As metal pioneers and one of the biggest influences to the thrash scene, the name Pantera lives on despite the remaining members having dispersed to perform in their own bands.
After the tragic onstage murder of guitarist Dimebag Darrell during the opening song of a concert in 2004, playing live music has been an evident hardship for the rest of Pantera.
Whilst drummer Vinnie Paul pays tribute to his late brother Darrell in supergroup Hellyeah, vocalist Phil Anselmo fronts the band Down as well as a solo project with backing band, The Illegals.
Joining Anselmo in Down for a period of 10 years (including a four-year hiatus) was Pantera’s longtime bassist, Rex Brown.
After experimenting with a few alternative projects, Brown is now performing in the metallic beast Kill Devil Hill, a group he formed with drummer Vinny Appice (ex-Black Sabbath and Heaven And Hell member).
“After around the time I had pancreatic surgery, Vinny was looking for a guitar player after writing some drum tracks,” Brown recalls.
“He [Appice] had worked with Mark Zavon (guitarist) before. Thereafter they were looking for a bass player. I have known Vinny for 20-odd years so he contacted me.”
Brown met with the band whilst in California for a music convention. “I could not wait to come down and jam in Anaheim with Vinny and the others. It was only then that I heard Dewey (Bragg, vocalist) sing for the first time and it just gave me goosebumps.”
It was during this time that Brown came across Bill Metoyer. “He produced the first two Slayer records. I’m like, you’re not Bill Metoyer, are you? He responds ‘yes sir’ and I got cold shivers.” The 49-year-old then realised that Metoyer had been pre-producing the band’s debut album.
“I’m like, you’re not Bill Metoyer, are you? He responds ‘yes sir’ and I got cold shivers”
Kill Devil Hill released their self-titled record in 2012 followed by 100-odd shows around America.
“We scored a support slot for Alice Cooper and that was about the time when our band was kickin’ off on all cylinders. The audience ranged from 15-68 years of age and we had the whole fuckin’ place rocking. You know you’re doing alright when you get an Alice Cooper crowd going.”
“In the middle of all that I was trying to get this autobiography together, which came out in March.” The musical icon titled his story The Official Truth: 101 Proof, which includes his chapter with Pantera and dealing with Darrell’s passing.
Due to constant touring as well as flying back and forth from Texas to California, their second album Revolution Rise was fast-tracked for release in 2013.
“It just came together so quickly and magically. I’m really proud of this release.”
“I’m physically on fire. I haven’t felt this way in about 10 years. Everything is coming together and it’s great to be me.”
The long-standing bassist reflects on his musical journey. “I’ve been in this game for 30 years and I sure did have periods where I struggled. I took a bit of a break after Dime [passed away] and left everybody for three years or more.”
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him, but you’ve just got to move on.”
Since Darrell’s tragic death, the remaining members of Pantera have not reunited on stage. Whether this will happen or not remains unclear.
“My door is wide open. You just never know,” he says peacefully.
Rumours have circulated in recent years that Black Label Society’s Zakk Wylde would fill Darrell’s shoes. Wylde has been friends with Pantera from the early days.
“I don’t want to lead people to think that it would definitely be him (Wylde), but that could be part of the perfect scenario. I think Dime would want some of his favourite guitar players to be a part of it,” he says, suggesting that Wylde was one of them.
Despite blogs and news stories filled with speculation, Brown cannot confirm any plans of this nature.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him, but you’ve just got to move on”
“I would be very happy for that opportunity. I’ve thought about it enough, but this whole thing started as a rumour and people want to see some truth out of it. But it may not necessarily be the case.”
“We couldn’t make it a fucking reunion because Dime’s not here, but we could make it a fitting tribute and that would be a very special thing to happen.”
Addressing the emotional difficulties around reuniting as a band again, Brown states, “It took four individuals to make up Pantera and tragically one of them is not with us anymore.”
Anselmo of Pantera will be making it to Australia for Soundwave next year with his band Down. It turns out that Brown may just join him for a project of his own.
“We’re just waiting for a reply from a really excited promoter. This guy wants us bad over there.” By method of elimination, the bassist would be referring to Soundwave’s AJ Maddah.
Brown states that Kill Devil Hill have been trying hard to join this ‘mysterious’ music festival.
“We’ve been trying to get on it for about two months and now that we have a new record released, there’s a good chance we’ll be over there.”
The metal icon audaciously suggests that the band may be visiting Australia on two separate occasions in 2014.
“We may be doing some dates before that with this other band that I know real well,” he teases.
“I can’t give it away just yet and I don’t want to jinx it right now so let’s just see what happens.”
Either way, he is certain that an Australian visit will occur in the near future. “We’re coming over there! Australia is one of my favourite places to tour.”
“I was there (Australia) with Heaven And Hell with Vinny playing drums and we hung out throughout that tour.”
Kill Devil Hill will embark on an international journey to celebrate the release Revolution Rise. In the words of Brown, “Here we go brother. It’s going to be a hell of a ride.”
Revolution Rise is out now through Century Media Records
