Zakk Wylde has revealed that he's using YouTube tutorials to learn his guitar parts for the upcoming Pantera shows.The revered axman is preparing to perform with the newly re-formed metal titans — now comprised of core members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown, plus new recruits/old friends Wylde and Charlie Benante — by watching other players run through Dimebag Darrell's legendary riffs on YouTube.
Last month, Wylde hinted that he still hadn't learned many of the tracks he's expected to play at Pantera's first shows in over 20 years, which kick off this coming December and will stretch into 2023. In a recent interview with YouTuber Ola Englund — who happens to post guitar tutorials on his channel — Wylde not only opened up about his humble method of learning the riffs, but also revealed many of the songs that Pantera fans will likely hear at these upcoming shows.
"To me, it's just like learning Randy's [Rhoads] stuff [to play with Ozzy Osbourne], whether we're doing 'Mr. Crowley' or 'I Don't Know' or anything," Wylde said of learning the parts, as transcribed by Blabbermouth."To me, it's fun.
"But whether we're playing 'Goddamn Electric', that solo's beyond … I mean, all the solos are blazing; they're all awesome. It's gonna be fun when you're playing 'Walk,' and stuff like that, or 'Cowboys From Hell' or anything like that. Some of the other ones that we've got on there like… I mean, 'A New Level' and stuff like that — those are all cool.
"I think I may have gone on your web site, just to see 'Becoming,' watching you play. Any of these things that I got stumped on, I was, like, 'What the hell was that?' I would just go, 'How to play…' and I'd go on to YouTube and just see all these other amazing players playing the stuff.
"For me, that's the whole thing, too — playing it with the record is one thing, but then you take the record away and it's, like, 'All right. Play it for me.' It's a guideline. It's like cover by numbers; you know where you're going. Or taking the GPS off your car. It's, like, 'All right, do you remember how to get back down to Hollywood?' You're, like, 'Zakk, I have no idea. I was following the GPS the whole time.'"
So for those in the back, it seems like Pantera are dusting off "Goddamn Electric," "Walk," "Cowboys from Hell," "A New Level" and "Becoming" for these upcoming shows. That's what we like to hear.
