Charlie Benante: “The first show with Pantera is going to be kinda nerve-wracking” – 2022 – Mexico City – Hell and Heaven Open Air Festival – PHOTO/VIDEO

Posted by fullinbloom On December 02, 2022 0 Comment

Metal Edge: Charlie Benante on ‘nerve-racking’ first Pantera show: ‘I’m probably gonna need a couple drinks to settle me down.’

You can read the entire interview @ this location. An excerpt from the conversation has been provided below.

Benante will be performing with PANTERA tonight (December 2, 2022) at Mexico City’s Hell & Heaven Open Air Festival.

“The first show with Pantera is going to be kinda nerve-wracking,” Benante says, then laughs. “I’m probably gonna need a couple of drinks to be honest with you, to kinda settle me down. Then once we play with Anthrax it’s probably gonna be, ‘Ahhhhh.’ Kind of comfortable. I need to get that first Pantera show under the belt.”

Asked if he’s looking forward to any performing any particular Pantera tracks, Benante revealed there will be a pair of deep cuts he’s got his eye on.

“I enjoy each one of them,” he says of the set. “When I look down at the list, I’m like, ‘Oh, I like this song,’ that type of thing. There’s two odd songs in there too that I don’t think they played, consistently, throughout [their] sets. Those are the two songs I enjoy playing the most, I think.”

Benante is aware of the criticism floating around social media about relaunching the Pantera name more than two decades since the group played their last show, and all the chatter about it not being a true reunion without Vinnie and Dime.

“First off, it’s not a reunion,” he says. “It’s a celebration of the music. If you saw the thing that went out, it was like, ‘Pantera featuring…’ the four of us. Those two guys are a part of this and who else is there? Vinnie and Dime are not here, so, Philip and Rex, they were that band, too. [They] deserve to be there as much as anybody. I see the negative stuff sometimes, and I’m just like, ‘This is so ridiculous, man.’ Just enjoy hearing those songs again.”

You can read the entire interview @ this location.

Charlie Benante (POST SHOW):

If I say I wasn’t nervous I’d be lying. The excitement, the fear, the emotions, the love and the work that went into doing this all played a part of what was in my head. When I got up there it had all seemed to disappear (except for the cold 50-degree weather, 🥶) I looked at @philiphanselmo @rexbrownofficial and @zakkwyldebls and felt the connection, Bam!!!! New Level started and we were off. I kept looking down at my set list and was getting hyped up for the next song . Thank you #sterlingwinfield for bringing me an old @dimebagdarrell wristband and a pair of @vinniepaul3 old gloves. I wore the wristband and brought the gloves up with me. I had some moments up there like I felt I wasn’t there; I went to some other place. I think I was metal meditating, don’t laugh… I’m serious. Thanks to the @panteraofficial family, thank you to the crew and the amazing fans who have always been so positive about this. Thank you to @carlaharvey and @miacbenante for listening to me play Pantera songs day in and out. I look forward to seeing you all and having a great time playing these songs and reliving the feeling of what a great band they are!

PANTERA SOUNDCHECKS ‘Cowboys from Hell’ @ Hell & Heaven – 2022