One and a half years after seeing Pantera at Tons Of Rock, I am going to see them again - this time in Oslo Spektrum.

Spektrum has two big screens where Phil Anselmo’s record label Housecore Records’ videos are rolled in circles. Scour, Shock Narcotic, King Parrot, En Minor, Child Bite and some more. 

Child Bite from Detroit rock city is one of the opening acts today. This is bizarre, but as I was buckling up to go to a gig, my obscure underground band received a message from… Jeremy Waun, guitar player from Child Bite! “Not sure if you’d see this or if it’d interest anyone. My band Child Bite from Detroit is opening for Pantera and Power Trip in Oslo tomorrow at Spektrum. We can get a few free tickets for guests and we don’t know anyone in particular. I really dig your music and figured I’d give a shout! …”. What’s the probability of this to happen? I already know that I am going, so this gets interesting. A lesson to you, reader who plays in a band. If you are touring and playing in a town you do not personally know anyone from, - be like Jeremy! 

Child Bite video shows right before they enter the stage, the intro is fading in 1 min early. The lights are finally down and Child Bite are on full speed. This is very much my type of music - I can hear it from the first notes - very promising noise. Great sharp guitar (with very tasty reverb effects on some riffs), muffled dirty bass, clean-ish vocals and punchy drums. The first association - Jesus Lizard. I also hear Daughters and Mr.Bungle influence. Wikipedia would mention punk as a genre, but it is different, and by far much more interesting than any punk band. 

Shawn Knight on vocals is running from corner to corner of the big stage, - a very diverse and engaging front, and the others are not standing still too (despite the music is not trivial at all - so it is like doing a mosh while playing shoegaze). A lot of character is there. Shawn does some tricks with the microphone, and Jeremy delivers back vocals. Second song and this is when I am sure it is very much my type of hardcore. High guitar with disharmonies is what I would link to the Daughters influence. But then it changes back to noise hardcore. Clean vocals are especially good. Then a riff with fast slides - all nailed (not around the needed fret, but exactly where one must start and stop). Toms are not mic-ed, so it is only kick and snare, but I hear the toms despite the venue being gigantic. I wish there were photographers allowed on this opening act, - very photogenic and charismatic. 

As the set develops, the band really enjoys the stage. Very fast natural harmonics, very cool delay and palm-mute riffs with windmilling! Pass the Glue song is noisy but tight. Even the guitar feed is controlled. "We are from Detroit, we only speak English, thank you for dealing with our ignorance", - the last song is announced and Shawn is stage-diving. My plan is to check everything that is released by these guys. 

20 min layover, and fantastic Power Trip are onstage. When there is no more (90th version of) Sepultura, this act is exactly what we need right now. Are you a fan of Beneath The Remains? Go see them. 

It is very, very tight. These chugs! It is super hits only - not a single weak point in the whole set. Snare sounds huge. Firing Squad sees the birth of a circle put. Left guitar (Blake Ibanez) that does the leads is a bit lower in the mix. Then comes Nightmare logic. I totally get them. 

Nick Stewart, right guitar, attempts to launch the circle pit several times. One of the coolest part is that the stage is moving - they are not standing still, and when the right moment comes, both Nick and Blake do backing vocal short shouts to support the moment, - but it looks like they were just passing their microphones during the right time - and then carry on running the initial direction while doing their thing on guitars. 

What I am most happy about is that Power Trip carried on with Seth Gilmore on vocals after Riley Gale died of overdose. Carrying on is always the right choice. Seth is a fantastic fit keeping the thrash vibes up high. 

30 min change has a line check and I understand that it is going to be brutally loud. Each instrument sounds very tasty alone. Just like at Tons of Rock in 2023, Pantera first plays a very long video intro before hitting A New Level. It does sound quite different from what I remember from Tons. The vocals are initially too low, they are gradually leveling up at Mouth Of War, but I hear that Zakk (Wilde) has changed some of the solos and does different accents on rhythm. Phil Anselmo’s screams are great, but the clean vocals sound too low and not too tight - tired. But hey, this is not the easiest job. Zakk does the Zakk thing between the songs! Strength Beyond Strength, and then absolutely crashing Becoming, - damn, it sounds great. I understand that it does not just seem to me - this time Zakk is definitely more free with solos and rhythm. Sometimes something is played more open-string (while I expect a hard palm-mute), but sometimes it is palm-mute on an open riff. Maybe tired? But no, solos clearly show that Zakk is definitely very much here. 

“The next song is…”, - Phil does not remember the setlist, so he has to go and see the sheet laying on the floor, - “I’m Broken”. Suicide note pt. II, and the whammy is pressed slightly out of tempo. I’ve always wondered how it works, as I understand it is someone on the side of the stage pressing the bar when needed. 5 Minutes Alone, and the chorus is delivered by the audience. There are improvements - vocals are getting much better. Charlie Benante sounds fantastic - just crushing - it is an insanely sexy drum sound - I am not sure if I’ve ever heard a better drum sound. Rex Brown’s bass is roaring. What is not good is the audience - a huge share is totally unburdened by intellect - drunkards throw cans with beer, so those standing on the floor are showered. Beers now fly like cakes in a Charlie Chaplin movie. 

This Love intro sounds good, but the vocals are not there - almost not audible. Floods and the classical untuned guitar effect. “This riff will own you for the next three or four minutes”, - Walk. Phil does quite long speeches of appreciation between songs, and, as announced, Satyricon duo is onstage for this one just to hang out, and Frost (Satyricon’s drummer) is headbanging like crazy. Then there is that moment with a breakdown - literally heaviest metal on earth - starting with bass. Yes, you got it right: Domination / Hollow. The last one (before the encore) is Cowboys from Hell, and Zakk again plays it more openly than on the original. 

Pantera are away for a short while, and then Fucking Hostile is delivered in an encore.

Compared to Tons of Rock it sounded rusty. But as Phil states, you never know what is the next turn of destiny, and having Pantera performing live is not something that can be taken for granted. When it comes to live music, my biggest regrets are not going to see acts, when I could, - so seeing them feels a great treat that was almost expected to never happen.