A Pantera book exists and it is the authorised one. Ross Halfin has had unrestricted access to the band across the last few years, on tour, backstage and on days off, and Rufus Publications are shipping the result now.
The numbers tell you who it is for. A3 portrait format, more than three hundred pages, a diamond plate embossed slipcase, and 666 numbered copies, each hand signed by Philip Anselmo, Rex Brown, Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. That is a run small enough to be gone before most people hear about it, which is the arithmetic of the photographic book trade rather than of the record industry.
What makes it more than merchandise is the archive. Halfin has been photographing this band since long before the reunion, so the book puts the current four piece next to images of Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul from the years when the band was theirs. Any honest book about this band has to hold both of those things in the same pages.
The four of them talk about it in a film released with the announcement, which is also the first time they have spoken at length about what the touring version of this band is for.