Pantera - Anthrax - Coal Chamber
Jan 28th 1998
Bell Pavillion, Montreal, PQ, Canada
Having already seen Pantera twice, the question comes up "why see them again?" Maybe it's just because I love the band, or maybe because Anthrax was opening, who hadn't played our city in over 5 years. Or maybe it's just because Pantera has never put on a bad show, and once again they didn't disappoint.
The night started with Coal Chamber, who I had never heard before. The band sure did look strange, and I've seen some strange bands before. But these guys were really freaky. As for the music, it was a slowish industrial style of metal, without the samples. They were actually pretty good, I might check out their album sometime in the near future.
Things started getting real fun when Anthrax took the stage. The lights went out, and then one single red light appeared, and there was Scott Ian, banging his head. The rest of the band followed suit, and soon the whole place was moving. They played a shorter set since they were an opening act, but they still managed to play a few classics like 'Got The Time' and 'Spreading The Disease'. They also played more recent hits like 'Only', 'Room For One More', and 'Fueled'. Towards the end of the set, Phil and Dimebag Darrell came out and helped out during some of the songs, which was cool. They ended the set with 'Bring the Noise', and I swear, all 2500 people in the room were moshing insanely. Quite a sight, although I didn't get to see much of it, since I was busy joining in the fun.
Pantera appeared shortly after. They were all in fine form, and played tons of songs from their new Live album. They opened with 'Walk', then went through 'Suicide Note Part II', 'Sandblasted Skin', 'Becoming', 'War Nerve', 'This Love', 'I'm Broken', 'Cowboys From Hell', and 'Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks', which I had never heard them play live before. Phil had fun getting the crowd into the music, although there was one funny part where he thanked the crowd for sticking with Pantera since the earliest days of the band back in 1990. Apparently Phil has a somewhat selective memory, and has completely forgotten that whole Glam thing back in the late 80's. Anyway, the sound was great, the crowd was going nuts, the mosh pit was huge, the band was tight and focused. They ended the show with 'Planet Caravan', and then Scott Ian came out and helped along during 'A New Level'. No Pantera concert is complete without 'A New Level'.
Whether you've seen them a hundred times, or never before, go see this tour. It will not be a waste of time or money.