Ex-PANTERA Singer PHILIP ANSELMO: VINNIE PAUL Is A 'Crybaby'

Ex-PANTERA/current SUPERJOINT RITUAL singer Philip Anselmo has slammed his former bandmates over their suggestion that his alleged substance abuse and alcohol problem have affected his performance to such a degree that he is now "much less than subpar at what he does" than he used to be during PANTERA's heyday.

Speaking to Revolver magazine for its February 2004 issue, ex-PANTERA/current DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul said of Anselmo, "[In the years that followed Phil's 1996 drug overdose] he was very private about [the fact that he was using drugs again]. I don't know if he was using the whole time or what, but it got to the point where I didn't know which Phil was gonna show up to the gig. One night he would walk in and be a fucking animal. The next night, I'd walk backstage and he'd be lying in the corner and he'd say he was tired. I will never take anything away from that dude from when he was at the top of his game, but where he's at right now, I think he's much less than subpar at what he does. I have a hard time watching him when I see him on MTV talking about SUPERDOPE RITUAL, or whatever they're called, and he can't keep his fucking eyes open."

Asked by SMNnews.com to comment on Vinnie Paul's statement, Philip said, "I just hear a big and sad yellowbelly crybaby fuckin' knowing that his meal ticket is in a different fuckin' band, and… [long pause] You would have to know those fellows to really understand where I was coming from — they're scared of their own fuckin' shadow. And, all that said, I wish them the best of fuckin' luck. I still love 'em.

"For Vinnie Paul's information and anybody else who would like to know, I've been fuckin' stone-cold sober for fuckin' two years — I feel like a fuckin' boy scout, for God's sake," he continued. "And fuckin', you know… I can have a couple of beers, let's get it straight.

"There was another thing brought up in that interview where Vinnie Paul said that he knows how to stop drinking, you know, and they can control themselves. And magically [ex-PANTERA guitarist] Diamond Darrell didn't answer a fuckin' thing. You know why that is? Because his fuckin' friends have to carry him fuckin' home every goddamn night — every night on tour, he gets carried to the fuckin' bus. Now, you tell me — me fucking up one time in my life compared to his fuckin' three thousand and seven. Give me a fuckin' break, man!"