Dimebag Wanted To Reform Pantera A Month Before His Death

Dimebag Darrell wanted to "go back to Pantera" according to his friend and band videographer Daryl ‘Bobby Tongs’ Arnberger.

In an interview with the Landry.audio podcast, Daryl – who worked with both Pantera and Damageplan – revealed that he had chatted to Dime less than a month before he died, and was willing to do anything to get his former brothers in arms back together.

"The last time I saw him was in November of 2004… I went over to his house," said Daryl. "I was just talking to him briefly about everything. He was, like, 'We're gonna go out and do this [Damageplan] tour through December, and I'll see you for Christmas and everything. After that, we're gonna have some new shit going on. And it's not gonna be this. Whatever it takes, we're gonna get these guys back together and do it right.’

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“He was saying he was gonna do everything he could. He was pretty much done with what they [Damageplan] were doing at that point. He wanted to move on and go back to Pantera."

Pantera split up in 2003 under a cloud of anger and bitterness between, leaving brothers Dimebag and Vinnie Paul to form Damageplan.

"He didn't think the other guys were as into it," adds Daryl. "He obviously didn't feel the magic as much as he did with the other two guys [Phil Anslemo and Rex Brown].”

Dimebag was tragically murdered onstage while playing with Damageplan in 2004. Until Vinnie Paul's death in 2018, there had been rumours of a Pantera reunion with guest guitarists filling in for Dimebag. Frontman Phil Anselmo is currently touring a Vulgar Display Of Pantera tribute show with The Illegals, including a stop at Bloodstock festival this summer.

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