Review: Pantera celebration tour pays fitting tribute to band's legacy, 2 late members

Pantera launched its summer headlining tour Friday night at the Pavilion at Star Lake, offering an unrelenting and powerful tribute to the band’s legacy.

To be sure, this was no reunion. How could it be without the band’s co-founders, brothers Dimebag Darrell (guitar) and Vinnie Paul Abbott (drums)? Dimebag was gunned down in 2004, while playing on stage with the brothers’ new band, Damageplan, in Columbus, Ohio. And Vinnie Paul died of heart disease in 2018.

The recently revived heavy metal band features the surviving members of the band — singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown. Although it shouldn’t be classified a reunion, it was an emotional tribute to the music the quartet made.

“First things first, every note that we hit is for Dimebag and for Vince,” Anselmo said after the band tore threw “A New Level” and “Mouth for War.”

Who better to try to fill the gargantuan shoes of the Abbott brothers than drummer Charlie Benante and guitarist Zakk Wylde?

Benante is most famous as the drummer for Anthrax, which featured Dimebag on four songs and also lovingly referred to him as the band’s sixth member. And Wylde is one of the most distinctive guitarists of his generation, earning acclaim as a frequent collaborator with Ozzy Osbourne and his own band, Black Label Society. He was also close friends with Dimebag.

Neither appeared out of place or intimidated by the circumstances. While Benante seemed more intent on being faithful to the original drumming, Wylde often injected his own stylings instead of a note-for-note duplication of Dimebag’s playing. But on certain songs, like “Becoming” and “Suicide Note Pt. II,” Wylde perfectly nailed the high-pitched squeals.

The band made sure to keep the Abbotts front and center, with pictures of the brothers on Benante’s bass drum heads. And Wylde’s leather vest featured “St. Dime” emblazoned on both sides. There were also several video tributes: one set to “Regular People” before Pantera’s set officially started and another played with a taped version of “Cemetery Gates” and then a live, stripped-down version of Black Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan.”

Anselmo’s voice sounded strong, with extended screams and growls, with highlights including “5 Minutes Alone” and “I’m Broken.” His stage demeanor didn’t appear nearly as menacing as the past, as he seemed more appreciative with many approving head nods, finger points and hands to the heart and sky.

Pantera officially disbanded in 2003, with internal conflicts in the band to blame. (The band’s last show in Pittsburgh was March 2001.) So that meant the majority of the fans in attendance — according to unofficial polling by Anselmo — didn’t see get a chance to see Pantera perform live before. And he credited the older fans for raising their kids to appreciate the band.

“Hey, that is a (crap)load of awesome parenting,” he said. “Let’s give it up.”

Never radio friendly, Pantera still managed to sell millions of albums, with 1994’s “Far Beyond Driven” reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts. A song title like “F—-ing Hostile” was never going to get much mainstream support, but Anselmo said “I would bet a hefty sum on the fact that this next song we’re about to play, I would say 98% of you know this song and know it well.”

For their most well-known song, “Walk,” Anselmo pegged the audience knowledge at 100%. The opening riff sounded even ruder than usual, in the best possible way, and opening band SNAFU hit the stage to sing along on the chorus.

“Domination/Hollow” and “Cowboys From Hell” closed the set before they returned to encore with “Slaughtered” and “Revolution is My Name,” both new additions from their recent festival appearances.

Overall, the band’s set relied heavily on two albums, with those titles offering an apt description of the band’s music (and their performance Friday) — “Vulgar Display of Power” — and the motivation behind honoring the Abbott brothers and their legacy — “Far Beyond Driven.”

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Considered among the upper echelon of the new wave of American heavy metal, Lamb of God set the stage for Pantera with nearly an hour of technical, propulsive scorchers.

Drummer Art Cruz, a relative newcomer to the band, propelled the band with crushing double bass while guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler displayed their speed and precision. Lead singer Randy Blythe prowled the stage and made a big jump from the raised drum platform, also gave a nod to a defunct venue, Club Laga in Oakland.

Blythe also cited Pantera as a critical influence: “Without that band, Lamb of God would not exist.”

Song “512,” dedicated to those with criminal records in the crowd, drew big cheers, as did “Redneck,” which had a big circle mosh pit roiling on the lawn for the band’s closing song.

In just 25 minutes, SNAFU put on a display of old-school thrash, including a cover of Metallica’s “Fight Fire With Fire.” Guitarist/singer Scott Curnow whipped his dreadlocks, almost knocking down the drum mic several times. SNAFU, which gave a shout-out to Gooski’s in Polish Hill, is signed to Anselmo’s Housecore Records label.