Metallica Could Be The Saving Grace The Pantera Reunion Needed

At this point it’s no question that Metallica are still the world’s biggest metal band and by a fairly large margin. For one, no other metal band has sold as many records as Metallica, nor has any band in their genre released an album as successful as The Black Album — one of the highest selling records in history. Furthermore, there isn’t any other metal act that’s capable of selling out football stadiums back to back nights, which is exactly what Metallica is looking to do on their upcoming world tour.

With the announcement of Metallica’s new album cycle, 72 Seasons, the band has seemingly revealed their tour plans for 2023 and 2024. Taking inspiration from their double headlining slots at 2021’s DWP festival circuit, Metallica’s 72 Seasons tour will feature the band performing two back to back nights at each of the cities they’ve announced for the tour. For each performance Metallica will be playing a completely different setlist with two separate supporting acts which they’ve clear on their tour flyer stating, ‘no repeat weekend.’ While Metallica is more than capable of filling seats to these shows without the help from supporting acts, the opening bands they’ve chosen for the 72 Seasons tour is sure to be a spectacle on its own.

Arguably the biggest surprise and most exciting band Metallica is bringing out is Pantera, who will be direct support for ‘night one’ on Metallica’s North American dates. Not only is this big news for the forthcoming Pantera Reunion as the Metallica tour showcases the reunion’s first U.S. dates, but it’s also a massive win for the reunion itself. The Pantera ‘reunion’ has largely been accepted by the metal community provided the surviving members of Pantera have emphasized its a celebration of the band’s founding members, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. However, many Pantera fans have been reluctant to give this reunion any attention given it’s not technically a reunion without the Abbott brothers, despite the estates of both the Abbott brothers approving of this venture. With Metallica bringing along Pantera for their world tour they’ve seemingly given this reunion their blessings as well, which ultimately could be the tipping point for those on the fence about Pantera reuniting.

Pantera and Metallica are two of heavy musics most beloved bands in history and their core fanbases are most certainly intertwined. Provided Metallica are the main event at these shows, it’s an easy way to justify buying a ticket for the Pantera reunion, especially for those who’ve been hesitant about seeing the reunion in the first place. As stated previously, there was no need for Metallica to bring Pantera or any of the supporting acts on this tour to begin with. Metallica is more than capable of selling tickets for these shows from their name alone, so them deciding to bring out Pantera as direct support is the biggest and best opportunity the reunion could have asked for.

Ultimately what matters most for the Pantera reunion is whether or not this lineup can come close to the sheer ferocity and spectacle that the four original members once displayed back in their prime. That will soon be revealed as Pantera’s first show is set for this Friday at Mexico City’s Heaven & Hell festival. Regardless of how this reunion turns out, it’s truly fascinating to see that Metallica and Pantera will be touring together. It’s certainly a sight no metalhead ever thought they’d see in 2023.