Group headlines two European festival dates
Pantera has announced their first European shows in 22 years. The newly formed group, featuring original members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown alongside Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante, will play Rock Am Ring in Nürburgring and Rock Im Park in Nürnberg, two simultaneous rock festivals taking place June 2-4.
It’s unclear which days Pantera will be performing at either festival. Other acts on the joint bill include Machine Gun Kelly, Tenacious D, Evanescence, Yungblud, Papa Roach, NOFX and more.
The group’s first set of shows in 20 years begin December 2nd as co-headliners on opening night of Mexico’s Hell & Heaven Metal Fest. They’ll also headline the Monterrey Metal Festival on December 6th before heading to South America for the bulk of their currently announced shows.
South American stops include three dates on Slipknot’s Knotfest Tour in Botota, Colombia on December 9th, Santiago, Chile on December 11th and São Paulo, Brazil on 18th. Their itinerary also includes a co-headlining show with Judas Priest in São Paulo on December 15th.
Earlier this summer, Billboard broke the news of the reunion, stating the group is planning to headline US festivals in 2023, although US dates have been announced as of press time.
The modern era of the group will pay homage to the Abbott brothers who founded the classic metal band in the 1980s. Dimebag Darrell was murdered while performing with his band Damageplan on stage in Ohio in 2004. Vinnie Paul died from natural causes from an enlarged heart and heart disease in 2018.
“You’re celebrating the guys and you’re celebrating all of their achievements and their greatness and that’s what it is,” Wylde tells SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk. “Somebody was just like, ‘How can they call it a Pantera reunion?’ I go, ‘Well, it’s Phil and Rex getting back together because they haven’t played together in a while, but it’s a Pantera celebration. I mean, that’s what it is. It’s just like no different than Mitch [Mitchell] and Noel [Redding] from Experience Hendrix asking Eric Clapton to sing and play Jimi [Hendrix]’s stuff to honor him, and they’re going to go out and honor Jimi Hendrix. To me, it’s the same thing. With Ozzy, we honor St. [former guitarist Randy] Rhoads every night. To me, it’s an extension of that. You’re honoring Dime. You’re honoring Vinnie and you’re honoring Phil and Rex — all the guys, their achievements and what they achieved as Pantera and all the mountains they conquered. That’s the way I look at it. That’s the way I always looked at it.”
