Pantera’s Rex Brown: “Slayer was the band we were always scared of.”

Pantera bassist Rex Brown says following Slayer on the Reinventing the Steel tour in 2001 was a daunting task.

Brown recalls how Pantera’s stage show had become much more elaborate on that tour, but that even endless pyrotechnics couldn’t ease the fear brought on by having to perform after Slayer.

Brown tells Gibson TV: “You don’t go on after a band like Slayer, Jack, anytime. You better be on top of your game. That was the band we were always scared of — always.

“We had our whole new stage setup. Fire shooting out of fucking everything — we told ourselves we’d never do that. But Vinnie wanted it and there you go. Every night you had to be in the right spot. If you missed your point, you were fucking blown up, literally.”

Brown adds that Reinventing the Steel never got the love it deserved, mainly due to unfortunate timing.

He says: “I couldn’t listen to it for a long time, because that was the last thing we did. So it was rough. Going back and listening to that record man, God damn…it’s a sledgehammer man. Some people call it our weakest record. I disagree, I put it up there with Vulgar any day.

“When that record came out it was the start of all these nu metal bands coming on the scene. Sometimes it’s all about timing. Did it come out at the right time? Did it get the push it needed? I think this one didn’t get a fair shake.”

The interview with Gibson TV was recorded before Pantera reformed this year, with Zakk Wylde on guitar in place of the late Dimebag Darrell and Charlie Benante on drums for the late Vinnie Paul.

Brown also touches on Pantera’s eventual split, after the 9/11 terror attacks cut short the Reinventing the Steel tour.

Pantera are currently on the road, with dates lined up through 2023 and into 2024.

Pantera 2022 and 2023 live dates

Dec 09: Bogotá Knotfest, Columbia
Dec 11: Santiago Knotfest, Chile
Dec 12: Santiago Movistar Arena, Chile*
Dec 15: Sao Paulo Vibra, Brazil#
Dec 18: São Paulo Knotfest, Brazil
May 26: Sofia Armeets Arena, Bulgaria
May 27: Bucharest, Metalhead Meeting Open Air Festival, Romania
May 30:  Budapest Barba Negra, Hungary
May 31: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Jun 2-4: Nürburgring Rock Am Ring, Germany
Jun 2-4: Nürnberg Rock Im Park, Germany
June 06: Lodz Atlas Arena, Poland
June 8-10: Rock Fest Hyvinkaa, Finland
June 10: Sweden Rock Festival, Sweden
June 12: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
June 13: Berlin Verti Music Hall, Germany
June 15: Copenhagen Copenhell, Denmark
June 21: Hamburg Edel Optics, Germany
Jun 22-24: Oslo Tons Of Rock, Norway
Aug 04, 2023: East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium, USA +
Aug 11, 2023: Montreal Stade Olympique, CAN +
Aug 18, 2023: Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium, USA +
Aug 25, 2023: Inglewood, CA SoFi Stadium, USA +
Sep 01, 2023: Glendale, AZ State Farm Stadium, USA +
Nov 03, 2023: St. Louis, MO – The Dome at America’s Center, USA +
Nov 10, 2023: Detroit, MI Ford Field, USA +

* Headline show
# with Judas Priest
+ with Metallica

Pantera 2024 live dates

Aug 02, 2024: Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium, USA +
Aug 09, 2024: Chicago, IL Soldier Field, USA +
Aug 16, 2024: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, USA +
Aug 23. 2024: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, CAN  +
Aug 30, 2024: Seattle, WA Lumen Field, USA +

+ with Metallica

Source: loudersound.com