Drummer Charlie Benante says that he felt like he “went to some other place” while performing for PANTERA’s first live show in over 20 years
The performance, which took place Friday (December 2) at Mexico’s Hell & Heaven Metal Fest, saw Benante join forces with surviving PANTERA members Rex Brown (bass) and Philip Anselmo (vocals) along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY).
Benante posted to his social media on Saturday night (December 3), sharing a photo of him at the Hell & Heaven Metal Fest gig, which included the following message: “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.
“Thank 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 are set to headline a number of other major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts throughout 2023 and 2024 which includes supporting METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour.
PANTERA is playing one more show in Mexico this month, at the Monterrey Metal Fest on December 6, followed by appearances at three Knotfest festivals in South America.
PANTERA 2022 and 2023 tour dates thus far:
Dec 06: Monterrey Metal Fest, Mexico
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
June15: 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 +
2024 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
View this post on Instagram