Show will be held Dec 6th
Pantera and Judas Priest have been announced as co-headliners for Mexico’s Monterrey Metal Fest in December. The two metal titans will perform on December 6th at Estadio Mobil Super in Monterrey, Mexico with Mercyful Fate, Behemoth, Stryper and others.
This is the latest in a growing list of performances the newly formed Pantera, featuring original members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown alongside Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante, has added to its roster. They will play their first shows in 20 years as co-headliners on opening night of Mexico’s Hell & Heaven Metal Fest on December 2nd before heading to South America for three stops on Slipknot’s Knotfest Tour on December 9th, 11th and 18th.
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.”
Earlier this summer, Billboard broke the news of the reunion, stating the group is planning to headline US festivals in 2023, although no further dates have been announced as of press time.
