August 12th, 2023
Budweiser Stage, Toronto Canada
By: Billy Klare
Pantera rolled into Toronto, Canada on August 12th, 2023 playing the Budweiser Stage with Lamb of God and Child Bite in supporting roles. Lot’s of controversy surrounding this Pantera tour and the decision to tour again given the passing of guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul. Many people feel Pantera shouldn’t exist without Vinnie & Dime. I guess this dilemma is something each fan must address for themselves. From my perspective, I view this tour as a tribute to Vinnie and Dime and a chance for newer generations of fans to hear Pantera live for the first time. In this light, I feel this tour is a good thing as long as the new line-up performs the songs as they were originally written.
This touring version of Pantera includes original band members Phil Anselmo on vocals and bassist Rex Brown. The incredibly capable drummer Charlie Benante (Anthrax & multiple side projects) steps in for Vinnie while long time metal guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy & Black Label Society) handles guitar duties. Both Charlie and Zakk were good friends with Dimebag & Vinnie so that supports the bands tribute purpose for touring. I’ve been fortunate enough to see Pantera a few times in the early 90’s and I fully acknowledge Dime and Vinnie could never be replaced; however, this is probably the best possible line-up to represent Pantera in 2023 (and beyond?).
The first opening band was Child Bite but I unfortunately missed them as I arrived to the venue as they were finishing their set. I just flew into Toronto a few hours earlier and was running late but was fully in seat for the beginning of Lamb of God’s performance. I’m well aware Lamb of God are a popular band these days which was very evident as most of the sold out crowd were there to see the band play. I’m more of a casual fan as their music never fully clicked with my tastes but I fully recognize they bring a lot to the table. Lamb of God ripped through 10 songs with at least five or six albums represented in the set list. I enjoyed some of the older tracks including “Ruin”, “Contractor”, “Redneck”, “Laid To Rest” and “Now You’ve Got Something to Die for”. The crowd loved the performance with everyone head banging in full sync and most singing along. From a stage design perspective, Lamb of God delivered an excellent light show and impressive overall stage design featuring the bands logos / trademarks. Overall, I enjoyed their performance.
Pantera finally took the stage opening with the fan favorite “A New Level” and it was apparent to me that this version of Pantera sounded just as heavy, groovy and intense as the 90’s line-up I witnessed back in the day. Phil Anselmo was in particularly good form with no sign of his old substance abuse demons that impacted his permeances in the old days. The band performed “Mouth For War”, “Strength Beyond Strength”, “Becoming” and “I’m Broken” next. Not surprisingly, these classics songs went over well with the multi generational audience fully singing along (myself included). I was relieved to see Zakk playing the songs as Dimebag intended and not indulging in longer solo breaks as he tends to do in other bands (I’ve seen him do 25 minute guitar solos with Ozzy a few times). Zakk was easily the most active guy on stage continuously head banging through the entire set. Charlie was always a versatile drummer and played Vinnie’s drum parts to perfection.
This hits continued as Pantera delivered “Suicide Note part II”, “5 Minutes Alone” and “This Love”. The bands discography was well represented (at least from Cowboys forward) with at least one song from each record but the overall focus was clearly on “Far Beyond Driven” and “Vulgar Display of Power”. The band finished the set with “F***ing Hostile”, “Planet Caravan” (Sabbath cover), “Walk”, a “Domination / Hollow” medley and finally the song that launched Pantera’s success – “Cowboys from Hell” which was one of the highlights of the night for me.
The band thanked everyone for coming many times and Phil noted Toronto was the first standalone Pantera show to fully sell out at approximately 15K people. I can’t recall a concert recently were the entire crowd was more into the show, it was very impressive. The audience was probably 40% – 45% original fans and the remainder being newer fans. Given the clear success of this tour, I’m sure Pantera will extend the dates / locations into the future. Clearly there is demand for this, Anthrax may need a substitute drummer for a while.
Pantera were not finished yet. The first of two encores started with “Slaughtered” and “Revolution Is My Name” while the final encore delivered “Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit”. The band appeared legitimately touched by the overwhelming positive fan reaction with the guys remaining on stage a long time acknowledging the love. Just two very minor complaints from me. First, I would love to see the band perform at least one song from “Power Metal” (Phil’s first Pantera record) but the band continues to shun these older albums. Second, I would have preferred to hear some of the more popular early set list tracks played during the encores instead of the deeper tracks.
The Pantera stage design was outstanding and rivaled some of the headline shows I recently attended at Wacken Open Air in Germany. An incredible light show with multiple fire related effects, constant clips of Dimebag & Vinnie playing on the side screens, a massive video screen towards the back of the stage, and a huge impressive stack of Marshall amps on stage. Very cool.
Bottom line, a very impressive performance by Pantera that deserves respect and Kudos. This tour could have been half-assed just for the money but the band showed proper respect to Vinnie and Dime while delivering an outstanding show to the fans. I truly wish Dime and Vinnie were still with us but I think they would be impressed by all the newer fans enjoying their music for the first time. I would see this tour again if I had the opportunity and fully recommend all Pantera fans attend if they can.