If you doubt Phil Anselmo, check yourself. If you think the Illegals can’t do justice to Pantera, you clearly haven’t heard them. Look, let’s get this out of the way, there was only one Dime and only one Vinnie Paul. But they are no longer with us. Phil still is and Phil is the voice of Pantera. And speaking of voice, all those ridiculous comments about Phil’s voice not being able to handle these Pantera songs anymore… well, those are all obvious horseshit because Mr. Anselmo sounded incredible. Then again, most negative comments and rumors on social media about Phil are complete horseshit stemming from jealousy.
The two guitarists with their dual riffing on songs like “I’m Broken” really elevate the track and give a bit of a new take on the songs while still staying true to Dime’s composition. The Illegals had some really massive shoes to fill and I must really admit, they just crushed it – completely seized the opportunity. I loved the guitar solo for “Fuckin’ Hostile,” the bass on “This Love” and the fact that the entire band clearly knew what they were a part of.
While the production had a few hiccups, the staging, the screens in the back of the stage, and the small crowd in front of the band made this feel much more like an actual concert than many of the live streaming events we’ve seen over the past year. The camera angles and the direction were really spot on and made this seem more like a live concert DVD than just something put together for a stream.
Other highlights:
“Suicide Note Part I” – yes, with 12 string guitar, keyboards and backing vocals.
Stephen Taylor and Mike Deleon crushing the riffs together on “Domination.”
Phil bringing up a young boy on stage named Roman to help him sing “Walk.” Roman crushed it!
This performance will silence the doubters and the non-believers. Just an amazing and crushing show. This raises the bar for livestreams.
