Corey Taylor has offered his views on the controversial Pantera reunion that will see the band's surviving members, Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown, team up with Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante for a global tour.
Metal fans are divided on the subject of the return of the Cowboys From Hell, largely due to the fact that the Abbot brothers, aka the late Dimebag Darell and Vinnie Paul, who died in 2004 and 2018 respectively, won't be part of it. Many are uncomfortable with the idea of Pantera reforming in the wake of vocalist Philip Anselmo's 'white power' outburst in 2016, and suggest that the racist remark tarnished the band's legacy.
Never one to shy away from expressing an opinion, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor shared his thoughts on the matter while speaking on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk. Asked for his take on the situation, Blabbermouth reports that Taylor said, "I know everybody in the [current PANTERA] band; I knew everybody in the prior band. So it's interesting. I know there's a lot of debate about it. All I'm going to say is that I'm stoked to see these songs played live. I'm stoked to see it done with respect.
"Whether anybody wants to admit that or not, these fans online, they wanna admit this or not, you're talking about two dudes [Charlie and Zakk] who not only knew the brothers from years ago, knew them before Pantera was even a thing."
He continues, "They were friends with those guys from when Pantera was still playing clubs, and they would go and hang out with them when those respective bands would go and play Dallas; they would go and hang out with those dudes. So then when Pantera becomes massive, lo and behold they're touring with their friends, man.
Commenting on the band's choice to recruit Wylde and Benante, he adds: "You can't get a better drummer than Charlie, you can't get a better guitar player than Zakk to step into those shoes.
"Is it going to work? I don't know. But to say that it's not the right thing — first of all, it's for anybody else to say except for Phil and Rex, because those guys, they were in the band. So let's just give them the benefit of the doubt and let's see what happens."
Pantera will hit the road for their first shows in over two decades this winter, kicking off with a headline slot at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest on December 2, followed by appearances at three Knotfest festivals in South America on December 9, 11 and December 18.
Earlier this month, Anselmo and co. teased their return with a video clip, featuring the letters that make up the band's name being revealed as the intro to Cowboys From Hell plays. No dates for 2023 have yet been confirmed.
