Anselmo was recently interviewed for the 200th issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, which coincided with the five-year anniversary of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN) passing. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal Hammer: How do you regard the music of PANTERA now? Does it overshadow the music of DOWN?
Anselmo: Well, listen... It should! I can finally put it this way. About four years ago, five years ago, six years ago, I sat and listened to every CD back to back and I could finally listen as an outsider would listen, as a fan would listen, and it was a tremendous experience, and I could finally understand. You know, when you're in a band... and me personally, on stage, I'm at war. That's where I get all my aggressions out, on that stage, so especially back in the PANTERA days, when you're in a band, you can't really judge your own music until you step away from it as long as I did. It's a fucking tremendous experience to hear and I love it.
Metal Hammer: How does it make you feel to hear PANTERA in the music of today?
Anselmo: It's very flattering and I understand completely because that's how it goes, you know?! That's how that ball bounces. If it wasn't for bands like JUDAS PRIEST, METALLICA, EXODUS... We had so many influences amongst us that, if it weren't for certain bands and certain times, time periods of your life, you know, PANTERA would not have existed, so I think it's just part of the process, part of the cycle, and more power to the bands, man, and much love to them.
Metal Hammer: Would you consider a reunion show... perhaps with Zakk Wylde standing in?
Anselmo: Never.
Metal Hammer: Can't be done?
Anselmo: No. Won't be done.
Metal Hammer: Do you write songs in DOWN or your other side projects and wonder how Dime might have done it?
Anselmo: No, but I do... What I've taken from Darrell is a commitment to excellence, because when he was in the studio, he would play his heart and soul out and if it took him 10 hours to get the point across, he would. Now we were all tireless workers, but really, Dimebag in the studio, to watch, was something extra special, so I make sure, or desperately attempt to make sure everything that I do, musically and physically... Sometimes I think about him, quite often actually, during these times, and I think, "God, would Dimebag accept this?" whether it be a guitar lick or a push-up, you know? Would Dimebag say, "Hey, was that 100 percent?" Would he say, "Come on, you can do better!" Or would he say, "That's awesome, man!"
Metal Hammer: If you had five minutes with Dimebag, what would you say?
Anselmo: "I love you. I love you. I love you." And I'd tell him I had back surgery. I'd tell him, "While you're here, let's write a song! I'll drink a beer with you even, and let's write a song... and if you can stick around a little longer, let's do a record, man... let's do a tour."
Metal Hammer: What is your favorite memory of him?
Anselmo: Oh, man, that's impossible to pick one, but one of my favorite things about Dimebag was he could turn nothing into something, always. We could be in Bumfuck, anywhere, in the middle of... Bumfuck... somehow, just sitting around, some fucking dramatic, drunken fuckin' fracas, all at the imagination of Dimebag, and once his imagination started things off, then mine would kick in and everybody would pitch their two cents in and we'd have a game with its own name. There's so many different ones, too. Throwing beer bottles and hitting street signs for money or shots... most of the time it was for drinking, everything was for drinking, but either way, Dimebag could turn shit into gold. His creativity... I adored his creativity, and he was also a very, very strong person. I guess we were very similar. Our feelings were deep. Our feelings run deep and he had those clear, piercing blue eyes, unlike anyone I had ever met. He was an intense motherfucker, just to look at, and really... those things stick out. His laugh, his unique laugh, his sense of humor. Standing next to him on a stage, I miss that a lot, I tell you that. Those are definitely some of the things...
