Early Pantera Singer Shares Honest Opinion on Current Lineup, Recalls Reaction to Dimebag Darrell’s Passing

Recently, Pantera’s original member Terry Glaze sat down with Eon Music to discuss his work and career. To those who might not be familiar, Terry was the original rhythm guitarist of Pantera, taking over vocal duties for the 1983 debut album “Metal Magic,” as well as two other albums of the band’s overlooked glam metal era. During the interview, Glaze was asked to weigh in on Pantera’s current lineup that’s touring, featuring Zakk Wylde on guitar and Charlie Benante on drums. He said:

“I just feel kind of the same way I feel about Van Halen; I love Van Halen. I love Eddie [Van Halen]. I love [Dimebag] Darrell. You know, that’s how I feel about it. It would be difficult for me to think that that was Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen, and Alex [Van Halen] is still alive. Imagine if Eddie and Alex are gone, and then it was Van Halen; it’s just hard for us old people.”

“But you know, man, more power to everybody to get to celebrate the music, and get together and have fellowship, I especially think about all the young people who never got to see them; now they get to finally go out and celebrate those songs.“

“That means so much to them, and that music means so much to a lot of people around the whole planet. So more power to them to celebrate music. Anything that gets people out, live together for rock and roll, that’s a good thing.”

Although he left the band due to creative differences, Terry Glaze still kept some occasional contact with Pantera members. Elsewhere in the interview, Glaze was also asked about Dimebag Darrell’s tragic death in 2004 and what he remembers about it. He replied:

“One of our best friends, Buddy Blaze [Webster], called me in the middle of the night and told me, and you know, just a void and hole in your stomach developed immediately.”

“I was at the service in Arlington, and the show thing that night, and you know, it didn’t feel real to me until the next day when I went back to the cemetery and I saw the dirt.”

“That was when it felt real, the finality of it. You know, my grandparents are buried in that same cemetery; my father-in-law’s right over there; my grandma’s right here; Vince and Darrell are right there.”

“So every time I go back to Arlington, I try and stop by and pay respects, and see family and reconnect. So it’s very personal.”

The early glam metal Pantera material was largely overlooked. This also goes for a somewhat thrashier and heavier “Power Metal” album that features Phil Anselmo on vocals. Nonetheless, the band took a completely different direction and ended up releasing “Cowboys From Hell” which is considered to be one of the most impactful metal records.

With that said, classic Pantera saw this as a new beginning and none of the early material was ever given any attention. As for Glaze, he kept things glam metal-oriented and continued working with other bands.

During the same interview, Glaze was asked to share some info about his current projects. He said:

“Well, a lot of different things. I live on the east coast, and when COVID hit and all the tours got shut down we all got stuck in the house and most of us got depressed. Eventually, I started reaching out to my heroes to see if they would play and remotely record on some of my songs, and crazily, some of them have.“

“So for the last two years, I’ve been recording here and there, tracks go to other parts of the planet, and then they come back. And I’ve been collecting original music.”

He also added:

“One of my bands is called Raised by Gods. It’s a duo with my one of my best friends, Mike Harrington, and he’s on the West Coast, and we’re a rock and roll duo. We’ve done two albums, and we just finished a new song.”

“Both our daughters went through cancer recently, and we tried to write an inspiration fight song. And it doesn’t have to be just about cancer, but we have a new song coming out, called ‘Toughest Motherfucker’. That’s ready to go, and hopefully we’ll get that out sometime soon.”

“I also have a new project called Evel Frehley. The name came from half Evel Kinevel and Ace Frehley; two things that we love! That started just before COVID, and we’ve finished those. We’ve got five singles out over the last year doing that, and they’re available any place you stream or buy; iTunes, it’s everywhere.”

Photos: Rik Goldman (Dimebag Darrell with Pantera)