Highly anticipated Pantera tour hits Montage Mountain in Scranton with Lamb of God on Aug. 6
From a press release:
Today, Pantera, one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history, announced their long-awaited return to the national stage. They will be touring North America this summer with Lamb of God as special guests.
One of the most talked-about tours of 2023, this celebration includes original members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown joined by Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society on guitar and Charlie Benante of Anthrax on drums. In December, they kicked off the highly anticipated return in Mexico City to incredible reviews.
Produced by Live Nation, the 20-city tour kicks off in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, July 28 in Burgettstown at The Pavilion at Star Lake, making stops in Milwaukee, Toronto, Austin, Denver, and more before wrapping up in Bristow, Virginia on Sept. 15 at Jiffy Lube Live. After hitting Hersheypark Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 5, it comes to The Pavilion at Montage Mountain (1000 Montage Mountain Rd., Scranton) on Sunday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m.
Tickets go on sale next Friday, Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. via livenation.com. A pre-sale begins Thursday, Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. using the code SOUND.
Citi is the official card of the Pantera tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets beginning Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. until Thursday, Jan. 26 at 10 p.m. through the Citi Entertainment program.
Fans can also see Pantera at their recently announced support dates during Metallica’s stadium tour of North America in 2023 and 2024, as well as headlining gigs at major rock festivals like Rockfest, Inkcarceration, and more this year.
Pantera got its start in Arlington, Texas with its best-known lineup, consisting of founding members drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell, along with bassist Rex Brown and vocalist Philip Anselmo. Running from 1981 through 2003, the group is credited with the development and popularization of the groove metal subgenre.
The scorched-earth roar of Pantera blasted the unsuspecting masses on their monster 1990 major label debut “Cowboys from Hell,” forever changing the face of metal thereafter. Its follow-up, 1992’s pulverizing “Vulgar Display of Power,” is an all-time metal masterpiece, and ’94’s “Far Beyond Driven” is widely considered the heaviest album ever to enter Billboard’s Top 200 at No. 1. In a genre often dictated by trends, this unassailable band is revered for uncompromising allegiance to their self-described “power groove” and extreme metal mission, and for paving the way for others brave enough to follow.
To date, they have sold 20 million records worldwide and received four Grammy Award nominations. Dimebag Darrell died in 2004 and his brother Vinnie Paul passed away in 2018.
Richmond, Virginia natives Lamb of God originally formed in 1994 as Burn the Priest while in college together at Virginia Commonwealth University, initially performing in meager venues and hocking rough demos among the local scene. In 1998, the group changed their moniker to Lamb of God, which would mark their impending ascension to top-tier status, as well as one of the only tangible career deviations that the band would ever undertake, having consistently released chart-topper after chart-topper while maintaining a steady lineup and an increasingly growing fanbase. Their first major release, 2000’s “New American Gospel,” was immediately touted as an instant metal classic.
AllMusic stated it best: “The essential signatures of post-Pantera metal are in abundance on Lamb of God’s inaugural album. ‘New American Gospel’ provides a mighty oak upon which gritty American metal’s faith is maintained, effectively bridging the ’90s’ insistence upon drill-sergeant technicality and the old school’s determined focus on riff construction.”
In 2007, just a short time after putting out monumentally successful releases “Ashes of the Wake” and “Sacrament,” LoG was honored with a Grammy Award nomination for the track “Redneck.” This would mark the first of four Grammy nominations for the band. After the release of “Walk with Me in Hell” in 2008, the second and third nominations came in 2010 and 2011 for tracks “Set to Fail” and “In Your Words,” both cut from 2009’s “Wrath.” The fourth arrived for “Ghost Walking” from their 2012 album “Resolution.”
Across their career, Lamb of God has grown from basement shows and grimy DIY venues to arena headliners. The New Wave of American Heavy Metal architects earned a reverence akin to musical forefathers (and road companions) Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth. For millions of headbangers, LoG is simply the most important contemporary metal band in the world, whose timeless songs became anthems in the heavy metal songbook, with gargantuan vocals born from both righteous anger and devotion, paired with unrivaled riffs for the ages.
Their latest album, “Omens,” was released on Oct. 7, 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records. It follows 2020’s self-titled No. 1 hard rock album, saluted by the likes of Rolling Stone and NME, and is perhaps their angriest record yet. Produced by longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur (Korn, Megadeth), “Omens” is a vicious new testament, a furious entry in their beloved catalog.
“The world is crazy and keeps changing. ‘Omens’ is a reaction to the state of the world,” vocalist Randy Blythe explained. “It’s a very pissed-off record.” He paused for emphasis. “It is extremely pissed-off.”
It was tracked at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, a location that birthed classics from The Doors, The Ramones, and Soundgarden, among others.
“The inner workings of the band have never been better,” guitarist Mark Morton noted. “You can hear it in ‘Omens.’ You can see it in our performances, and if you’re around us for five minutes, you can feel it.”
