Pantera have had a variety of different incarnations, and in some ways this might be said to be the third proper incarnation. It’s perhaps surprising to some people to discover that a band as heavy as Pantera started out as a glam rock band in 1981, and that the evolution into something far heavier, would take most of the 1980s to take place. The second full era started with 1990’s Cowboys From Hell album, which was their fifth. Over the next decade, they became hugely successful, but as inevitably happens, tensions arose, and the band split in 2003. Tragically, the next year, guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot on stage by a crazed fan, and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul would die of dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease in 2018. Since 2022, singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown have been touring again as Pantera, this time joined by metal legend Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benate, best known as the drummer for Anthrax.
While there may be no new album to tour as yet, there’s no doubt that this new line-up are firing on all performing cylinders. Anselmo asks the crowd when they last played Scotland, and the consensus seems to be around the time of Far Beyond Driven, which would put it at at least thirty years. Intriguingly, a substantial portion of the audience were not even born then; there’s some kids who look like they might still be in primary school. My own son and his mate are in their early teens, and Anselmo praises us on our parenting for bringing them out.
Pantera have had their issues personally and as a band over the years, but as far as we can tell up here in the gods, that all appears to have been put behind them. Anselmo may be the youngest member of the group at 56, but they certainly do not lack for energy, and they play as a unit. Wylde and Benate would seem to be exactly the right folk for the group, but Dimebag and Vinnie Paul are not forgotten. During ‘Floods,’ one of their greatest songs, the video pays tribute to them. In fact, the use of video during this performance is absolutely fantastic, complementing, rather than distracting from the performance.
To be fair, Pantera probably won’t appeal to people who don’t like heavy metal. But to those who do, they put on an amazing show, and it’s clear that there are many here who have been loyal to them for decades. We get nearly an excellent set that includes the likes of ‘Mouth For War‘ and ‘I’m Broken‘ (astonishing to think that the latter actually made the top 20 in the UK), and of course, the classic ‘Walk,’ which may well be their best known song. For this they are joined by members of support bands King Parrot and Power Trip.
For the encores it’s the (avert your gaze, prudes) ‘Fucking Hostile‘ and ‘Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit.’ The band have clearly enjoyed themselves, so Anselmo leads us all in a singing of the coda of ‘Stairway To Heaven.’ It might seem slightly incongruous that the song playing over the PA as we file out is The Smiths‘ ‘How Soon Is Now?’ but it somehow works…
