THE HEAVIEST TOUR OF THE SUMMER
Review & Photography: Lynn Doby
On September 11th, 2025, Coastal Credit Union Music Park in Raleigh wasn’t just a venue — it was ground zero for the heaviest night of the year. King Parrot ignited the chaos, Amon Amarth turned it into a Viking battlefield, and Pantera… Pantera proved that the brothers’ legacy still stomps, screams, and destroys.
KING PARROT: AUSTRALIAN GRINDCORE MADNESS
The night opened with King Parrot — Australia’s bastard children of grindcore and thrash — and from the first second of “Bozo”, they made it clear this wasn’t going to be a warm-up set. Matthew “Youngy” Young stalked the stage, spitting venom into the mic like he was picking a fight with every person in the pit. Ari “Mr. White” White shredded on lead, while Wayne “Auntie Slatts” Slattery’s basslines snarled under Andrew “Squiz” Livingstone-Squires’ riffwork. And new drummer Max Dangerfield? He hammered like he was trying to crack the earth in half.
Songs like “Target Pig Elite” and “Psychotherapy and Valium” turned the crowd into a powder keg, and by the time they closed with “Shit on the Liver”, Raleigh knew they’d just witnessed some of the rawest chaos to ever open a major metal tour. No frills, no polish — just fury. Their last song of the set, “Fuck You and the Horse You Rode In On” brought Raleigh to it's knees begging for more. This was topshelf-100-Proof-grindcore chaos delivered straight from the bottle into your mouth.
AMON AMARTH: VIKINGS INVADE RALEIGH
If King Parrot lit the match, Amon Amarth brought the warships and the battle. The stage transformed into a Viking battlefield the moment Johan Hegg’s roar tore through “Guardians of Asgaard.” as tall Viking statues of their forefathers witness the destruction first-hand. His voice is still one of the most commanding in metal — thunderous, guttural, and battle-ready. With Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg’s guitars locked in, Ted Lundström’s bass rumbling beneath, and Jocke Wallgren’s drumming like a siege engine, this was a performance built for conquest.
The setlist was a masterclass in Amon Amarth’s balance of melody and brutality. “Shield Wall” and “Deceiver of the Gods” hit like flaming arrows, while “Put Your Back Into the Oar” had the crowd rowing in unison — thousands of bodies on the lawn rowing like a goddamn Viking army — it was amazing! The amphitheater shook when “Raise Your Horns” turned into a massive toast to brotherhood, beer, and bloodshed. And “Twilight of the Thunder God” as the closer? Pure Ragnarök.
The crowd — fists raised, horns high — answered the call. Raleigh was no longer just a stop on tour. It was a battlefield.
PANTERA: LEGACY, GROOVE, AND FIRE
They opened with the haunting calm of Suicide Note Pt. I playing from tape as they show home videos of both the brothers and their time together during Pantera. There was this eerie calmness in the air at that moment and then, like a guillotine blade, The curtain painted with the the Pantera logo and rotating marijuana leaves drops! Suicide Note Pt. II drops! The pit detonated instantly—Zakk Wylde’s guitar a razor-edged tribute to Dimebag, Charlie Benante’s drumming hammering like a freight train for Vinnie. It was chaos, but it was sacred chaos.
From there, it was hit after hit. Hellbound ripped with raw aggression, Phil barking like a man possessed as fire sprayed behind him. 5 Minutes Alone turned the venue into one massive gang-chant, every throat screaming for blood. Strength Beyond Strength and Mouth for War hit like bricks to the chest— just pure groove-driven violence and the fans were there for it.
Goddamn Electric had Zakk flexing his tone to its breaking point, grinding, nasty, and loud as hell. Becoming brought out those double-kick barrages—Charlie nailing Vinnie’s legacy with surgical force and giving respect and nods to those old-school Pantera fans. Then came I’m Broken—and the crowd lost their minds. Raleigh sang every word like their lives depended on it.
Unexpectedly, they take a breather and discuss the power of overcoming addiction with the deep cut 10’s —a haunting, emotional gut punch that reminded everyone that Pantera was never just about brutality. I’ll Cast a Shadow followed, heavy and defiant, carrying the weight of legacy like a war banner. This Love slowed the pace only to explode into one of the heaviest breakdowns in metal history. The entire pit surged like a wave. And then—Cowboys From Hell.... Fucking forget it. The place exploded! The anthem. The closer. The eruption. Raleigh was on fire, fists in the air, voices raw, and for a moment, it felt like 1994 all over again.
Wait, Did you think they were done?
Just when Raleigh thought the night was done, Pantera came back swinging with a four-song encore that felt like a damn exorcism. A New Level hit first—Phil screaming about rising above as the entire amphitheater answered back, fists in the air, throats shredded. It wasn’t just a song, it was a war cry.
Then Walk—the riff that raised an entire generation of metalheads. Zakk dropped those opening notes and the place became unhinged. But this time, it wasn’t just Pantera. Members of King Parrot, Amon Amarth, and even fans themselves stormed the stage, standing shoulder to shoulder to honor the legacy. This was bigger than a performance—it was communion. A celebration of Dime and Vinnie, taken from us far too soon. Their blood, their sweat, their entire being lives in every riff, every drum hit, every lyric that night. Raleigh roared it back, and you could feel the ache of loss just as much as the triumph. We miss them, but goddamn do we celebrate them.
But Pantera wasn’t finished. They ripped into Domination / Hollow, the perfect blend of sheer destruction and haunting reflection. That breakdown hit like an earthquake, shaking Coastal Credit Union Music Park to its core. You could feel Dime and Vinnie in the air—every note, every scream, every headbanging body was a tribute to the brothers who built this empire of groove.
And then the final nail—Fucking Hostile. Pure speed, pure venom, pure chaos. Raleigh lost its collective mind. It was fast, it was violent, it was Pantera reminding everyone that even decades later, they are still one of the most dangerous bands to ever walk a stage.
When the last note rang out, Phil stood defiant, voice raw but resolute, thanking the crowd and reminding everyone why they were there: for Dime, for Vinnie, for the fans who kept Pantera’s legacy alive. The lights went up, but no one wanted to leave. Raleigh had just witnessed more than a concert—it was a goddamn resurrection, a reckoning, and a celebration of heavy metal’s most unbreakable brotherhood.
