The legacy of Pantera is already well established. So when it was announced that its surviving members, vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, would resurrect the groove metal titans years after the deaths of the band’s founding Abbott brothers – drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell — the news was met with a fair share of skepticism.
And that seemed to be centered mostly around the use of the name, with Anselmo and Rex going with the familiar stand-alone moniker, and choosing to not adding “legacy” or “forever” to it as a way to align with the tribute nature of the expected shows. The estates of the departed Abbott brothers — Dimebag was shot and killed on stage at a Damageplan show in 2004, while Vinnie passed away in 2018 from heart failure at the age of 54 — reportedly signed off on the tour, at least giving the public perception that all closest to the band and its legacy were in support.
But Pantera never really gave a fuck about what others wanted them to do, and so they forged ahead. And have done so with some legendary players rounding out the power quartet: Iconic Ozzy and Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde in for Dime, and Anthrax’s Charlie Benante for Vinnie. Those are both impressive additions, and Vinnie’s estate even gave an endorsement, while also saying the quiet part out loud.
“There can never be a PANTERA reunion without Vinnie and Dime,” wrote The Vincent Paul Abbott Estate back in November of last year. “However, there is no better way to celebrate and honor Vinnie and Dime’s legacy, than to bring the music of PANTERA directly to the fans. We are honored that Charlie and Zakk, their very close friends and musical brothers, will share the stage with Philip and Rex, to unleash the power of PANTERA live around the world.”
Turns out, the shows have been fucking awesome, and the tour rolls into the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford tonight (September 8). Armed with Wylde and Benante, as well as a reinvigorated Anselmo and Rex, Pantera rip though their arsenal of crushers over 90 minutes, with a set list that seems to favor 1992’s Vulgar Display of Power — the band’s sixth album, but respected as their second after finding their true sound after 1990 breakout Cowboys From Hell — and 1994’s chart-topping and commercially successful Far Beyond Driven.
Opening with “A New Level” and never letting up for a dozen or so more songs, Pantera’s music sounds just as lethal as it did 30 years ago. And the memories of the departed Abbott brothers are front and center in everything, from their visages looking back at the crowd from Benante’s drum kit to an opening montage of the Good Old Days, to a recorded rendition of “Cemetery Gates” playing while a tribute video glow from the big scene behind the stage.
The shows are not perfect, but Pantera never were. The songs, these fucking songs — “Mouth For War”, “This Love”, “I’m Broken”, “Walk” and all the others — live on forever, and a generation of fans who never got to experience one of metal’s most powerful and ruthless bands can now finally headbang along to the classics.
PANTERA + LAMB OF GOD + KING PARROT :: Friday, September 8 at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, 72 Meadowbrook Lane in Gilford, NH :: 7 p.m., all ages :: Advance tickets
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