Pantera, Power Trip & Child Bite, 26th January 2025, Royal Arena, Copenhagen

Archive photo: Goran www.urbanmescalero.com

We concluded the review of Pantera’s 2023 performance at Copenhell festival with the following words: ‘So, is this Pantera? Or is it Pantera celebration? Perhaps it’s both those things at the same time. Anselmo, Brown, Wylde and Benante managed to pull this off eminently and graciously. Taking the legacy into the consideration, that’s nothing short of a miracle’.

The fact is that that Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown with help of Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Lebel Society) and Charlie Benante (Anthrax) managed to pull it off to an almost unimaginable degree is a reason why the band is hitting the stages around the globe again. Majority of the shows this time around are proper headlining shows instead of the massive festival run they started a couple of years ago.

So, the response from fans and critics was overwhelmingly positive and much like countless other bands who return after a break-up, long hiatus or other such events, they returned bigger than they ever were. It was the case with Porcupine Tree after getting the band together for the release of Closure/Continuation, it’s the case for Dream Theater who just got back with their co-founding member Mike Portnoy, and it was most certainly the case for Tool after they released their first album in 13 years.

And it is also the case with Pantera. The return was one of the most anticipated tours in ages and Pantera is now headlining bigger shows than they ever did. Back in their heyday the band never played more than 3000 people in Copenhagen. And despite the entire upper balcony row at Royal Arena being closed, the band draw the crowd at least three times the crowd size this cold Sunday evening in Copenhagen.

Joining Pantera on this tour are two bands, the first of two, Child Bite, who has never played Denmark before. And while the place was far from packed, it was something of a crowd that showed up to see the Punk/Metal band from Detroit, Michigan.
Child Bite might be new to Denmark, but they are certainly not new to Pantera, or rather said, to Anselmo. They played as support for just about all his bands/side projects, so there is a strong bond there.

The crowd was unfamiliar with the band, but they did pay attention for the major part of the 30-minute-long set. There is something about the simplicity of the raw power and the band’s devil-may-care attitude. In many ways, they’ve taken just about all of Jesus Lizard trademarks and done them justice.
The big fat rhythm section was matched by frontman’s Shawn Knight’s energy, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of the evening was Jeremy Waun’s tasteful and impeccably delivered guitar playing. He should’ve kept it at that, though, because when he decided to address the audience it was with cringe comments like “I love this. Do you understand ’love’?”. Dear reader, you may insert your own American cliché prejudice here.

It’s tough being the first of 3 bands on a bill, especially when the absolute majority of the crowd has never heard of you, but Child Bite gave it a shot and seemed to enjoy themselves. Hopefully their performance has gained them some fans, and they will be able to play Denmark again, perhaps playing a small club, because that’s where the band’s energy could truly come to life. For now, it was good to see the band live, and it was a pleasure to experience those impeccable dynamics within “Swan Song of a Boiled Dog” live.

The second of the two support acts was Texas’ own Power Trip, the band who blew up after their second album Nightmare Logic, only to had it all flushed down the tubes, with the death of the band’s singer Riley Gale. Or so it seemed. But then the band came back with singer Seth Gilmore in 2023. They haven’t released new music since but have played live a plenty.

Last night in Copenhagen, they took the stage with attitude and crowd attendance worthy of a headliner. Sound, however, was rather weak and unbalanced, with especially drums simply all over the place. That snare sound in the beginning, and a few times later in the show, sounded almost as if Chris Ulsh was hitting the mic instead of the drum. Band decided to play “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” early in the set which might be unexpected, but it worked well, and it helped the band get a grip on the crowd early in their show and already with the next song “Firing Squad” they managed to start a big mosh-pit, which kept going for the majority of the remaining part of their show.
There was confidence to Power Trip and Gilmore which rubs off on the crowd and that’s one of the main reasons why this often felt like a headliner show and that is impressive for any supporting band, let alone for a band who has just introduced a new singer who replaced a frontman who was defining part of Power Trip. In fact, last night’s show was significantly stronger than their previous visit to Copenhagen, when they were fronted by Gale.

Also, the fact that the band played 40-minutes worked well for them, because with only two albums under their belt and that feel of one-trick-(Thrash)-pony, a significantly longer set wouldn’t be to their advantage. Power Trip has cemented their return live, and now they need to do the same when they release new music.

POWER TRIP SET-LIST:

1. Soul Sacrifice
2. Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)
3. Firing Squad
4. Hornet’s Nest
5. Nightmare Logic
6. Drown / Crucifixation
7. Waiting Around to Die
8. Manifest Decimation

Behind the massive black curtain, the stage was getting set up for the main band and exactly half an hour after Power Trip walked off the stage the intro accompanied by vivid home video footage from Pantera’s heyday in ’90s rolled on the screens which were place on each side of the stage. Into was in the form of “Regular People (Conceit)” and it was all fun and, for a most part a reminded or mayhem that followed the band back then. Fortunately, it didn’t take the entire song before the curtain dropped, and the band opened with “New Level”, which on a paper doesn’t seem like a logical opener. It has, however, always worked as an ultimate opener also, back in the 90’s. Its impact is even more massive when it’s followed by songs like “Mouth for War”. They did the same at their triumphant return at Copenhell 2023 and last night’s set-list in general was almost a carbon copy of that from their previous visit to the city.

Sonically, the opener was drowned in bass and drums, which is a pity, but that was corrected by the time they ripped into the aforementioned “Mouth for War”. What didn’t get much better were Anselmo’s vocals. Unlike at Copenhell, his vocals were often buried under the wall of guitars and that colossal rhythm section. They also osculated greatly, which gave the show an uneven quality. But it was Anselmo’s vocal performance that proved to be the biggest problem of the evening. Even though this is just the fourth show of the tour, his performance was weak and highly uneven. And that together with issues with the sound and too much of his unintelligible blabbering between the songs really affected the overall experience negatively.

On the other hand, one can’t deny just how fitting on just about all levels, Wylde and Benante are for this reunion. Importance and impact of late Abbott brothers on Pantera and Heavy Metal genre in general is undeniably and they are irreplaceable in the great whole. But in this return of the band to live stages, the two have pulled their weight and fitted the band and its legacy to an almost unimaginable degree.
And speaking of Abbot brothers, the band has dialled down on constantly paying tribute to them, which is a smart move here a couple of years after the return. Most noticeably, the band has dropped the sequence of the show where they will play “Cemetery Gates” from the tape and accompany it with footage of Abbot-brothers. Instead, they used the footage during “Floods” the only curveball of the evening, and the highlight of the band’s 1996 The Great Southers Trendkill album. The song did go over most people’s heads, but it was a pleasure to experience the band delivering something else than the expected live-classics, not to mention that the song is just about a perfect homage to the genius of Dimebag Darrell.

And speaking of live-classics the fact that the set-list was almost identical to their 2023 visit (as well as their 1994 show at K.B. Hallen) was a pity, but at the same time it serves as a reminder of just how iconic and important the likes of “Strength Beyond Strength”, “Becoming”, “This Love” and “Fucking Hostile” are.

The choice of songs for the closing of the show was just about flawless. It started off with Anselmo stating “If it wasn’t for this riff, perhaps none of us would be here” and Wylde ripping into “Walk”, which was followed by that classic mash of endings of “Domination” and “Hollow” and obligatory “Cowboys From Hell”. The closer “Fucking Hostile” served as a better closer than “Use My Third Arm” which closed their previous visit to Denmark.

Then 75 after it all started, it was all over. And that’s where another problem with last night’s show lies. With such a strong back-catalogues, the first headlining show in Denmark in quarter of a century should have lasted longer. Some 20–30 minutes would give the crowd the chance to experience a couple of more iconic classics as well as strong few deep cuts, which the band has many off. Many people haven’t seen the band live back then and their hunger shouldn’t be neglected.

The return of Pantera was almost overwhelming, also for someone who has experienced them live in ’90s at the very pinnacle of their career. Anselmo and Brown managed not only to pull it off against all odds, but also to exceed even the most optimistic expectations. Last night’s display despite its magical moments, was perhaps what many of us expected when the return was announced in 2022. Perhaps they had an off night last night and next time they stop by we’ll be served the mind-blowing experience they delivered at Copenhell.

PANTERA SET-LIST

1. A New Level
2. Mouth for War
3. Strength Beyond Strength
4. Becoming
5. I’m Broken
6. Suicide Note Pt. II
7. 5 Minutes Alone
8. This Love
9. Floods
10. Walk
11. Domination / Hollow
12. Cowboys From Hell
    —————-
13. Fucking Hostile