Former PANTERA guitarist Dimebag Darrell recently spoke to the U.K.'s Rock Sound magazine about the current status of the band that is widely considered to be one of the most influential American metal acts of the '90s.

When asked point-blank if PANTERA is officially over, Dimebag said, "Oh yeah, it's been officially over since our lead singer [Philip Anselmo] started announcing it from stages across the United States." Dimebag went on to explain that "[Anselmo] threatened it before but when he started announcing it in the press and from onstage, that was when it became official. He never had the decency to talk to us about it. Nobody would return our calls so me and [PANTERA drummer] Vinnie [Paul] just sat at home not knowing what the fuck was going on."

Despite all the obvious bad blood, Dimebag admited "we're not ashamed of a fuckin' thing we've done. It was a great ride and we wanted it to last forever. It didn't but we're back with [our new band] DAMAGEPLAN and we're ready to kick some muthafuckin' dick!"

DAMAGEPLAN, which features Darrell, Vinnie, singer Patrick Lachman (former HALFORD/DIESEL MACHINE guitarist) and bassist Bobzilla, will release their debut album, "New Found Power", on February 10 through Elektra Records. The group expect to begin playing select shows in January, with a full-scale North American tour to follow shortly after the album's release.

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Pantera