Pantera’s upcoming concert in Vienna, which was due to take place on May 31, has been canceled.
The decision to call off the gig was announced in a statement posted to social media by promoters Mind Over Matter Music and Barracuda Music, who said ticket refunds could be obtained from point of purchase.
“The Pantera concert on May 31, 2023 in the Vienna Gasometer is canceled,” a translated statement read. “All tickets can be returned to where they were purchased. Thank you for your understanding.”
It’s the third Pantera cancellation of the week, after the recently reformed metal outfit – which comprises Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown, plus Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante in place of the late Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, respectively – were dropped from the Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park festival lineups.
Pantera’s axing from two of Europe’s biggest rock festivals was confirmed in a short statement posted by promoters, who said the decision was made following “intensive conversations with artists, our partners, and the festival fans”.
For the Vienna concert, no specific details concerning the reasons for the cancellation were given. However, many commenters have speculated that the divisive nature of the reunion itself, as well as Anselmo’s controversial appearance at the 2016 Dimebash tribute event, are once again behind the decision.
At the event in question, the Pantera frontman displayed a Nazi salute and yelled “white power” at the crowd, leading to widespread outrage from the metal and wider communities. Anselmo first refused to apologize for the incident, but later said he was “1,000 percent apologetic to anyone that took offence to what I said, because you should have taken offence”.
In response to the decision earlier this week, the German Green Faction of the Nuremberg City Council issued a statement saying, “We are relieved about the organizer's decision not to offer the band Pantera a stage. Their singer Phil Anselmo had repeatedly attracted attention with anti-Semitic and racist incidents.”
The party also made reference to the fact that the festivals are hosted in Nürnberg, a “former Nazi party rally ground” with a history of right-wing extremism.
After Pantera were dropped from the Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park festivals, it was announced that Foo Fighters would be taking their place. The band’s appointment comes weeks after they announced they would continue to operate without Taylor Hawkins, who passed away last year.
