Pantera // Power Trip // King Parrot // Live @ London’s Ovo Arena // 25.02.2025

When vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown announced they were reforming Pantera in 2022, eyebrows were certainly raised. It seemed an impossibility that the band could exist without the founding Abbott brothers – guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul. With both being deceased (Dimebag murdered by gunshot as he played on stage with his band Damageplan in 2004, and Vinnie Paul by heart attack in 2018) – it was viewed by many as a cynical cash-grab by the two remaining living members of Pantera, an iconic band who had sold millions of records while owning the Heavy Metal scene back in the Nineties.

In would come former Ozzy guitarist and Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde – a close friend of Dimebag’s back in the day – as well as Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante to complete their new touring lineup. Certainly high calibre replacements for what would prove to be an incantation of the band put together to bring the music of Pantera to a new generation. Also paying service to the older fans who were there the first time around, as well as paying tribute to the legacy of the Abbott’s (while making some serious money in the process of course). And Pantera have now been touring ever since their first reunion shows in Mexico (Dec 2022) – a run of shows which have also seen them join Metallica on the 2023 US leg of their M72 world tour.

This night in London’s Ovo arena is the climax of the first Uk tour the band have embarked on for 25 years, and the first shows on these shores following their appearance at the 2023 Download Festival. Opening this run were the Australian Grind-Core act King Parrot – a band who have previously supported the likes of Carcass and Obituary. Anselmo is a fan of the band, and they were clearly enjoying the unexpected stadium run across the Uk, joking with the crowd and riling them up in between periods of frenetic sonic chaos. They are an acquired sound and clearly don’t take themselves too seriously, but sections of the curious crowd certainly seemed to get what they’re all about.

Next up and taking the stage prior to Pantera were the Texan thrashers Power Trip, a band who themselves have also experienced tragedy with the death of their vocalist Riley Gale in 2020. Power Trip were riding high at the time, signed to Southern Lord Records with two successful albums under their belt – including Nightmare Logic in 2017 and it’s single ‘Executioner’s Tax (Swing Of The Axe). Understandably the band went into hiatus following Gale’s passing, only to emerge at the end of 2023 with Fugitive vocalist Seth Gilmore leading the front – with this subsequently being their first major tour in over five years.

The crowd had certainly swelled since King Parrot were on stage, with the room now packed out to see what the Texan’s had to offer. Power Trip proceeded to charge their way through a set of contemporary Thrash-Metal bangers, whipping the audience into a frenzy before the night’s main event. And what an event it would turn out to be. You could feel the anticipation in the room, with a sense that this was a crowd who were about to see a performance from a now real version of Pantera. No longer viewed as just a tribute act, with the appointments of Wylde and Benante having had time to bed into the band – who are now proving to be a phenomenal live act for these modern times.

The tributes to the brothers of course are never too far away however, and as the lights went down, home videos of the band on tour in their hey-day were shown across the large screens adjoining either side of the stage. Eventually the curtain covering the stage rose, and Anselmo and co launched into ‘A New Level’ from 1992s legendary record; A Vulgar Display Of Power. The crowd obligingly went nuts, with the pit growing in both size and excitement as Pantera moved through ‘Mouth For War’ and into ‘Strength Beyond Strength’.

Anselmo typically talked to the crowd in between most songs, and you could tell that it meant a hell of a lot for the singer to be fronting Pantera again, playing an arena show absolutely packed to the rafters, with a crowd giving it there all. He carefully paid tribute to the brothers; “Every fucking song we play … is for them” – while the images of Nineties Pantera play almost continuously on the screens either side and now also above the stage. Every song is delivered with an intense passion which is reciprocated by the crowd, and the set is of course peppered with the band’s most classic heavy anthems.

They lean heavily on A Vulgar Display Of Power, with an awesome delivery of ‘This Love,’ and a version of ‘Walk’ which sees Pantera joined on stage by members of both King Parrot and Power Trip to join in on the chorus – alongside the random addition of Aquaman actor Jason Mamoa. Far Beyond Driven (1994) is also well represented, with both ‘I’m Broken’ and ‘5 Minutes Alone’ receiving rapturous receptions. While towards the end of the set, the London crowd are also treated to the epic ‘Cowboys From Hell’ – a song which is now somehow from a 35 year old record.

An encore of ‘Revolution Is My Name’ followed by a final blast of pure aggressive energy on ‘Fucking Hostile,’ rounds of an epic return to the UK’s capital for the band, as they made a welcome return to a country who fully supported their rise to the very pinnacle of the Heavy Metal summit. The announcement of a US tour with Amon Amarth is next for Pantera, and having witnessed them in action it does leave you wondering just how far this new version of the band will go. Zakk Wylde almost seems like he is the only guitarist that could have even remotely stepped into the shoes of Dimebag. A consummate professional and an incredibly talented shredder who just seems to get the required vibe … and absolutely nails it.

Benante was also solid behind the drum-kit and did everything that you need from a Pantera drummer, while Rex Brown does exactly what he has always done. Anselmo’s vocals still rasp with the aggressive nuance of the past, although rumour is we are unlikely to ever get a rendition of ‘Cemetery Gates’ – where the high notes and clean singing may just be a little beyond the vocalist as he approaches his late fifties. It would be difficult to imagine this version of Pantera releasing a studio album of new material under the name, but a live album recorded from the current tour would no doubt go down a treat with fans. And they certainly appear have the legs to continue playing live for many years to come, and have proven without a doubt that they still remain an absolute force to be reckoned with. KZ

Words / Photos / Videos by Abstrakt_Soul