PANTERA/SOULFLY
Live At Dynamo Open Air 1998 DYNAMO CONCERTS Live artefacts from 90s metal royalty
IN WHAT’S SET to be the first of many live releases from the legendary Dutch outdoor festival, these two sets document bands at opposite ends of their respective journeys and fortunes. Though
PANTERA [6] would keep battling on for a few more years and one more under-appreciated album, you can hear the cracks beginning to widen in the band’s performance following the best part of eight years conquering and reshaping the metal globe. Threatening to come off the rails at times with Phil Anselmo’s overt antagonism close to spilling over in between bouts of occasionally incoherent screams, it barely seems like the same band that released the formidable Official Live: 101 Proof just a year earlier. Yet through the tribulation you’re reminded what a staggeringly vital band the Texans were; whether it’s the colossal Becoming and
I’m Broken, the rarer, debilitating Hard Lines Sunken Cheeks or Primal Concrete Sledge’s visceral stampede, there’s still unmatched class shining through the dirt. And, of course, Dimebag steals the show. While Pantera’s flame may have been diminishing at Dynamo 1998, SOULFLY [7] were just flickering into life mere weeks after the release of their eclectic debut album. A few Sepultura staples – the Beneath The Remains/Dead Embryonic Cells combo tears all asunder – were mixed in alongside new tracks that had already struck a nerve with the crowd, and the reaction to Bleed and Eye For An Eye marked them out as ready-made classics. With exhilarating guest spots from Benji Webbe on Quilombo and Prejudice, and Chino Moreno on the subtle punch of closer First Commandment, this show set down a marker for what Max Cavalera and his new henchman would typify throughout their now 20-year run: a little rough around the edges but crackling with resolve and undeniable energy.
FOR FANS OF: SEPULTURA, MACHINE HEAD, KORN