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Zakk Wylde debuts Dimebag Darrell-inspired Wylde Audio Warhammer onstage with Pantera

The lightning bolt-finished axe is inspired by Dimebag’s iconic Dean From Hell model – and clues point to a production run in the future…

Zakk Wylde playing guitar onstage

Credit: Zakk Wylde/Instagram

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Zakk Wylde has unveiled a lightning bolt-finished Wylde Audio Warhammer electric guitar onstage with Pantera, in a clear tribute to the band’s late guitarist Dimebag Darrell.

In photos and footage captured at the band’s recent European tour dates, the Black Label Society leader and Pantera axeman-for-hire is seen wielding a freshly finished Warhammer, a model made by his guitar company, Wylde Audio.

The guitar – which looks like the offspring of a V and an SG – is coated in a striking lightning bolt-themed finish reminiscent of the Dean from Hell, a guitar Dimebag Darrell used extensively during his time with Pantera.

It’s hard to decipher details of the guitar from Wylde’s onstage usage, but luckily the guitarist shared an Instagram post before the tour, with a closer-up video of the axe.

As you can see below, the guitar is loaded with a pair of EMGs – an 81 and an 85 – Grover tuners and a Floyd Rose locking trem, while the back of its headstock sports a silhouette of Dimebag Darrell, and a serial number.

Why is the serial number important, you ask? Well, as Guitar World astutely points out, a serial number of this length – WA16020375 – is highly unlikely to appear on a custom-built guitar, suggesting a production run of this model could be on the horizon.

It’s important to stress that this is purely speculation at this time; neither Wylde Audio, its parent brand Schecter, or Wylde himself have made any mention of a production run of the guitar. But we’ll keep an eye on further developments and bring them to you as they come.

For those not caught up, Zakk Wylde is currently touring with the reformed Pantera, alongside frontman Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown and drummer Charlie Benante.

Last month, Zakk Wylde shared how he felt Dimebag Darrell was with him in spirit as he began to help organise the Pantera reunion tour.

“It’s so crazy because when we started talking about doing this thing, there would be constant reminders about it wherever I went,” he told Guitar World. “I told Barb [Wylde’s wife], ‘Dime is willing this thing to happen. He wants this to happen.’”

He continued: “I’d just get constant reminders of him all the time, whether it was a picture or something on my phone, or I’d be driving and I’d see a Pantera license plate or a ‘333’ somewhere – that was Dime’s lucky number. I was literally going, ‘He’s watching and he’s here with me.’”

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