Ola Englund was “on the list” to play guitar for Pantera tribute tour
“Even if I would have been on the bottom of the list, doesn’t matter. It’s unbelievable to me. Tell that to 15-year-old Ola.”
Image credits: Scott Dudelson and Miikka Skaffari / Getty
Ola Englund has revealed he was listed as a potential guitarist to play on the ongoing Pantera tribute tour.
The current live line up now consists of Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown accompanied by Charlie Benante (Anthrax) and Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), who fill in for Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell, respectively.
In a new vlog, Englund shared how he spoke with Anselmo at a recent Pantera show, and revealed that the frontman told him he had been in the running for the job, before Wylde was chosen.
“He told me I was a great guitar player,” Englund says in the video, “and he said something that I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life. He said that my name was on the list when they started talking about this Pantera tribute thing. My name was on the list? Wow.”
He continues, “Obviously there are so many better alternatives but just knowing that I was considered, like even if I would have been on the bottom of the list [it] doesn’t matter. It’s unbelievable to me. Tell that to 15-year-old Ola. It doesn’t make any sense.”
As the band began planning to head out on tour last year, Wylde said he felt the presence of the two late brothers, and even felt that Dimebag Darrell was “willing” the tour to happen.
In an interview for the print issue of Guitar World magazine back in May, Wylde said he felt that they were around “all the time”. He explained, “It’s so crazy because when we started talking about doing this thing, there would be constant reminders about it wherever I went. I told Barb [Wylde’s wife], ‘Dime is willing this thing to happen. He wants this to happen.’”
Last month, Zakk Wylde debuted a Dimebag Darrell-inspired Wylde Audio Warhammer electric guitar onstage with Pantera. The lightning bolt-finished axe – inspired by Dimebag’s iconic Dean from Hell model – even contained clues that pointed to a future production run, though whether that will happen remains to be seen…
Get tickets to see Pantera on tour via their official website.