Pantera - Birmingham Review

Following a lengthy long weekend of live music, where I took in four concerts in four days in three cities, I am finally back home. I do sometimes wonder if I am getting a bit too old for these lengthy treks away, as they do take it out of me, but I always look back on them fondly - and they are generally a pretty cost-effective way of seeing multiple bands. Getting in and out of the South West is often where much of the expense lies, with inter-city train travel generally relatively more reasonably priced, so it makes both financial and annual leave sense to try and group gigs together where I can. Much of the past weekend was spent in London, but yesterday I travelled up from the UK's capital to its unofficial second city of Birmingham - where I was planning to spend a night at BP Pulse Live, which is the latest ridiculous sponsorship name of the concert arena which is part of the NEC complex outside of the city itself. I recently saw Toto deliver what will likely be seen as one of the gigs of 2025 in a much reduced capacity and relatively intimate version of the venue - but last night the venue was back to full capacity as the Texas-based metal legends Pantera were rolling into town on their first European tour since reforming in 2022. They did play at last year's iterations of Download Festival, so the run of UK shows included at the end of the wider European tour were not their first since reforming - but they were their first headline gigs here since the early 2000s. I have to admit from the outset that I have only ever really been a casual Pantera fan - and that remains the case. They arguably were the band to kick-start a new metal scene in the 1990s, following the implosion of the glam metal and the stagnation of the thrash scenes - with their groovy riffs, blues influence, and trappings of extreme metal helping to essentially create the groove metal scene and arguably the later nu metal scene, too. Pantera can trace their history back to 1981, and were releasing albums in the 1980s, but it was a drastic sound and image change on 1990's Cowboys from Hell that launched the Pantera we know today - and it remains a landmark release in heavy metal history. The aggressive, yet melodic, vocals of frontman Phil Anselmo and the instantly-recognisable riffs of the late Dimebag Darrell essentially created a new form of metal - and the late Vinnie Paul basically set the standard for how metal drums would sound going forward. Pantera burnt out in acrimonious fashion in 2003 following plenty of success during the 1990s - and following Dimebag's murder in 2004 and Vinnie's death in 2018 a reunion always looked unlikely (even before Vinnie's death a reunion was unlikely due to ill-feeling between him and Anselmo). This changed in 2022, though, when Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown announced that they were putting Pantera back together and go on tour as a tribute to the late Abbott brothers - with Zakk Wylde (guitar/vocals) and Charlie Benante (drums) filling in for them. Whilst there was a lot of excitement, there was also a fair amount of scepticism and cynicism following the announcement - so when the European tour was announced I decided to see for myself. Pantera were not a band I ever thought I would see live - so passing up an opportunity to do did not really cross my mind.

I got the venue and was in my seat about half an hour before the music started. I had opted to stay in the on-site Premier Inn this time, rather than in Birmingham itself like usual, but the 'on-site' hotel turned out to be quite a significant walk away - in a very pedestrian unfriendly part of the wider site. I ended up having to walk through the backlot of the NEC itself, where I definitely was not supposed to be, to get to my hotel and back to the venue. I made this walk three times within the space of a few hours, in the rain, so that was not ideal. I did find a more legitimate, but even longer, route back this morning - but that involved walking through the NEC itself so may not have been possible late at night. I will just stay in Birmingham again as normal in the future and play train roulette. Anyway, and more relevant to the gig, the opening act were Australia's King Parrot - who played a thrashy take on grindcore which, predictably, did very little for me. Despite my recent more in-depth foray into extreme metal, particularly death metal, grindcore has never done it for me. I had a few friends in my teenage years who were into it, and there was a relatively thriving local scene here around the same time, so it is certainly something which I have been exposed to over the years - but it never rubbed off on me. I find it borderline unlistenable for the most part, but King Parrot were at least on the more palatable side thanks to their strong thrash influence which meant that there were some decent riffs thrown in alongside the abrasive punk-inspired chaos which generally made up their set. Frontman Youngy did not really indulge in those pig-like squeals which were popular in the late 2000s, either, but his screams and general delivery were still hard on the ears. There was much better to come, but King Parrot only had about 30 minutes on stage so thankfully I was not subjected to them for too long. Despite their importance in metal history, Pantera are considered a pretty mainstream act these days - so a band like King Parrot was likely to struggle to get people on board, but they seemed to do a reasonable job with a few mosh pits opening up down at the front during their short set.

I was on much more familiar ground with Power Trip - another Texan band who acted as the night's main support. I first came across them in advance of the 2018 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air, as they were on the Main Stage bill, so I picked up 2017's Nightmare Logic in advance of seeing them. The thrash band connected with me pretty quickly, and their set was one of the festival's most memorable. They pulled a big crowd for early in the day and everyone thought that the band was destined for greatness - only for their talismanic frontman Riley Gale to die in 2020. The band seemed to be over, but in 2023 they slowly started to resurface, with new frontman Seth Gilmore, so I was excited to catch up with them again on this tour. Whilst Gale was a big part of the band's appeal, I still found them to be an exciting live act. Gilmore might not be as maniacal as Gale was, but his slightly more assured performance and slightly gritter voice worked well for me - and I am glad that the band have found someone which has allowed them to carry on. Much of the set was culled from Nightmare Logic, with the fast-paced Soul Sacrifice kicking things off. The band's anthem has always been Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe), though, and that song really kicked the set into the next gear - with plenty of headbanging going on during the mid-paced riffing and the chorus gang vocals reverberated around the arena. Gilmore spoke well to the crowd, and got everyone excited for the rest of the set, whilst the shredding from Blake Ibanez (guitar/vocals) added a touch of class to the band's raw, punky take on thrash. Power Trip have always been a band in a few camps, but they tick a lot of the thrash boxes for me despite a strong punk influence - and there were enough crunchy riffs throughout the set to keep any metalhead satisfied. Much of the set was fast-paced, too, with newer single Hornet's Nest feeling pretty venomous - before a mash-up of Drown and Crucifixation was dedicated to Gale. Considering that Power Trip seemed dead and buried until a couple of years ago, they seemed really happy about being on such a big tour. Waiting Around to Die was dedicated to Pantera as a thank you for letting them hop on board - but it was left to the title track of 2013's Manifest Decimation to round out a snappy 40 or so minutes of music. Hopefully the success of this tour will spur the band on to write a new album - as the world is sorely due a follow up to Nightmare Logic. The setlist was:

Soul Sacrifice

Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)

Firing Squad

Hornet's Nest

Nightmare Logic

Drown/Crucifixation

Waiting Around to Die

Manifest Decimation

A curtain covered the stage whilst Pantera's gear was uncovered and checked - but it did not feel that long before the lights went down and a video showing lots of footage of the Abbott brothers was shown on the big screens. These shows are meant as a tribute to them, which Anselmo later reiterated, and when the curtain dropped and the band launched into A New Level with real venom. Wylde managed to capture Dimebag's style nicely, whilst injecting a little of his own bluesiness into the songs, and Anselmo impressed vocally. He is clearly not the singer he was in the 1990s, and I felt he did struggle a bit with A New Level - but from the second song onwards he sounded assured and pretty powerful. The crowd did a lot of heavy lifting, too, with each chorus belted back at the band from the floor - with Mouth for War and Strength Beyond Strength which followed also benefitting from the same treatment. Anselmo talked to the crowd quite a bit between the songs, which was nice, and I did get the vibe that the sentiment around the reunion was genuine. I am not sure that big names like Wylde and Benante would take so much time away from their own bands to participate if it was not - and a whole new generation of fans has now had the chance to hear many of these legendary 1990s anthems live. The band only played for around 90 minutes, so could not play everything that the die-hards would have wanted them to, but they managed to throw in a few extra riffs here and there as teases within other songs - such as how the massive sing-a-long I'm Broken ended with a portion of By Demons Be Driven. The band mostly stuck to groove metal staples culled from 1992's Vulgar Display of Power and 1994's Far Beyond Driven - but they did dip into all five of their major label releases. A frantic take on Suicide Note - Part II showcased the band's more extreme metal side - which really came to the fore on the caustic The Great Southern Trendkill from 1996. It really pushed Anselmo's current vocal capabilities but he still sounded decent - and 5 Minutes Alone then saw the band return to more familiar ground. There was a bit of a lull in vibe to kick off the set's final third - as two slower numbers in This Love and Floods were played. The latter was Wylde's big showcase moment, and he took an extended solo during the song - whilst more footage of the Abbott brothers was shown on the screens. This felt like the set's emotional climax - and everything which followed was a victory lap of classics. Walk then brought arguably the biggest reception from the crowd, before another mash-up saw Domination and Hollow getting an airing. The main set then came to an end with the band's signature anthem Cowboys from Hell - which was another to feature a lot of singing from the crowd. The main riff really filled the room and there was a lot of movement down on the floor - before the band left the stage briefly to loud cheers. A two-song encore followed, though, and following a tease of Mountain's Mississippi Queen the band launched into the thrashy Fucking Hostile. That could have been it, but they decided to break out a relative deep cut in Revolution Is My Name to close out the night. The song had not been played on the European tour up to this point, so it was a treat for the Birmingham fans to enjoy before the band took their bows. The setlist was:

A New Level

Mouth for War

Strength Beyond Strength

Becoming/Throes of Rejection

I'm Broken/By Demons Be Driven

Suicide Note - Part II

5 Minutes Alone

This Love

Floods

Walk

Domination/Hollow

Cowboys from Hell

-

Mississippi Queen [Mountain cover]/Fucking Hostile

Revolution Is My Name

I might only be a casual Pantera fan, but I had a great time with the band in Birmingham last night. It was great to have a chance to see them live, as I never thought that I would, and I came away with a new appreciation for the band's music and legacy. It is unclear how long this reunion will last for, especially as it does not look like any new music is coming and Wylde and Benante will likely want to get back to their day jobs, but it seems to have been a great ride so far - and I am sure that many were grateful for the chance to hear these legendary songs live again.