Philip H. Anselmo and Rex Brown were guests of the latest edition of the Metallica podcast. The M72 tour, with the reformed Pantera as an opener, has been enormously successful, with many sold-out shows. Philip has gone on record for the first time since the tour was announced one year ago. Among Philip’s comments to the show were “I Know For a Damn Fact Vinnie Paul And Dimebag Would Want Us To Do This” sure to draw the ire of some of the fanbase, divided over whether the band should continue. Listen to the podcast below and see our recent Pantera coverage here, here, and here!
The band will continue to support Metallica in 2024 on the next leg of their tour including more headline dates with Lamb of God, and more festival headline spots. Blabbermouth transcribed the chat below:
“It’s empowering. It is incredibly beautiful, and you feel so much love when you’re up there. And if you take it in, it’s a great feeling, man. These days, man, that’s where me and Rex, you know, we get to dig the shows more.”
He continued: “When we were younger, we were at war and when we were on stage; we were just angry and at war, man. Now it’s — the songs are there. I can concentrate on singing the fricking songs, number one. Geez, that’s a relief for me, man. I don’t have to break my fricking body in part anymore.”
Anselmo and Brown also talked about Charlie and Zakk being part of the PANTERA team. Philip said: “Them two dudes, so enthusiastic. And they got their damn thing and they got their own damn legacy, both of them, without us. It’s an honor to play with them. They’re the nicest frickin guys in the world, man. I’m just so… [Laughs] Zakk, he’s a crack-up, man. He’s a sweetheart. And fricking Charlie, we’ve known Charlie since ’87, man. It’s a long time.”
Rex chimed in: “The way [Charlie] plays Vinnie’s parts is uncanny. I don’t think there’s any drummer out there that could play the way that Vinnie did. I would close my eyes, because I was trying to get tight, and sometimes if I close my eyes, I can hear a little better; I think I can. And there’d be a tear of joy just coming down, because that was so close to what Vinnie and I used to play. So you have the foundation.”
Philip concurred, saying: “The low end sounds so PANTERA, man. It’s freaking me out.”
When the interviewer suggested that PANTERA in 2023 has Vinnie Paul and Dimebag’s “spirit inside it”, Philip said: “Only thing I can say is, man, I know for a damn fact Vince and Dime would want us to do this, hands down. They would want the PANTERA brand or the legacy to go on. And I don’t know what you believe in, but sometimes, you know, you would like to think that them old fellas are looking down on us, giving us the thumbs-up.”