Pantera split fight wasn’t necessary says Rex Brown

rex brown

The public exchange of insults that led up to Pantera splitting in 2003 wasn’t necessary, says bassist Rex Brown.

And he’s recalled how he tried to keep out of the fight but wound up attempting to play the peacemaker as relations between frontman Phil Anselmo and drummer Vinnie Paul disintegrated.

The murder of guitarist Dimebag in 2004 put an end to any chance of a reunion, and the bad feeling between Anselmo and Paul remains unresolved.

Brown tells Loudwire: “There’s a bunch of stuff that went back and forth between Vinnie and Philip in the press, and I wasn’t very thrilled with it.

“At the time I didn’t feel that was necessary. We could have taken care of those problems, like we always have.

“At that point we needed to take a serious break. We’d been going for 12 years straight. I was caught in the middle and I didn’t like the way it went down.

“It was a rough time, man. It really was.”

He points out that Anselmo had stopped taking calls from anyone, and he wasn’t singling out members of the Pantera organisation for special treatment.

But the bassist did what he could to persuade the singer to speak to brothers Paul and Dimebag. “I did talk to him and I had him call them,” says Brown. “I think they talked. I wasn’t privy to it at the time.”

And he reiterates that the split could have been avoided: “We busted ass for five years before we even got our foot in the door. I certainly needed a break. I think we all definitely needed a break.”

Brown is planning to release his debut solo album next year.

Pantera’s Rex Brown: “A reunion? Ain’t happening in the near future”

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.