Pantera took the stage at the Download festival in Donington Park, UK on Saturday (June 15th) for a headline set on the Opus stage for their first UK performance in over 20 years.
The current incarnation of the group announced in 2022 that original frontman Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown had recruited Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde to come together to celebrate the band's legacy.
They took the stage at Download and rocked a 12-song set including "Mouth For War", "Becoming", "This Love", "Floods", "Walk", "Cowboys From Hell" with an encore of "F'ing Hostile".
Fans in the U.K. and Ireland will have the opportunity to see the band again when they return early next year for a five-date tour that will be kicking off in Glasgow on February 18th and wrapping up in London on February 25th.
Back in 2022, after news broke about the reformation of the group, Wylde was asked by Matt Pinfield and Jose Mangin of Danny Wimmer Presents at the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio about it. He said, "When Vinnie (Paul, drummer for Pantera) was still alive, when the fellows were all talking about doing it, I just always told 'em, I said, 'Guys, of course I would... If you asked me, why would I not do it? I'm gonna honor Dime.' It'd be like Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell asking Eric Clapton if he would go out and honor Jimi [Hendrix] and Eric playing Jimi's stuff and singing Jimi's songs and they're going out as The Jimi Hendrix Celebration. And he's gonna honor his buddy and he's gonna play his songs. I think it's a beautiful thing. It's like when we do the Dimebash, it's a celebration of Dime's greatness. I think this is a Pantera celebration, that's what it is."
Zakk continued, "It's a beautiful thing. You're celebrating Vinnie and Dime's greatness and you're celebrating all the mountains that Pantera conquered and crushed."
He also explained, "Obviously, it's not Pantera. Pantera is those four guys, it's Phil, Rex, Dime and Vinnie. But it's just like when Zeppelin went out with Jason Bonham playing, it was phenomenal. I told Jason, I was just, like, 'Dude, you crushed it, man.' It's a great thing just to hear them play that music again."
Pantera's Rex Brown Addresses Rare Club Show Live Album Speculation
Pantera Bring Out Metallica Stars At Surprise Club Show
Pantera To Play Rare Club Show This Week
Dimebag Darrell's Blacktooth Beverages Launches With Four Beverages
Live: Maria Muldaur Brings Way Past Midnight Tour To Phoenix
Hot In The City: Halloween Fun in Phoenix
Sites and Sounds: Unity, Peace & Freedom Music Festival
Halloween Special: Put These Halloween Goodies in Your Trick-or-Treat Bag
Reggae Party: Bob Marley- Stephen Marley- Seagram's Escapes Jamaican Me Happiness Collection
Queen Share The Greatest Special: 'The Story Of Queen I' (Part One)
Iron Maiden Pay Tribute To Paul Di'Anno
New Order and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lead Cruel World Lineup
Iron Maiden Legend Paul Di'Anno Dead At 66
Jeff Lynne's ELO Announce Final Concert
Jake E. Lee Details Confrontation That Led To Being Shot
Supertramp In The Studio For 'Crime Of The Century' 50th Anniversary