Members of Pantera talked about their long-awaited return in a new interview with YouTuber Rick Beato.
Bassist Rex Brown said he felt a “huge relief” when they finally took the stage for their first show at last year’s Hell & Heaven Metal Fest in Mexico.
Zakk Wylde, who’s filling in for late guitarist Dimebag Darrell, said “There was no warm-up shows; we didn’t do any club shows. So the first show was the one in front of forty thousand people…the adrenaline [was] kind of like my first Ozzy [Osbourne] show, that I did in an arena when I was, like, 20 years old. So for me, I was just, like, ‘Wow, this is pretty insane.'”
Drummer Charlie Benante explained the pressure of performing as, “This is the first time people are gonna see it. And then it’s gonna be everywhere after tonight. So if we don’t bring it, it’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, I saw it. It wasn’t so good.'”
“And we did. And it paid off.” Brown said, “And it was great.”
Pantera’s next gigs will be in November, opening for Metallica on their ‘M72’ tour.
Watch the complete interview below.