Charlie Benante Panteran tulevista keikoista: ”En olisi halunnut nähdä ketään muuta rumpujen takana kuin itseni”

Yhdysvaltalainen metallisuuruus Pantera tekee paluun keikkalavoille huomenna 2. päivä joulukuuta Meksikossa järjestettävässä Hell & Heaven Metal Festissa. Yhtyeen kokoonpanossa tulevilla keikoilla tullaan näkemään laulaja Phil Anselmon sekä basisti Rex Brownin lisäksi vahvistuksina mm. Ozzy Osbournen ja Black Label Societyn kanssa soittava kitaristi Zakk Wylde sekä Anthraxin kanssa soittava rumpali Charlie Benante.

Charlie Benante on antanut yhtyeen tuleviin keikkoihin liittyen haastattelun BraveWordsille, jossa on kertonut tietävänsä olemaan oikea ihminen lavalle astumaan Vinnie Paul Abbottin saappaisiin, koska oli erittäin läheinen ystävä tämän kanssa ja tunsi myös erittäin hyvin Dimebag Darrellin. Benante kertoi valinnastaan kiertueelle rumpaliksi seuraavaa:

“I’ve always talked to Philip throughout the years… then Phil called me up, and we just talked on the phone. When he said it to me, I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I was ready to do it with them because, as I explained it to him, this was more emotional to me than anything else. It wasn’t about financial gain, or anything like that. I know what those guys meant to me; especially [Dimebag] Darrell, I was very close with him. And the same with Vinnie too. But I would talk to Darrell a lot. The one thing that made me feel good about Philip and Rex, they said, ‘There’s no one else that we wanted to do this but you.’ Not just because of my ability, it goes back to my friendship with these guys throughout the years. That hit me on an emotional level. I wouldn’t want to see anybody else up there but me doing this. After I got off the phone with Philip, I was like, that’s it. I’m getting my shit together and I’m doing this the right way. And that’s exactly how I approached it.”

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Mainos päättyy

Benanten mukaan yhtye harjoitteli tulevaa keikkasettiään muutaman viikon ajan yhdessä syyskuussa ja hän uskoo, että nelikko tulee tekemään kunniaa Panteran perinnölle tulevilla keikoillaan. Benante kertoi harjoituksista seuraavaa:

“We were down there for over two weeks – Rex, myself and Philip. We got together in September. So, we had more hours just playing, before Zakk got there. We were pretty much in sync with each other. By the time that second week came around, we were grooving. People who were there, there’s some old Pantera crew members that are coming out with us. To hear them say things to me like, ‘Dude, I close my eyes, and it sounds like Vince is up there.’ That was my goal. When someone said that to me… that’s what I wanted to hear. That made me feel really good.”

Panteran suunnitelmat keikkailun osalta näyttävät seuraavalta:

Dec. 02 – Texicoco, Mexico – Hell & Heaven Metal Fest
Dec. 06 – Monterrey, Mexico – Monterrey Metal Fest
Dec. 09 – Bogotá, Colombia – Knotfest Colombia
Dec. 11 – Santiago, Chile – Knotfest Chile
Dec. 12 – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena
Dec. 15 – São Paulo, Brazil – Vibra São Paulo (with JUDAS PRIEST)
Dec. 18 – São Paulo, Brazil – Knotfest Brazil
May 26 – Sofia, Bulgaria – Armeets Arena
May 27 – Bucharest, Romania – Metalhead Meeting Open Air Festival
May 30 – Budapest, Hungary – Barba Negra
May 31 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
Jun. 2-4 – Nürburgring, Germany – Rock Am Ring
Jun. 2-4 – Nürnberg, Germany – Rock Im Park
Jun. 05 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
Jun. 09 – Hyvinkää, Finland – Rockfest
Jun. 10 – Sölvesborg, Sweden – Sweden Rock Festival
Jun. 12 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
Jun. 13 – Berlin, Germany – Verti Music Hall
Jun. 15 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Copenhell
Jun. 21 – Hamburg, Germany – Edel Optics
Jun. 22-24 – Oslo, Norway – Tons Of Rock

Metallican kanssa:
Friday, August 4 2023 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
Friday, August 11 2023 – Montreal, QC – Stade Olympique
Friday, August 18 2023 – Arlington, TX – AT&T Stadium
Friday, August 25 2023 – Inglewood, CA – SoFi Stadium
Friday, September 1 2023 – Glendale, AZ – State Farm Stadium
Friday, November 3, 2023 – St. Louis, MO – The Dome at America’s Center
Friday, November 10, 2023 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field