German rock festivals Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park have cancelled PANTERA’s planned appearance this June following an outcry over vocalist Philip Anselmo's past racist remarks. The reunion of the surviving members -- Anselmo and Rex Brown (bass), alongside touring guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) -- was met with criticism over January 2016 “Dimebash” event at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood, where Anselmo made a Nazi-style salute and appeared to scream “white power”.

Amidst additional scrutiny of the fact that Rock Im Park is set to take place in Nurnberg, where Hitler supporters held a series of Nazi party rallies between 1933 and 1938, the German Green Party called for Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park organizers to cancel PANTERA's appearances. The Green's spokeswoman for the Greens against racism and right-wing extremism, Reka Lorincz, called it “the deliberate misuse of former Nazi premises for the staging and reproduction of racist and inhuman ideologies.”

Foo Fighters have since been announced to fill the slot left by PANTERA, stating they are “see[ing] you Friday, June 2nd at Rock Am Ring and Sunday the June 4th at Rock Im Park.” While Machine Head frontman, Robb Flynn, argued that there was no white wine backstage and that no apology could fix the incident, PANTERA’s Vinnie Paul’s estate has shared their opinion on the reunion, stating that “there can never be a PANTERA reunion without Vinnie and Dime.” Despite this, the band's controversial reunion has come to an end before it began, as fans were left with an unprecedented reaction that left PANTERA without the stage.