In a brand new interview with Randy "Rocket" Cody of The Metal Den, Philip Anselmo was asked about a recent claim by John Reese, the producer behind the annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, that Reese has approached the three surviving members of PANTERA about resurrecting the band for an appearance at the event. "Well, if it is true, then they are not the only ones," Anselmo responded. "We've been approached a bunch of times. But the truth is the wind only blows one way one time." He continued: "You know, the truth of the whole matter is I have moved on. And I move forward. And I think Vinnie Paul [Abbott, former PANTERA drummer] has done the same thing. And I think Rex [Brown, former PANTERA bassist] has moved in his own direction." Anselmo added: "We could talk all in circles all day, but the truth of the matter is that if you don't have the willingness of the remaining living members, then it's not there. "We had plenty of offers. But Vince is doing what he wants to do, and all we can do is respect that." After Cody told Anselmo that he would love nothing more than to see the three surviving members of PANTERA share the stage together again, the singer replied: "You are part of a large contingency that feels that way, and I respect the fuck out of that. And I'll tell you what: I would do it in a fucking heartbeat. If everybody was on board, I would do it in a fucking hearbeat. Because I think with the added truth that
it would be in honor of our fallen brother Dimebag [late PANTERA guitarist Darrell Abbott]
That would motivate me to do it absolutely a hundred percent for no other reason other than you and the contingency of people
who want to see it. Or the whole generation or two that missed out on it. I get all of that. I get all sides of it. So count me in, Jack!" Anselmo added: "Believe me, if the phone call came tomorrow, I'd be the first one doing pushups!" Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie Paul Abbott and Philip Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004. Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer. Vinnie, who has played in HELLYEAH for the past decade, has steadfastly refused to even consider "reuniting" PANTERA with anyone else filling in on guitar, telling Brazil's "Wikimetal": "The bottom is they call it a reunion, and that means to bring the original members back, and we can't bring Dime back, and he was such a huge part of PANTERA. I don't wanna damage or tarnish the legacy of him or the band. We had 14 amazing years together and it's time for everybody to move on. And I have definitely moved on in my life. I don't live in the past. I like to live for today and what's coming up tomorrow, and I love what we're doing with HELLYEAH. And that's my focus and that's my goal, man."
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