Pantera’s Phil Anselmo

Pantera headlined The Heaviest Tour of the Summer at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, NC, on September 11, 2025, and it felt like the kind of night that fans had been waiting decades for. Phil Anselmo’s voice was gritty but controlled, Rex Brown kept the low end heavy, and Zakk Wylde with Charlie Benante filled in for the Abbott brothers with reverence and fire. The 17-song set ran the spectrum—blistering staples like “Mouth for War” and “5 Minutes Alone,” fan-favorite anthems like “Cowboys From Hell,” and rarities like “10s” played live for the first time. Flames burst on cue, video tributes to Dimebag and Vinnie hung in the air, and the pit answered every cue with chaos. The merch tables were mobbed, packed with legacy shirts, vinyl box sets, and even reissues that carried the weight of history. Pantera’s nine studio albums remain cornerstones of heavy music, and while awards and accolades have piled up over the years, it’s the crowd screaming every word back at them that proves their legacy is still alive. Their official site is Pantera.

Pantera

Amon Amarth, stepping in as support, turned the amphitheater into their own battlefield. Viking statues framed the stage, smoke cannons fired in bursts, and Johan Hegg led the charge like a general rallying his troops. Behind him, Ted Lundström, Olavi Mikkonen, Johan Söderberg, and Jocke Wallgren kept everything sharp, heavy, and locked in. Songs from The Great Heathen Army (2022) and the fresh single “We Rule the Waves” landed hard, while old warhorses like “Twilight of the Thunder God” and “The Pursuit of Vikings” turned the crowd into a chanting army. Their discography now stretches across a dozen records on Metal Blade, each one expanding their world of myth and steel, and the merch booth leaned into it—horns, hoodies, and limited-edition posters snapped up quickly. Amon Amarth has stacked up festival headlines and high-charting albums across Europe and the U.S., and Raleigh gave them the kind of response that suggests the States might finally be catching up. Their official site is Amon Amarth.

Amon Amarth

King Parrot opened with absolute bedlam, and that’s exactly what people came early to see. Matthew “Youngy” Young spat into the air, slammed himself into the barricade, and barked insults at anyone not paying attention—meanwhile Wayne Slattery, Ari White, Andrew “Squiz” Livingstone-Squires, and Max Dangerfield played like they were trying to peel paint off the walls. Their latest release, A Young Person’s Guide to King Parrot (2025), already feels like a staple in their set, stacked alongside cuts from Bite Your Head Off (2012), Dead Set (2015), and Ugly Produce (2017). They’ve been nominated for ARIA Awards back home in Australia, but what they trade in most is sheer force—no frills, just chaos and humor in equal measure. Their merch setup was classic DIY: shirts, vinyl, and patches going out the door as fast as they could restock them. For a band working across labels from Housecore in the U.S. to Dead Set in Australia, their international presence feels undeniable. Their official site is King Parrot.

King Parrot