Zakk Wylde Warns: Don’t Expect Me to Sound Like Pantera’s Dime
Zakk Wylde warned Pantera fans not to expect him to sound like Dimebag Darrell Abbott at the upcoming tribute shows.
There’s been some controversy surrounding the announcement that Pantera members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown will reunite to celebrate the memory of bandmates Dimebag Darrell and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, who died in 2004 and 2018, respectively. Wylde – a close friend of Dimebag and long linked with the idea of standing in for him – will appear in South America next month alongside Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. More dates will follow in 2023.
“No matter what I do, it’s going to sound like me,” the guitarist told Guitar World in a new interview. “I can practice all I want and stay as faithful as I want, but I am never going to escape that. It’s like if Randy Rhoads were to play Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’: No matter what he did, it would sound like Randy playing, not Eddie. You’re never going to mistake Randy for Eddie or Eddie for Randy, and it’s the same thing here with me playing Dime’s stuff.”
He added, “I'm gonna have fun with it, knowing that I am not expecting myself to sound like Dime, and no one else should either, which is how it is when I play with Ozzy [Osbourne] or whatever else.”
Wylde confirmed he’d be using the equipment previously used by Dimebag Darrell, including amplifier heads and cabinets along with effects pedals. “I’ll be using my guitars, effects and pedals, a lot of the pedals that Dime actually gave me, and yeah, I'll definitely be using some of Dime's pedals and stuff, too,” he said. “I'm still working out how it’ll all come together, but I am looking forward to seeing how it all flows once I do.
“Dime’s tech, Grady [Champion], is gonna be coming down, too, which is great. I've got my tech, but it'll be great to have Grady here to help pay tribute to Dime.”
In July, soon after the tribute project was announced, Benante said he’d do all he could to sound exactly like Paul. "I can’t go do this as the drummer from Anthrax, because it would be a different sound completely," he said. "So the way I’m gonna do that is, if you close your eyes, it’s gonna sound like it’s Vinnie, basically."