This past Sunday, Pantera fans at Knotfest Chile didn’t get to see surviving member Rex Brown take up his duties on the bass, getting Cattle Decapitation bassist Derek Engemann and ex-Down bassist Bobby Landgraf in the spot instead. At the time, organizers announced that Rex Brown was absent due to “health problems,” but local radio station Futuro reported that it was actually because he caught COVID while in Colombia and was already headed back to the States to recover.
Yesterday, official Pantera social media accounts posted an update that not only thanks everyone who’s seen the band play so far, but also gave a quick update on Rex’s condition. According to the post, Rex is doing well and should be able to return to the fold when the band gets things rolling again next year.
“Thanks to all of our fans & everyone at Knotfest Chile for an amazing show. Thanks to Derek Engenmann & Bobby Landgraf for handling bass duties last night.
“A note from Rex: ‘I caught a very mild strain of Covid, but because of our own protocols, I simply do not wanna risk getting my brothers or the crew sick!! I’m feeling better & am on my way to a speedy recovery. Merry Fckn Christmas & see you all next Year!’”
It’s good that he removed himself from the equation entirely, given the fact that COVID can spread fast as hell and completely derail a tour of this magnitude pretty easily. After all, they’ve only got two dates in São Paulo, Brazil left: one on December 15 with Judas Priest and another on December 18 at Knotfest Brasil.
The band’s going to have to be extra careful about COVID measures moving forward, since they’ve got at least two years of tour dates already scheduled with Metallica for the North American shows on the M72 World Tour. That ticket looks like it’s going to be absolutely massive, so it would be a real shame if Pantera couldn’t perform because of carelessness.