In a new interview with Star Tribune, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett shared his thoughts about the current lineup of Pantera. However, the guitarist refused to call it Pantera since it no longer has the two original members.
“I think it’s a great thing. It’s a tribute -band- to the brothers keeping their legacy alive,” Hammett explained. “And it’s a great thing for Pantera fans. Even though it’s not the original Pantera, you still get to see Phil and Rex, and Zakk and Charlie are doing a damn good job.”
It was first announced back in July 2022 that Pantera was returning to the stage with the new lineup of Zakk Wylde, Phil Anselmo, Rex Brown and the Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. One of the two new members agrees with Hammett’s comments.
“Well, [it’s] the Pantera celebration,” Zakk Wylde said in an interview with The Mistress Carrie Podcast last week. “It’s not Pantera. Pantera is Dime, Vinnie, Phil and Rex. So that’s Pantera. But no, it’s a beautiful thing honoring the guys every night. Everybody’s having a blast. Everyone that comes down to the shows either — you have the Pantera faithful taking a trip down memory lane, and you’ve got all the younger, like Phil always calls it, the new blood.”
He added: “And it’s amazing every night how many… It’s just a testament to what the fellas created. Because we’ve got so many young people that have never seen Pantera before.”
Rex Brown, however, thinks the band is still Pantera even without two original members. The rocker said in an interview that the band was not a tribute band of some sort and said it was ‘just fate.’
Pantera is on tour right now and has three more shows lined up for this year. Their 2025 tour kicks off on January 21 and wraps up on February 25.