Zakk Wylde used online tutorials to learn Pantera songs
Guitarist Zakk Wylde has admitted that when preparing for his upcoming tour with Pantera, he used online tutorials in order to learn the parts of the band’s late guitarist, Dimebag Darrell, who was murdered on stage in 2004. Wylde, who is primarily known as the frontman of Black Label Society, was announced as Pantera’s new guitarist in July this year.
Notably, Pantera called it a day in 2018 after the death of Darrell’s brother and drummer Vinnie Paul but announced their return this summer with a new-look lineup. Joining the surviving members of the groove metal act – bassist Rex Brown and frontman Phil Anselmo – are Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.
Now, when discussing his preparation for their tour, which starts in Mexico in December, Wylde has revealed that he’s learnt some of Dimebag’s songs by watching tutorials online.
When appearing on guitarist Ola Englund’s series, Sunday With Ola, Wylde said that whenever he was “stumped” on a riff, he “would just [search], ‘how to play’, and I’d go on to YouTube and just see all these other amazing players playing the stuff.”
He also said that Anselmo has already given him the setlist, explaining that he’s been preparing the songs using the guitars that Dimebag had gifted him. Elsewhere, Wylde discussed the Pantera classics that he has been preparing, such as ‘Walk’, ‘Cowboy From Hell’ and ‘Goddamn Electric’. He also revealed that he’d been in talks to join the group for years and agreed to join the band to “honour Dime”.
Interestingly, in an interview with Guitar World in October, Wylde explained that although he intends to “be as faithful to what Dime did as possible”, fans shouldn’t expect him to deliver a complete copy of his style. “No matter what I do, it’s going to sound like me,” he said. “I can practice all I want and stay as faithful as I want, but I am never going to escape that.”
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