Last night (July 28th), at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh, Pantera kicked off their first proper U.S. tour in over two decades — and did so in style.
Heirs to the Southern groove-metal throne, Lamb of God opened the show, but the night belonged to the headliners: core members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown joined by longtime friends Charlie Benante (Anthrax) and Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), appearing in place of the late, great Abbott brothers, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul.
The bulk of Pantera's set was the same as they have been playing since their 2002 reformation — packed with all-time classics like "Walk," "A New Level," "5 Minutes Alone" and "Cowboys From Hell" — but the boys also came out for an encore and introduced two songs to the comeback run, Far Beyond Driven's "Slaughtered" and Reinventing the Steel's "Revolution Is My Name." They played only the first half of the former, and skipped the intro of the latter, but neither cut had been played since 2001, making for the perfect cap to a momentous night.
See fan-filmed footage above, and the full setlist (courtesy of setlist.fm), as well as photos of the show, below.
Pantera 7/28/23 setlist:
A New Level
Mouth for War
Strength Beyond Strength
Becoming (with "Throes of Rejection" outro)
I'm Broken (with "By Demons be Driven" outro)
Suicide Note Pt. II
5 Minutes Alone
This Love
Fucking Hostile
Cemetery Gates (intro only)
Planet Caravan (Black Sabbath cover)
Happy Birthday to You (for Rex Brown whose birthday was the day before)
Walk (with Snafu)
Domination/Hollow
Cowboys From Hell
Encore:
Slaughtered (first half)
Revolution Is My Name (minus intro)
