Philip H. Anselmo And The Illegals Dominate With The Vulgar Display Of Pantera Live Stream
For twenty-three years Pantera ruled the metal kingdom with their unique brand of thrash metal. The band would tour the world many times over and completely decimated every stage they touched leaving thousands of fans and even fellow musicians in complete disbelief. With every release, it seemed Pantera would raise the bar and reinvent themselves while delivering some of the most iconic music of the last two decades. Since 2004, the world lost one of its most prolific and inspirational guitar players with Dimebag Darrell and ultimately, the legendary Vinnie Paul in 2018. Former bassist Rex Brown has since retired from life on the road leaving the one and only Phil Anselmo to keep the torch lit and keep the legacy of Pantera moving forward for new generations of metal heads. Tonight, Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals and Danny Wimmer Presents pay tribute with A Vulgar Display Of Pantera.
As we stair at the black stage curtain the cheers from the fans in attendance have already began to grow behind the camera. Once pulled back, we can hear the very familiar sound of the swirling record effect that starts off “Suicide Note Pt. 1” from Pantera’s 1996 The Great Southern Trendkill. With most of the band in position we now have graphics projecting on to the back drop and soon, the images of all four members of the band. While the image of Vinnie Paul and his contagious smile grace the stage, drummer Joey Gonzalez taps a light four count and guitarist Mike DeLeon starts to pick his 12 string guitar. As Dimebag’s image begins to shine bright, Phil Anselmo hits the stage with a thunderous applause from the fans and begins to serenade with the songs iconic falsetto voicing.
After the conclusion of that emotional induced song, Phil looks directly into the camera and announces “This whole set, is devoted and goes out to my brothers Dimebag and Vince. Always”. Within seconds the slightly somber mood in the room get’s pushed to the side as the band ignite into the crushing “A New Level”. To be honest, I was caught a bit off guard with the first track selection and assuming it would be this song to kick off the show. In actuality, it felt like it hit harder by playing it in total contrast to “Suicide Note Pt. 1“. I could sit here and say I doesn’t get heavier than that, but I’d probably end up saying the same thing for every song in the set. The band played it with that raw energy that it takes to really pull off a song like that.
For the next three songs Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals wouldn’t take their foot off the gas, plowing through some heavy hitting classics like “Mouth of War“, “Becoming” and “We’ll Grind That Axe for a Long Time“. Sitting here my chair I was out of breath just watching these guys knock out those songs and with out missing a beat. At this point we are five songs deep and Phil hasn’t even broken a sweat yet. The band gallups into “Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit” off of 2000’s Reinventing the Steel. This album will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first “new” Pantera album that had come out since becoming a fan and this was always one of my favorite tracks. With Mike DeLeon’s harmonic’s still ringing in the air, Phil says to the crowd “Y’all sing this one with me right here”. He then belts out one of the most infamous counts in metal history and detonating the bomb that it “Fucking Hostile“.
Off of 1992’s legendary album Vulgar Display of Power the band pumped out this high octane song with as much accuracy and power as if it was a just been recorded. Aside from the insane in your face rhythm section through out the entire song DeLeon and bassist Derek Engemann laid down some great gang vocals while Phil’s vocals were amazingly on point. This was a permeant fixture in a Pantera setlist giving Phil plenty of reps to nail it every time. I doubt it’s been played as often now a days but needless to say Phil stole the spotlight on this one. This is also the song that the fans get the most time on vocals as well. Phil would turn the mic around to the crowd during the isolated parts after the chorus and of course during the long breaks at the end of the song. It doesn’t mater where or when you hear those parts, you’re always compelled to scream out “FUCKING HOSTILE”.
Prior to “War Nerve”, Phil had let the fans in on a little known fact “This was me and Dime’s favorite song off that record” (The Great Southern Trendkill). I’m sure the fans, like myself, love to hear little facts or stories like that about the band that not a lot of people would know. Phil soon expressed his hopes that everyone at home was enjoying the show and took the time to introduce Calvin Dover to the crowd. He had sang backups during the first song of the set and is also in Anselmo’s other band En Minor. Calvin would lend a hand on the renowned track “This Love” and his vocals added a warm smoothing layer under Phil’s during the second part of the verses. This would be another song that would have a strong gang vocal interaction between the band members and the voices in the audience making those parts sound full and almost as merciless the songs main riff. And let’s not forget that this also gave guitarist Stephen Taylor his time to shine as he laid down a rather convincing solo.
“I’m Broken” has got to be in most fans top 5 favorite Pantera songs and for good reason. Another song that the riff maestro Dimebag Darrell would cement in metal lore with its memorable guitar work and of course Phil’s lyrical efforts. Mike DeLeon hit this one out of the park especially during the solo which is never an easy feat. Every time I hear this song, the music video immediately pops in my head. A very basic and straight forward in your face concept with the camera track still visible throughout the whole thing. At the end of the song, the members of the band would met at the drum riser as they rhythmically pound away at that devastating breakdown. With the band catching a small breather, Anselmo dedicates this next song to all the hardcore Pantera fans out there and without warning the band unleashes “Strenght Beyond Strenght“.
Musically it was like being shot out of a canon with no calm in sight. Little did we know that this would only be the first step in a Pantera medley that would also take us through the verses and choruses of the second single off Reinventing the Steel “It’s Goddamm Electric“. As far as lyrics goes, does it get much better than “Your trust is in whiskey and weed and Slayer, It’s Goddamm Electric”? And to slap the exclamation point on this merciless trifecta, why not drop in the whammy pedal induced breakdown from “Suicide Note Pt.2“. It had felt like Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals created a single song out of three hard hitting tracks and it transitioned seamlessly. With the crowd’s cheers still filling the room Anselmo tells everyone “You’re gonna act like this is the end of the show man, give us some love. We’ve got some other songs. We’ve got unfinished business”.
After the band walked off stage the camera is now focused in on the main mic at center stage. Soon the audio clip from “Living Through Me (Hells Wrath)” starts to play as a slideshow of Dimebag and Vinnie Paul is casted above the drum kit. When the band returns to the stage Phil announces that they will have to replay “Suicide Note Pt.1” because there was an audio problem for people viewing the stream at home. I personally didn’t have a problem and I highly doubt anyone was going to complain about hearing a song twice that has rarely been played. Immediately following “Hellbound“, Derek Engemann and Joey Gonzalez would start up a familiar rhythm that instantly gets the adrenaline going.
After a couple verses DeLeon and Taylor chime in with their heavy chugs. As soon as Phil steps up to the mic the band drops the hammer of brutality that is “Domination“. This is hands down the heaviest of the heavy of Pantera songs and if you have any kind of pulse, you will be headbanging on every single beat. Just like on the bands 100% Proof Live it would be a double dose of insanity with it being paired right up with the unforgiving break down section of “Hollow“.
Before the start of the next song Phil tells the fans “I got a friend of mine that is gonna come up and give us a hand with this song”. “There’s a little dude in the audience named Roman”. With the applause of the fans he has a big smile on his face and he goes to help him up on stage. As soon as he is up there Anselmo leans down and give him a big hug and asks “You wanna sing a song with me my man?”. Little Roman looks up and shakes his head yes with excitement. I’ve got to say that this kid was more clam, cool and collective then most adults would be in that situation. Then it is declared that the next song would be none other than “Walk“. A kid no older than 6, is going to be assisting with the choruses of one of the most famous metal songs of all time with Phil Anselmo in front of the entire world and absolutely killed it! I don’t know if he could fully understand the gravity of where he was but I’m sure it’ll hit him when he’s older.
At this point I’ve lost track of how many song in we are, but Phil lets us all know they got one left for us. And with “THE TREND IS DEAD!” being hurled into the microphone it could only mean one thing, that the band were going to end the show with “Sandblasted Skin”. This detuned triplet riddle monster of a jam takes off fast, furious and feels like you just got punched in the stomach. Clearly this wasn’t just a clever title for the song as it feels like my skin was audibly sandblasted. It would be physically impossible to end the show any heavy than the final four songs of this set. With the show at a close, the applause of thanks and admiration from all the fans still echos throughout the venue. Without a doubt, Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals made this show a success in every way possible. And for all the Pantera fans out there including myself, we thank you!
This show really separated itself from others produced by Danny Wimmer Presents by having it as a more intimate setting and of course allowing fans to attend. Phil had mentioned it earlier that there were only 50 people in attendance outside of the band and crew. But through out the show the response from those lucky enough to be there sounded like there were significantly more. I can’t give this band enough credit for bringing these iconic songs to life once again for fans new and old. The level of talent it takes to play any Pantera is a lot, but to pull off a setlist like this was nothing short of incredible and truly showcased the bands musical abilities. And then there’s Philip H. Anselmo. Even after 40 years of putting his vocal chords through the ringer and playing thousands of shows in his career, he still has what it takes to be one of the best front men in the game. That iconic voice has carried over to multiple generations of fans across all of his work and hopefully will for a long time to come.
If you haven’t checked out the show yet, it will be available until 11:59pm tonight. Head to IllegalsLive to grab your tickets and all your merch bundles before it’s too late. For all upcoming Live Stream events and Festival info stop in to Danny Wimmer Presents.
