Surviving Pantera members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown are reuniting to tour in 2023 across North America, with guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante rounding out the lineup. The tour will mark the first Pantera live shows of any kind since the band’s final gig together in Yokohoma, Japan on August 26, 2001.
Billboard broke the news that Anselmo and Brown signed with Artist Group International for the tour. Artist Group International representative Peter Pappalardo released a statement, stating: “We are thrilled to be working with such an iconic band and bringing their music back to the fans.” Later, Billboard updated the news: “The lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band’s founders, Vincent ‘Vinnie Paul’ Abbott and ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn’t tour with a reunited Pantera if that were to happen. It’s unclear what changed his mind.”
Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was murdered onstage with Damageplan in 2004; drummer Vinnie Paul died at age 54 in 2018. Pantera formally broke up in November 2003, almost two years after what would be their final show. Billboard noted that the band is expected to headline “a number of major festivals across North America and Europe,” as well as staging their own headline shows.
Pantera has sold more than 20 million albums, with the band’s most successful album being 1994’s Far Beyond Driven, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. They’ve also earned platinum status for five albums and three long-form videos and received four Grammy nominations.
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