The more things change . . . you know the rest. The more heavy metal vocalists who see their band break up, necessitating they carve their own path, the more public demand insists those singers forgo solo material and bring back their good ol’ days.
We saw it last week with Geoff Tate performing Queensryche albums Rage For Order and Empire at the Aztec Theatre. We’ve seen it the last three years with Sebastian Bach dedicating his last two tours to his first two records with Skid Row. We’ve even witnessed Udo Dirkschneider continuing to play Accept songs after he had stated that his prior tour would be the last to include such material. Dirkschneider now sings a different tune, reportedly saying he wants to “give the people what they want.”
Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals could be viewed as a case of “last but not least” if not for one major difference: Anselmo’s celebration of his era fronting Pantera will always be split into two camps: those who’ve been clamoring for years for Anselmo to dust off those iconic songs again vs. those who blame the vocalist for the band’s breakup that led to the onstage murder of guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott by a deranged fan during a Damageplan concert in December 2004 in Ohio.
Anselmo spent part of 2019 playing Pantera tracks as a support act on Slayer’s farewell tour and was supposed to do the same Sept. 5 in Corpus Christi with Anthrax, Drowning Pool and Crobot before that show was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So his return Friday night to what was declared a sold-out Vibes Event Center, which holds approximately 1,200 fans, was music to the ears of the first side of the ledger — while the second side may have chosen to stay home.
With locals Life Cycles and X.I.L. also on the bill (apologies to the latter since a date with paying the bills necessitated an arrival after their set), Anselmo dedicated on a pair of occasions various Pantera songs to Dimebag and his late brother, drummer Vinnie Paul. Anselmo and Paul never buried the hatchet following Dime’s murder, so it was slightly curious that Anselmo never mentioned the only other member of Pantera who’s still alive, bassist Rex Brown.
Anselmo’s set was a short, yet anything but sweet, 75-80 headlining minutes that only included 12 songs. Billed as “A Vulgar Display of Pantera,” half of the performance was comprised of 1992’s Vulgar Display of Power including all of Side 1 such as Friday’s opener “A New Level” and “Mouth For War” (see setlist in 29-photo slideshow below). With the refreshing sight of body surfers serving as a backdrop, Anselmo and his latest version of The Illegals also ripped into “Strength Beyond Strength,” a portion of “Goddamn Electric,” “Becoming,” “This Love” and “I’m Broken” with a dash of Judas Priest’s “Victim of Changes” before Anselmo smartened up and let the Vibes faithful do their own Rob Halford impersonation on the song’s highest note (ATM Facebook Live footage here).
Guitarist Mike DeLeon of Flesh Hoarder, which headlines Bonds Rock Bar this Saturday, joined Scour bassist Derek Engemann and a pair of Anselmo’s former mates in Superjoint — guitarist Stephen Taylor and drummer Jose Manuel Gonzalez also of Warbeast — in celebrating Pantera’s music with the Vibes masses. DeLeon, of course, will undoubtedly be subjected to backlash he didn’t ask for from the second side of the ledger simply by stepping into Dimebag’s place on stage as long as Anselmo continues to play these songs. But for those in attendance, the first side of the ledger, hearing these tracks again live with the original voice would not be possible if a complete band didn’t round things out.
So the hits kept coming at Vibes, including “Fucking Hostile” when Anselmo promptly forgot a portion of the lyrics moments after he told the crowd that would likely occur (ATM footage below). And while “Cemetery Gates” and “Cowboys From Hell” were conspicuous by their absence, Anselmo delivered the goods on encores “Walk,” “Domination/Hollow” and surprising closer “Sandblasted Skin” (see below).
The printed setlist had three more songs written in smaller print, suggesting they might be performed if there was more time or indicating they may have been slated to be played during soundcheck: “Suicide Note: Pt. 2,” “We’ll Grind That Axe For A Long Time” and “Hellbound.” Alas, neither was heard even though Anselmo ended at approximately 11:15 p.m. on a Friday night.
Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals’ showing accomplished a couple of things. It gave those yearning for the great era of Pantera fulfillment in hearing those songs again, thereby preventing another painful version of “what if” — as in, what if they were never played again even while the voice behind them was still alive and had the chance to do so? It also gave fans of all ages a healthy outlet to unleash their pent-up pandemic fury to the tune of some of the greatest metal tracks to ever grace their ears.
That alone was cause for celebration — while never forgetting that half of the men behind the sound of Pantera will forever be missed. And that they can never be replaced.
