What Was Dimebag Darrell’s Favorite Guitar Solo?

Pantera made an addition to their setlist during their most recent tour, a song that features the late Dimebag Darrell’s favorite guitar solo.

What Was Dimebag Darrell’s Favorite Guitar Solo?

Longtime Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, who has been playing with the current iteration of Pantera since 2022, recently walked Drumeo host Brandon Toews through the band’s setlist ahead of their most recent show at Madison Square Garden.

“We introduced a new song to the set called ‘Floods,’ which is off their Trendkill record,” Benante said. “It was Darrell’s favorite guitar solo that he did in the history of Pantera.”

“Floods,” the ninth track off 1996’s The Great Southern Trendkill, is a sprawling 7-minute song. At about the halfway point, Dimebag launches into a soaring guitar solo.

After a little more than a minute of absolute shredding, the solo slams into Phil Anselmo repeating the words “die, die, die.” The soaring guitar sound transforms into a thundering crunch leading into the song’s outro.

According to Setlist.fm, Pantera last played “Floods” during a show in Perth, Australia in 2001 before it was added back to the setlist for a stop in Sunrise, Florida on Feb. 3. The website says it has appeared on the setlist 57 times with 18 of those being on the band’s most recent tour.

What You Can Expect From Pantera’s Final Song Each Night

Benante also provided insight into how Pantera puts together its setlist. Most recently, shows have kicked off with “A New Level,” the second track off Vulgar Display of Power.

From there, Benante says they go “in and out” between the different albums and tempos before getting to a faster portion of the setlist. But don’t expect Pantera to let up before the end of the night.

READ MORE: Ticket Stub From Dimebag Darrell’s Final Show Selling For $15K

“When we get to the encore, we usually close with a powerful fast song just to leave the audience going ‘fuck yeah,'” Benante said.

Pantera are next scheduled to play the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Ohio on May 18. After a couple festival dates, they’ll return to opening for Metallica Aug. 2 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.