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Rating: To best express the essence of this album, the words to use are few and easy to grasp: untainted sonic violence!
If we also consider that Pantera have always brought chaos to their live shows and take a look at the tracklist, it sets the stage for a thundering album.
The album benefits from a production, revisited by the Abbot brothers, that is very good, and all the group's classics are there, delivered by a band in top form. The tracks are performed with speed and passion by the Texans, but explaining with words what Pantera are (or rather were) capable of doing is a difficult task. Anyone who had the chance to appreciate a concert by these four beasts can consider themselves lucky: unfortunately, barring miracles, there won’t be similar opportunities anymore.
The live performances have always been the essence of Pantera, and this album represents the best part of the group.
Their grinding machine works hard and advances tyrannically over brutal soundscapes!
Overall, there are 14 tracks recorded during a tour in the States that exude pure energy in every single riff, thanks also to a clean and powerful sound. There are also two unreleased tracks, which to be honest, are not that great!
Anselmo is no longer the one from “Cowboy From Hell,” but the way he involves the audience, alternating between an angry and a distressed voice, is quite a spectacle. Dimebag's accelerations are terrifying, and Vinnie Paul (happy?) toys with the drums delightfully. The spoken introductions and the crowd's chants are well-assembled, thus avoiding the usual live muddled with sounds, whistles, and unwanted distortions.
“Walk,” “Cowboy from hell,” “Fucking hostile,” “War Nerve,” and “Becoming” are the best-executed pieces by these metal cowboys.
A great live album, that reconnects their entire musical career.
Another fond memory of one of the most important bands in the heavy metal scene of the '90s.
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