Metal Wani's Jessie David recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN and SUPERJOINT frontman Philip Anselmo. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the possibility of a hypothetical PANTERA reunion with Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) or Kerry King (SLAYER) filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar: Philip: "To me, the most important factor in all of this hoopla are the fans — the fans, hands down. The band doesn't choose the audience — it's the other way around. So we're working hand in hand here. Whatever the fans really want, I guess, would be my answer to the whole thing. And I'm sure that it's a flip of the coin, depending on the fan. If it's something that they wanted desperately, then it's something that… sure, I would do it, but it would be for the fans, man. Everybody has their opinion, so it makes it really, really tough for me to gauge the importance of doing something of that magnitude. Because, yes, it would be a big deal — it would be big, man. It would be emotionally big, is what I'm getting at. I'm not talking about the size of shows, I'm not talking about the impact or anything like that, I'm talking about actually going out on that stage with the band name, the backdrop just giant reading 'PANTERA' and not seeing my brother Dimebag across from me on that stage, it would be absolutely… it seems invalid to me right now. I'm not seeing it. I'll admit it — I'm straight-up torn; I'm confused on the topic." On whether he would ever consider performing alongside the other surviving PANTERA members and a hologram of Dimebag: Philip: "You know, it would have to be right. I think everybody's heart would have to be in the right place, and I'm talking about the guys in the band. And it would have to be done right. There's no way we could skimp on something like that. I mean, if we were gonna do a hologram of Dimebag, it would have to be flawless and it would have to be perfect, just like he was every fucking night, man. No matter how piss-ass drunk he would be, once that guitar was in his hand, he was a machine, man. So it would have to be perfect." On his 2018 touring plans: Philip: "We'll do some shows. I've gotta say it, man… I've got one more, and I wanna say 'minor,' but I guess there's no such thing as minor back surgery. But I've got one more tiny procedure to do, and I'm kind of on a waiting list for right now. But I am getting in to see my surgeon next week, so hopefully we can speed this process up. Because, honestly, it's non-invasive, it's an outpatient-type thing, and if they clean up this one little spot, I'll be feeling like a million bucks; it'll make a better me. So right now we're kind of waiting on that to happen before we commit to anything definite. So I've got little obstacle in front of me, but that always makes me feel, I guess, more traveled and stronger at the end of the day. So, hey, everything happens for a reason." Dimebag was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with his and brother Vinnie's post-PANTERA act DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004. Philip's solo project, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, will release its sophomore album, "Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue", on January 26 via Anselmo's Housecore Records in the U.S. and Season Of Mist in other parts of the world. The disc is the follow-up to PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS' debut, "Walk Through Exits Only", which came out in 2013 to mostly positive reviews.
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