featuring singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown alongside Wylde and Benante – play their first show on December 2 at the Hell & Heaven Open Air festival in Mexico City.

Pantera 2022/2023 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
Jun 2-4: Nürburgring Rock Am Ring, Germany
Jun 2-4: Nürnberg Rock Im Park, Germany
Jun 22-24: Oslo Tons Of Rock, Norway

* Headline show
# with Judas Priest

Artists

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.