Phil Anselmo: A Dimebag hologram tour “would have to be perfect”

Pantera in 1992
Pantera in 1992 (Image credit: Getty)

Phil Anselmo says that if he and the surviving members of Pantera were to ever consider going on the road with a hologram of late guitarist Dimebag Darrell, it would “have to be perfect.”

Metal Wani asked the vocalist what he thought of the Ronnie James Dio hologram tour, to which Anselmo replied he had never heard of.

Later, when asked if a similar project involving Dimebag would be something he’d consider, Anselmo replies: “You know, it would have to be right. I think everybody’s heart would have to be in the right place, and I’m talking about the guys in the band.

“It would have to be done right. There’s no way we could skimp on something like that. I mean, if we were gonna do a hologram of Dimebag, it would have to be flawless and it would have to be perfect, just like he was every fucking night, man.

“No matter how piss-ass drunk he would be, once that guitar was in his hand, he was a machine, man. So it would have to be perfect.”

Dimebag was shot dead on stage in 2004 while performing with Damageplan, featuring his brother Vinnie Paul Abbott.

Later this week, Anselmo and his band The Illegals will release their new album, titled Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue.

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Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 36 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 11 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.