Pantera started their European headline tour with a crushing show in the sold out Helsinki, Finland

The American groove metal legends Pantera returned to stages in 2025 starting their European headline tour in Finland. Already sold out show in the heart of Helsinki, Ice Hall, where fans were excited to see their favorites ones again and celebrate the life of the long gone Abbott brothers, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul was a great kickstart for the tour. 90-minute tight setlist that consisted 13 songs was vulgar display of power.

The show started with Regular People (Conceit) as an intro song with Pantera home videos rolling on the screens. After that another intro song, In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song) by Peter Ivers & David Lynch kicked in which lead to the curtain fall and A New Level off of Vulgar Display Of Power started rolling. Stage had some pyro in the back while Zakk Wylde was delivering his well-known finest Wylde-type of guitar work with pinch harmonics but still staying true to the long lost brother Dime. Phil Anselmo opened his mouth for the first lines of A New Level and crowd went nuts.

After A New Level crowd got more classics such as Mouth For War and Stregth Beyond Strength. When Phil Anselmo introduced the sixth song on the set as an deep cut and a rarity, crowd knew it was time to get some more energy going. The song was Suicide Note Pt. II which choruses groovy riff really got everyone´s head bopping. The drummer Charlie Benante, also known from the legendary Anthrax, was really paying homage to the late Vinnie Paul as his drumming was really tight and on point. It was really cool to say how well Benante has taken its place in Pantera while still knowing not to overstep for Vinnie Paul´s iconic drum parts.

During the show we got bunch of different home video footage of the late brothers and crowd seemed to love it. In Floods we could hear that Zakk Wylde might have been a little bit off or lost with some of the parts but I´m sure that´ll be fixed in the next shows. The song right after Floods, Walk, got some of the members from opening bands, Cancer Bites and Power Trip, on stage to get some more power to the iconic chant in chorus. Walk ended with the mashup of the iconic riffs from Domination and Hollow. Domination started with a little tease played by Rex Brown with his crunchy, distorted bass tone. There was a dude a few feet away from me and when the ending breakdown of Domination hit the dude fell to the ground making the security fence fell over. Not sure if the breakdown hit that hard or if he had had a few too much to drink...

Show ended with the Cowboys From Hell and after that we still go the encore Fucking Hostile. Pantera’s performance at Helsinki Ice Hall was overall a triumphant return that solidified their place as heavy metal legends. With a perfect balance of nostalgia and raw energy, the concert celebrated their storied past while proving they remain a powerful force in modern metal. Phil Anselmo thanked the fans many times during the show and joked a little bit with fans sitting in the sitting areas around the venue. He also teased with a possible come back to Finland. Also the whole soundspace was so much more tighter and the band sounded so good in the venue compared the few years back when Pantera played in Finland´s Rockfest. That could be explained that the venue was outdoors where the sound could easily wander around the trees etc.. Fans left the show eagerly anticipating the band's next moves on their European tour.