GUITARIST ZAKK WYLDE AND DRUMMER CHARLIE BENANTE WILL JOIN PHIL ANSELMO AND REX BROWN FOR THE PANTERA REUNION TOUR

As previously reported, Pantera‘s surviving members are hitting the road for a long-hyped reunion tour in 2023.

Now Billboard reports, that joining vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown will be joined by guitarist Black Label Soiciety fronmtman, and Ozzy guitarist, Zakk Wylde along with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.

The foursome will reportedly be headlining a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts, a source close to the group tells Billboard.

The lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band’s founders, Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott and “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown.

Wylde has long been the consensus fill-in for “Dimebag” Darrell due to his relationship with the Abbott brothers and his success and stature in hard rock and heavy metal.

Wylde was close friends with both “Dimebag” Darrell, who was murdered in 2004 while performing on stage during a show with his band Damageplan in Columbus, Ohio, and Vinnie, who died in 2018 from health complications related to heart disease. Prior to “Dimebag” Darrell’s murder, Wylde played several shows with Damageplan for MTV’s Headbangers Ball tour and performed the second guitar solo on the band’s song Reborn.

Wylde is scheduled to tour Europe this summer with Osbourne on his No More Tours 2 outing for approximately seven weeks between early May and mid-June. Originally announced in 2018, the tour was twice delayed due to health issues affecting Osbourne and then rescheduled two other times because of COVID concerns.

Benante’s relationship with Pantera dates back to the mid-1980s, prior to Anselmo joining the group.

Artist Group International will book Pantera’s North American dates, with Dennis Arfa and Peter Pappalardo as the responsible agents. The band is managed by Scott McGhee of 1 Degree Music Entertainment.

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