With the only hint being an image of the band’s “CFH” logo emblazoned over the club’s iconic star-covered black wall, First Avenue coyly tweeted out news of a semi-secret show with Texas thrash-metal heroes Pantera the night before the band opens for Metallica at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Tickets for the concert will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. via axs.com priced at the very metalhead-friendly price of $32. The club is enforcing a strict policy of no transfers or resale options with the tickets.
Known for its mudslide-like blend of hard-hitting rhythms and whirlwind guitar work from early ’90s albums like “Cowboys From Hell” — hence the “CFH” logo — Pantera laid dormant for 20 years after guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott was tragically shot onstage by a deranged fan in 2004. Darrell’s brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, then died in 2018 from heart issues.
Frontman Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown have reformed the band with a couple of heavy-metal big shots filling in for the Abbott brothers, longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.
“Zakk and Charlie are doing a damn good job,” Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett told the Star Tribune in an interview that will be posted later this week ahead of his band’s Friday and Sunday concerts (Pantera opens the Friday gig alongside Wolfgang Van Halen’s group Mammoth WVH).
“I think it’s a great thing,” Hammett added. “It’s a tribute to the brothers keeping their legacy alive.”
As evidenced by its real star on the club’s wall, the original Pantera lineup played First Ave several times before it broke big. Among those gigs were two in 1990 around the time “Cowboys From Hell” was released, one with Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies in the Mainroom and a headlining show in the smaller 7th Street Entry.
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