Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante describe the upcoming Pantera tour as a tribute to the band

Pantera is set to return to the stage next year with a major world tour. The band will feature Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society and Charlie Benante of Anthrax, replacing the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott and Vinnie Paul Abbott.

Now Wylde and Benante talk about what the upcoming tour means to them on a recent SiriusXM’s program “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”.

The duo say it’s a tribute to Pantera and the late Abbott brothers. Wylde says:

“Whenever [the idea of doing a tribute has] come up, you’re celebrating the guys and you’re celebrating all their achievements and their greatness. And that’s what it is. ‘Cause everybody was just, like, ‘How can they call it a Pantera reunion?’ And I go, ‘Well, it’s Phil and Rex getting back together,’ ’cause they haven’t played together for a while.

I go, ‘It’s a Pantera celebration.’ That’s what it is. It’s no different than Mitch [Mitchell] and Noel [Redding] from ‘Experience Hendrix’ asking Eric Clapton to come out and sing and play Jimi‘s [Hendrix] stuff and honor him, and they’re gonna go out and honor Jimi Hendrix.

To me, it’s the same thing. With Ozzy, we honor Saint Rhoads every night. Every time we’re playing ‘I Don’t Know‘, ‘Mr. Crowley‘ — everything — you’re honoring Randy. 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, what they achieved as Pantera and all the mountains they conquered. That’s the way I look at it. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it.”