PHILIP ANSELMO: 'I Said Some Ridiculous Things In The Press Back In The Day'

Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, ARSON ANTHEM, SUPERJOINT RITUAL) is featured on the cover of the December 2010 issue of Decibel magazine (web site). In the accompanying seven-page story, Anselmo states that he hopes to one day reconcile with his former PANTERA bandmate Vinnie Paul Abbott after not speaking to the drummer for several years. "I can't judge the man," Anselmo says. "I won't judge the man. He saw something so motherfucking traumatic [referring to the murder of Vinnie Paul's brother and former PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott, which happened in December 2004 on stage at a club in Columbus, Ohio. — Ed.]. I hope he finds some peace. Real peace — not covered up with booze and titty bars. Because I love Vince. I have a deep, deep affection for him because of what we've accomplished together, so my biggest hopes are that one day, maybe, he'll want to talk."

After Dimebag was murdered, Anselmo swore off interviews for well over a year. "I needed to get the fuck away from everything and get my brain screwed on right before I talked to fucking anyone," he tells Decibel. "I had to digest the murder of my guitar player, and I was not going to do it in the press. I said some ridiculous things in the press back in the day. I admit it. But I put myself in that position, so I'm not gonna blame anyone else. I know that everything I did yesterday is etched in stone, but it doesn't faze me. All I can do is the right thing today."

Anselmo says that he is completely self-aware of his previous performances in the press. "When you look at all those old interviews and I'm slurring when I talk, it ain't heroin you're seein'. It's Soma [a muscle relaxer that works by blocking pain sensations between the nerves and the brain. — Ed.] and it looks worse than heroin a lot of times. But I was still going through the drug-addict phase. 'Oh, I gotta do an interview? Let me take this pill so I can be cool and chilled out,'" he laughs. "I was chilled out, alright. I looked and felt like I got shot in the face with a tranquilizer gun. I looked fuckin' retarded, man."