I have to admit, I love me some Pantera.  I went into mourning when they officially broke up.  And all hopes of a reunion faded to black when Dimebag Darrell Abbott was murdered on stage.  I had to settle for Damage Plan, Superjoint Ritual, and Down.  Not that I mind, but nothing will ever replace Pantera.  Sorry, not even Pantera’d.

I’ve said it many times, reviewing tribute bands is a tricky deal.  Separating the tribute from the original is almost inescapable.  Musicianship-wise most bands hit it right on the nose.  Instruments will hit the same pitch and tone if maintained and played correctly.  Vocals are a different story.  The vocal stylings of Phil Anselmo derive from the thrash bowels of metal.  It’s rough, abrasive, and just plain scarey—kind of like Satan coughing up a loogie.  Many new metal bands embrace the same sound now, but somehow they will never have the same effect as Phil’s voice did for the reemergence of metal.  The vocalist for Pantera’d had huge shoes to fill.  Sadly, he had an audience full of Anselmophilacs to perform in front of.  Other than the occasionally “Fuckin’ A!” (the second most popular phrase Phil says on stage next to anything regarding Satan) and a few good blood-curdling screams, the Pantera’d vocalist  seemed to be trying too hard.  And even though Anselmo’s trade was screaming a lot, he did sing in a low melancholy tone that was surprisingly hypnotic.  The Pantera’d vocalist did a decent job singing thrash but when it came to the slow melodic portions of “This Love” it was like it was too mellow for him.  But I’ll tell you what wasn’t too mellow, the guitarist.  If there was anything that brought the Pantera fans to their feet, it was the familiar sound of Dime’s groove-metal guitar.  The Pantera’d guitarist seemed to be the one person from this entire tribute show that actually channeled the original artist.  Close your eyes and you’d swear Dime was on stage chugging a bottle of Jack and smiling with a black tooth grin.  Shout out to the Pantera’d guitarist, “Dude, you so rock.  Horns up to you!”

When you have a band that has a distinct sound and distinct vocals, and made a huge impact on a dying genre, it’s hard to step into their same shoes and not have anyone criticize you.  In all honesty, I wouldn’t be able to do it.  These guys had the guts.  Hats off to you.  I’m sure Dime would be proud.