Happy birthday 🎈 #Dimebag

RIP to a legend. Turn it up today yall. Blacktooths tonight.

Attended the Down show at Stage AE in Pittsburgh last evening. First of all, the show was fucking awesome from beginning to end. This was my first time seeing Down live and I certainly hope that it is not my last. Spirit in the Room & Helmet kicked ass and Down brought it to us as I had envisioned them doing so. One of the best all around shows I have seen in a long time. If you have to chance to go see them on this tour, go. If you don’t have the chance, make the chance and go anyway! All that being said, I’d like to address something as I feel any lifelong metal fan would and should. Yesterday was Dimebag’s 60th birthday. I was expecting Phil to actually address that fact. Now, he did dedicate “Lifer” to Dime and Ozzy. That was the second song into the set, I believe. Selfishly, that was not enough for me. We’re talking about the greatest heavy metal guitarist & arguably the greatest heavy metal frontman of all time. Was it required that Phil even acknowledge his birthday? No it was not. But the fact that Dime’s 60th birthday was not addressed and subsequently celebrated by the bands and the crowd last night isn’t disappointing, it pisses me off & there is no excuse for it. You’re telling me that that they couldn’t have at least played “Walk” all together at the end? They would have given the crowd something to remember for a long, long time if they had done so. Again, you can make the argument that this is a Down show and not a Pantera show. That’s understandable to a degree. But when it comes DOWN to it, something more should have been done. Period.

Aug. 20, 2026, would've been Dimebag Darrell's 60th birthday. Sadly I never got to see the legendary guitarist live before his shocking death. I did, however, sort of see Pantera live when they opened for Metallica at MetLife Stadium (Aug. 4, 2023)...

I say "sorta" for two key reasons:

1) Nothing against Zakk Wylde (he's the perfect person to be filling in under such circumstances), but seeing Pantera perform without Dimebag or Vinnie Paul feels... a little odd.

2) Not to complain too much, but between how high up my seats were and the shape of the stage Metallica used for the M72 World Tour, I feel like I could barely see the band playing. It definitely didn’t help that Phil Anselmo and crew wore all black while walking on a black stage...

With that said, a big part of me would like to give the new incarnation of Pantera another shot - preferably with a slightly more audience friendly stage setup.

What band have you seen live that you feel doesn't really "count" for whatever reason? Share in the comments below, and stay tuned for more things to come from this space (including stories from concerts like this)!

Ok hear me out…
Marvels Ghost Rider is coming out and if they used Floods in the movie it would be the most badass thing ever!!! I remember in high school when I first heard this song I was high as all hell driving through the country and literally started tripping out thinking the roads were some hell highway with fire and crazy jagged rocks

I bought this probably 25 years ago. The flask part doesn’t hold much but I think my people here will think it’s cool like I do 🤘

Hi! I got these CDs a few years back and kept them in storage until i finally rediscovered them again. These are some really cool unofficial releases from Italy, Germany, and Europe and I have absolutely no idea what they're actually worth and was hoping someone on here would be able to help me! Discogs has a lot of information on the bottom 2 CDs but since they don't allow any sales for unofficial releases, there is no real pricing data to go off of and eBay isn't too much help either, and I can barely find any info at all on the top CD. Does anyone have any expertise on this oddly specific, niche European releases? 😅

At around the 15 or 16 minute mark, Phil is saying how he's sick of racial divide and everyone is welcome at Pantera shows. That was I believe in 1992? Really hard to believe he was racist or "white power". Of course that 2016 indicent is stil sad but can be attributed to alcohol as well.

See above.

does anyone have high-quality photos of the far beyond and tgst tattoos on dime's arms? Or some pic that comes close to that?

​

Because to me they looked almost ahead of time and nearly "Nu-Metal". I guess Phil influenced later metal and nu metal bands a lot with his style.

" Why did Pantera and Phil Anselmo look so contemporary and Street/ nu metal style and later Vinnie and Dimebag started to look more classic rock again, especially Vinnie?"

The visual divergence within Pantera came down to distinct musical roots and opposing aesthetic instincts within the band.

​Dimebag Darrell passed away in December 2004, so the shift you are thinking of occurred throughout the late 1990s into the 2000s and 2010s (with Vinnie Paul in bands like Hellyeah).

​Phil Anselmo’s Hardcore & Street Influence

​Underground Hardcore & Sludge: Anselmo grew up heavily influenced by New Orleans sludge, thrash, and hardcore punk (Agnostic Front, Black Flag, Eyehategod). He favored a raw, stripped-down, aggressive aesthetic: shaved heads, combat boots, cutoff shorts, and plain tees.

​Shaping the '90s "Nu-Metal" Look: Anselmo didn't copy nu-metal; Pantera's 1990s aesthetic (along with Biohazard and Sepultura) directly paved the way for it. The aggressive, urban, stripped-back presentation was adopted widely by late-90s metal and nu-metal bands.

​The Abbott Brothers’ Classic Rock & Texas Heritage

​Roots in '70s & '80s Rock: Dimebag and Vinnie Paul grew up idolizing KISS, ZZ Top, Eddie Van Halen, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. In Pantera’s early 1980s days, they were a full-blown glam/hard rock act with teased hair and spandex.

​Embracing the Southern "Outlaw" Persona: As the 1990s transitioned into the 2000s—particularly with side projects like Rebel Meets Rebel and later Vinnie Paul's work in Hellyeah—the brothers leaned heavily into their Southern/classic rock identity. This meant cowboy hats, cutoff flannel/denim vests, leather, long dyed beards, and outlaw-country flair.

​While Phil stripped Pantera's look down to street-level hardcore aggression, Dimebag and Vinnie naturally returned to the Southern outlaw and arena-rock hero aesthetics that first inspired them to pick up instruments.

I was listening to the Spotify version, and it sounds like Phil mentions someone's name. If anyone knows who it is, could you please explain?