Pantera and Amon Amarth [Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI] 07/17/2025

Concert Review number three for me this year and I’m not going to lie, this is one that I was really hoping would work itself out. Any time my work schedule has me working local, the first thing I do is check the concert schedule to see who is playing during the time that I am home. I didn’t need a memory refresh to remember this one. As soon as the Detroit area date for the Pantera tour was announced, I jotted it down in my phone calendar and patiently waited to see how the cards would fall when the week of the show came up. As luck would have it, it all worked out. I couldn’t have been more thrilled and thankful.

The good times started as soon as I got into the venue area and parked. As I looked around, I was surrounded by so many people that I knew or at least recognized. There were members of a few local bands, shout out to Soldiers of Scrape, Imminent Sonic Destruction, Katharsis and a few others, people I see out at the shows all the time and current and old friends. Every Pantera show turns out to be a big reunion of all the SE Michigan hard rockers and metalheads and that night was no exception. Although I didn’t get to see them, I want to give a mention to S.N.A.F.U. because I love it when one of our deserving and talented local bands gets to open up a show of this caliber and at a venue that is any local musicians dream to play on its stage. Pine Knob is a place where every Michigan band or artist dreams of playing one day and for S.N.A.F.U., that dream came true the other night with Pantera and Amon Amarth. Everyone that I talked to throughout the evening said that they did a killer job and they were so grateful and thankful to be given this opportunity.

I got to my seats just in time, as Amon Amarth came out and took to the stage. This would be my third time seeing them and it’s always a great experience seeing these guys live. I was thrilled that Pantera were cool enough to let them use a big part of their stage show that night. A lot of headliners are pretty limiting with how much room the other bands get for the amount of ‘stage show’ that they have, but that wasn’t the case for this show. An Amon Amarth show is always good, but when they have any type of their themed stage show behind them, it’s just that much better. These guys are the type of band that when they start playing, you’re just mesmerized by the commitment to the craft and the heaviness of it all. And again, having those Viking themed stage props behind them just fed even more into the experience. The audience was definitely into it, raising fists, banging heads and singing along to a few of the more known choruses. I was happy to see that the majority of people were back in their seats and watching the show. Another great set from these guys and I always love hearing ‘Deceiver of the Gods’, ‘Guardians of Asgaard’, and ‘Raise Your Horns’ live.

A quick run to the bathroom, a stop to grab a last drink and I was back to my seat just in time for the finale of the evening. Pantera was back in Metro Detroit!  When I think back to the first announcements made of this lineup possibly happening and doing some shows and touring, I remember how many people were against it. Yeah, as a long-time and loyal Pantera fan, it was weird even thinking about this going on without Dimebag and Vinnie. But I honestly believe that Charlie and Zakk were the perfect choices if this was in fact going to happen. When Charlie plays these songs, he doesn’t play like Charlie, he plays more like Vinnie’s style. When Zakk plays these songs, he plays them more like Dime would have than how Zakk would play them. This was my third time seeing this lineup and like the other two times, it did not disappoint. It makes me even happier that so many people have come around to accepting this and are realizing that they are not trying to continue Pantera, they are paying tribute to and celebrating a band that was so influential and that so many people, including a whole generation-plus, never got a chance to see or experience live. While it’s not the same, this is the next best thing, and this is something that the music lover in me is very happy about.

The energy that night started the minute the lights went down and continued throughout the entire evening.  You could literally feel the energy in the air from not only the band, but the pumped-up crowd who had packed this place on a warm Thursday evening. I got to talk to so many people that night, all ages, male and female, first Pantera show, tenth Pantera show, and everyone in between. Each and every one of them was just excited to be there that night and to be a part of this incredible evening of heavy music. Another outstanding set and performance from the guys that night, including a few surprises in the lineup, especially with the songs ‘10’s’, ‘I’ll Cast a Shadow’, and a personal favorite of mine, ‘Goddamn Electric’. Song after song went by and that hyped and energetic feeling still showed no signs of calming. The crowd kept wanting more and the band was happy to keep it coming. Phil was his usual comical and no fucks given self that night and it only ads to the vibe of the show. A few people had mentioned noticing that some of the songs were tuned down a bit and/or slowed down a bit, but that didn’t matter to me, or to the thousands of others in attendance. As someone who is not only a major music lover and not a music snob, but someone who is also getting older as the journey of life goes by, I understand. Not only do I understand, but I also appreciate when a band does something like this to be more in their comfort zone with certain songs and to give the fans the best possible versions of the songs that they know people want to hear. Mission Accomplished, gentleman. Another incredible Pantera show and I’ll never get tired of hearing songs like ‘5 Minutes Alone’, ‘Mouth for War’, ‘Cowboys from Hell’, and ‘Fucking Hostile’ live. My only complaint is that they don’t do the full song for ‘Hollow’ any longer, my all-time favorite Pantera song. It’s now just a medley of ‘Domination/Hollow’. But hey, I’ll take what I can get.

In closing, thank you as always to 313 Entertainment for approving us to cover another incredible event. We always appreciate and feel humbled to be included. And, thank you Pantera, not only for keeping this all alive in the best way humanly possible, but for keeping it real and personal. There are hundreds of thousands of fans out there who are loving all of this and there is a whole generation or two that are getting at least a glimpse of what this was all about and why this band means so much to so many. Until the next one.

-Howie