Vinnie Paul (Pantera, Damageplan, Hell Yeah) contributed to the hardcover photo book, Van Halen: A Visual History 1978-1984, by Neil Zlozower.
The Van Halen News Desk has the exclusive on his story:
“Van Halen was and still is my favorite band of all time. Me and my brother always modeled ourselves after them. They were without a doubt our biggest influence. We had so much in common with them it’s unbelievable. The first time I met Eddie Van Halen we just hit it off. We had been talking for a brief time and he looked over at me and said, “I’ve only been talkin’ to you for fifteen minutes and we have so much in common I feel like I’ve known you a lifetime.” I laughed and just said, “You don’t know how much we have in common.” I always felt like Pantera was the heavy metal version of Van Halen. Without Van Halen, music would have never had charisma!”
— Vinnie Paul
And he loves their new album, too. “My favorite new record is ‘A Different Kind of Truth‘ from Van Halen. I feel like I’m in high school again when I pop it on [laughs]. It just has that energy and vibe of their classic records.”