Bassist Rex Brown (KILL DEVIL HILL, ex-PANTERA) recently spoke with Metal Mark at SkullsNBones.com about his new memoir, Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

MM: For starters, you were always considered the “quiet” member of Pantera, and you really hold nothing back in the new book. Was it challenging or weird for you to let people in more than you ever have before?

Brown: "It was more cathartic for me than anything else. It was a lot harder than I expected, but I think it turned out great. Writing a book ain’t easy man (laughs). Trying to get all those words in, all the stories in, and everything else in 320 pages was really difficult. It could have been over 900 pages, but we made sure it wasn’t ya know. As for it being weird, I would never say it was weird, because I had a story to tell."

MM: For me as a Pantera fan, reading about where you were the moment you heard about Dime and the days after, it was tough to get through. How hard was it for you to go back to those memories and sort of relive them for this book?

Brown: "Bro, the word cathartic just keeps coming up for me. Having to rewrite this thing so many times, it was good, but at times it was really sad. I really wanted to put my experience out there, because I’ve heard so many others, so now people know my experience with hearing the news as well. It’s still devastating to think about, but I think we all feel that way. It was definitely tough though man, I won’t lie."

MM: As you mention Dime, the parts in the book about all of you growing up together is really an awesome read. From the classrooms to the jam sessions, it’s really cool to learn. Of course no one could have imagined how huge Pantera would become, but it seemed right from the beginning that you knew that this was going to be something good.

Brown: "Yes and no. We were four completely different individuals, even in the beginning, but we had that drive to be the best we possibly could. We just went through a crazy ride that took us to the top and it was unreal at times. It wasn’t always good and fun, but in the end, you mention Pantera and the amount of respect that name brings is something I’m sure we are all super proud of still to this day."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera, published by Da Capo Press, will be released on Tuesday, March 12th. On Thursday, March 14 at 6 PM Rex will sign copies of the new book at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ. Head here for details.

The following promotional trailer for the book was recently released:

Few heavy metal acts survived the turmoil of the early 1990s music scene. Pantera was different. Instead of humoring the market, the band instead demanded that the audience come to them by releasing a series of fiercely uncompromising, platinum albums, including Vulgar Display Of Power and Far Beyond Driven—two #1 albums that, like METALLICA’s And Justice For All, sold millions of copies despite minimal airplay.

Rex Brown’s memoir is the definitive account of life inside one of rock’s biggest bands, which succeeded against all odds but ultimately ended in tragedy when iconic lead guitarist Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott was murdered mid-performance by a deranged fan.

This is a lucid account of the previously untold story behind one of the most influential bands in heavy metal history, written by the man best qualified to tell the truth about those incredible and often difficult years of fame and excess.