PHILIP ANSELMO Shares Picture Of Lit Candle Following VINNIE PAUL's Death

Ex-PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo has posted a picture of a lit candle in the dark, apparently in response to the passing of his former bandmate, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott.

Anselmo has yet to publicly comment on Vinnie Paul‘s death. The 54-year-old drummer died on Friday, June 22 at his home in Las Vegas.

Vinnie Paul and his brother “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Up until his death, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo.

Vinnie and Anselmo‘s relationship got more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag‘s death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag‘s killer.

Vinnie Paul has consistently shot down persistent calls for a PANTERA reunion with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) filling in for Dimebag on guitar, telling Metal Hammer: “I’m not interested because there’s no Dime, and, to me, if there’s no Dime, there’s no PANTERA. That’s my reason. It’s behind me. I’ve moved on. I play in a band called HELLYEAH and I really love doing it. I’m looking forward to moving forward; I don’t wanna live in the past.”

Back in October 2016, Vinnie Paul said in an interview that it was “sad” to see Anselmo doing “a lot of things” that have tarnished PANTERA‘s image in the decade and a half since the band’s split.