Live Review: Still Stronger Than All – Pantera’s Triumphant UK Comeback
Tonight’s gig is a big deal. A very big deal. The hottest ticket in town. It is the closing night of Pantera’s first headlining UK tour in over twenty years. Some purists may opine that there can be no Pantera without the late guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul. However, there are very many that would disagree with them, and tonight’s show has been long sold out. However, the musicians standing in for the deceased members are a bit special: Zakk Wylde on guitar, and Charlie Benante on drums. We’ll find out how they got on later.
First of all we have two support acts to enjoy. First up are King Parrot, a five piece punky metal band (or in music marketing speak: grindcore) from Melbourne, Australia. Photographer Cris describes them as being “absolutely nuts”, which is his way of saying that they’re a fun live band. I would say that they don’t take themselves too seriously, but they clearly take playing seriously, as their loud, fast, shouty music is as tight as I don’t know what. There’s some very impressive stuff going on here, but some of the music is so fast that it ends up sounding a bit formless. The instruments and vocals can sometimes almost blend into one sound, a little like a power drill. One of the guitarists is barefoot. In London. In February. Antipodeans eh?
Audience participation is clearly a large part of King Parrot’s show. Vocalist Matt Young calls for a mosh pit and one forms. It’s an impressive skill to have. I wonder what would happen if he called for world peace? He swears. The audience swears back. He moons. Thankfully, no one joins in with that. Not that I saw, anyway. For the final song Fuck You And The Horse You Rode In On, Matt asks the crowd to raise their middle digit every time they hear the song title. There is almost 100% compliance. Matt Young is a very powerful man. I believe that he could end the war in Ukraine and bring peace to Israel and Palestine. Who needs Donald Trump?
After a fairly rapid stage re-set, here come Power Trip from Dallas, Texas, USA. Apparently, no photographers are allowed to shoot their set. This would appear to have some link to their former lead singer Riley Gale’s death from an accidental overdose of fentanyl. Maybe the press were unsympathetic at the time of Riley’s passing. Whatever, we’re still allowed to review.
Much of their music is fast with satanic growling, but when the songs are slower, they’re more in keeping with Pantera’s material, but possibly not so much as to be groove metal. They tell us they’re “going to slow it down” for Hornet’s Nest, but things don’t become markedly slower. Current vocalist Seth Gilmore describes Riley Gale as a “legend”, but it has to be said, Gilmore does a stellar job in the vocal department. Drown / Crucifixion is dedicated to the late vocalist. It features a searing guitar solo that Riley would have probably loved. The final song, Manifest Decimation, brings more impressive guitar gymnastics. Power Trip are the perfect hors d’oeuvres for Pantera
The front of the stage is hidden by a curtain with Pantera’s logo. The anticipation is palpable. There’s a whole generation here who will never before have had the opportunity to see Pantera live. Stage time is 9.30pm, so they will only be able to play an hour and a half at most, which means that the set should be jam-packed with classics. And so it proves to be. To the band’s credit, the curtain falls at 9.25pm, and they tear into A New Level from 1992’s Vulgar Display Of Power, quickly followed by Mouth For War from the same album. The first thing I notice is that drummer Charlie Benante has FOUR bass drums!!! This is indeed taking things to a new level!!! There are pyrotechnics from the off. Zakk Wylde’s lead playing matches the pyro!! Vocalist Phil Anselmo dedicates “everything we do” to Dimebag Darrell.
Pantera are one of the few bands that still have a wall of speakers at the back of the stage, which is somehow kind of comforting… Like the guitarist in King Parrot, Anselmo is barefoot. Is this a new thing? Are shoes out? Even in London, in February??? Anselmo is wearing a King Parrot t-shirt. I hope they’re not being a bad influence on him. At the beginning of I’m Broken, Anselmo encourages the older fans to teach the younger ones Pantera’s legacy. During the song, Zakk Wylde plays a mind-warping solo, which is part tapping and part slide, simultaneously! I’ve never seen that done before. Wylde seems to work better when playing as part of somebody else’s band than when he’s with his own Black Label Society. I saw them at Download in 2022, and he came across as a self-aggrandising pain in the ass. Tonight, all he has to do is be a brilliant guitarist, which he achieves with no little panache.
Suicide Note Pt.II is dedicated to “all the hardcore Pantera fans”. Everybody on the floor of the arena is standing. This whole gig is like an act of communion between band and audience. Floods is utterly awesome. The intro is deceptively delicate. Later, bassist Rex Brown plays the riff while Zakk unleashes another jaw-dropping solo. Is this man a six-string genius? Probably. One of the crew holds a mic over the audience. Is this gig being recorded for release? Clips of Dimebag and his brother Vinnie are shown on the screens, which is poignant to say the least. However, whisper it quietly, but the current Pantera might be better than the old Pantera. Is this heresy??
For Walk, introduced quite rightly as “an anthem”, the band are joined by members of the support bands and somebody who looks a lot like the actor Jason Momoa on backing vocals for the choruses. Anselmo tells us that Cowboys From Hell will be the last song, but we all know that it won’t be. Whatever, it brings another cranium-melting Zakk solo. The band are aware of the time as they barely leave the stage. Revolution Is My Name is followed by Fucking Hostile. The whole of the front half of the arena seems to be a mosh pit. It’s a pity this gig can’t go on for another hour.
It can’t, however. Curfews are curfews. This has been one of those gigs that will be considered a classic. The current line-up have more than lived up to the Pantera name. It’s been a masterclass on what a metal gig could and, indeed, should be. What next? They fly back to the States to tour there. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they followed that up with some new music? There’s nothing wrong in hoping.
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS
