Devil’s Music - Chapter 102: Return to PANTERA

The Ohio Stadium was packed with 90,000 spectators.

From two hours before the start of the performance, the audience, who had entered the venue, filled the seats and the standing sections of the stadium. With characteristics typical of rock fans, such as long hair or tattoos on shaved heads, the audience began to get more excited as the performance approached.

“Uaaa!!! Let’s start already!”

“I couldn’t sleep after watching the trailer! I’ve been waiting eagerly!”

“Hurry, hurry! I’m getting dizzy!!”

Already, most of the fans were raising both hands above their heads, taking a pose with their index and ring fingers extended. In the eyes of such fans, lights began to appear on the large screen installed behind the stage.

“Woahhhhh!!!!!!!”

The audience, sensing that the start of the performance was imminent, focused on the large screen. The screen, which had been emitting white light, turned black, revealing the face of a toothless leopard featured in the trailer video.

“Whoa!!! I fell in love with that! That’s mine!”

“I don’t know who made it, but one trailer was legendary!”

“Just one trailer! Haven’t you seen them playing in the practice video? It felt like Daryl had come back to life!”

“That’s right! I came to witness the legend with my own eyes!”

As each fan threw out a word, the concert hall became noisy. All the lights went out in the venue for a moment. Although the audience was puzzled, they realized that the extinguishing of lights was a signal for the start of the performance when they saw the leopard shining alone under the spotlight on the large screen behind the stage.

“Wowwwww!!!!!!!!!”

The audience, who felt the imminent start of the performance, focused on the large screen. The face of the toothless leopard from the trailer video appeared as the screen, previously emitting white light, turned black.

“Wowwwww!!!!!!!!!”

The imminent start of the performance made the audience more and more excited. The guitarist, who had taken charge of the session, climbed onto the stage with two other guitarists, and they began a lyrical arpeggio performance. The audience started cheering again.

“Cemetery Gates!”

“That’s the song from the video!”

“Uaaa!! I’m getting excited to the point of madness!”

The two guitarists looked at each other, and on top of the arpeggio performance, they added guitar ad-libs with effects. When the spotlight moved abruptly to the right, illuminating the two of them, Phillip Anselmo, who had been bowing his head, appeared.

“Uaaa!!!!!!!!! Phillip! Phillip! Phillip!”

The slow drumbeat was added to the slow guitar performance. The spotlight then shifted to Vinnie Paul, who was sitting at the drums.

“Kyaaaa!!! Vinnie Paul!!!”

Behind Vinnie Paul, Rex Brown played the bass guitar, gesturing with a smile to the audience. Slowly walking past the drums and moving to the right side of the stage, Rex stood next to Phillip.

After slowly moving to the center of the stage, Phillip picked up the microphone on the microphone stand. With a solemn expression, Phillip took off his upper garment, leaving only shorts, and raised the microphone, producing a deep and melancholic voice.

“Reverend, Reverend. Is this some conspiracy?”

“Crucified for no sins An image beneath me”

“What’s within our plans for life It all seems so unreal”

As the audience focused on Phillip’s nostalgic voice, he slowly raised one hand and pointed to the sky. When the audience gathered their attention in that direction, a large metal structure descended slowly under the top lighting on the stage. The audience pointed and shouted.

“What’s that! Kaya?”

“Wow! Is it coming down from there?”

As the metal structure gradually revealed its shape, long and slender legs in black leather pants and sand boots appeared. As the structure descended, revealing more of the male figure, his guitar became visible.

“It’s White Falcon!! Kaya!!”

“Kyaaaaaa!!!! Kaya!!!”

“Mom! Did he really carry the guitar around? Not just in the music videos?”

“Absolutely amazing!! So cool for real!”

As the metal structure completely revealed the figure, Gun, with closed eyes, stood still, and the two guitarists created a slow ad-lib over the quiet and lyrical melody. The audience was captivated by the ecstatic expression on their faces.

While Gun played the guitar with a slight shake, his eyes closed, in the middle of the ad-lib, his face was close-up on the large screen behind the stage.

Gun opened his eyes. As he opened his eyes, he spread his legs and lowered his posture, exploding into a powerful performance. Simultaneously, the drums and bass also covered the audience with a different explosiveness than before.

“Jingjingjing Jingjingjing Jingjing~jing Jing~jing!”

The sharp, razor-like picking instantly immersed the audience in excitement.

“Aaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Wowwwwwww~~~~~~~~~~~~”

The massive and exhilarating sound that covered the Ohio Stadium made the audience rise from their seats. Unbeknownst to anyone, not a single person among the 90,000 spectators was sitting, and Phillip Anselmo’s scream erupted.

“Kuahhhhhhhhhhh~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

As the audience became immersed in excitement, sweating and jumping, feeling chills running down their bodies, Phillip stepped forward and began to sing. Phillip’s singing seemed to unleash a scream mixed with blood.

“Well, I guess you took my youth,”

“I gave it all away,”

“Like the birth of a newfound joy,”

“This love would end in rage.”

“And when she died,”

“I couldn’t cry,”

“The pride within my soul,”

“You left me incomplete,”

“All alone as the memories now unfold.”

While Gun played an ethereal melody suspended in the air, and Phillip unleashed a soulful song from below, the excited audience couldn’t contain themselves. Colliding with those around them, the crowd began slamming into each other, shaking their bodies wildly as if possessed. The madness spread, and not only the standing audience but also those seated in the chairs jumped up, shouting and creating a thunderous roar that echoed through the venue.

By the time the first song concluded, the structure Geon descended on touched the ground completely. Playing on the structure until the song was entirely finished, Geon descended, exchanged a high-five with Phillip, and they both smiled. Amidst the continuous cheers of the audience, as the two stood holding hands, massive fangs emerged from the mouth of a toothless leopard displayed on the large screen.

Witnessing the emergence of the fangs and the sight of Phillip and Kay holding hands below alternately, the audience erupted into even louder cheers.

“Waaah!!”

“It’s real! It’s really Pantera!”

“A perfect rebirth!”

“Khhuk! I thought I would never see this while I’m alive again!”

Looking at the ecstatic crowd filled with tremendous cheers, Phillip turned to the microphone, gazing at the sky.

“Friend. You’re watching now, aren’t you?”

The roaring audience suddenly hushed in the full stands. Phillip’s face, looking at the sky, was projected on the large screen. Tears welled up in Phillip’s eyes as he gazed at the sky, shaking. The noise of the audience gradually subsided, and everyone focused on Phillip’s appearance.

Phillip slowly raised his right hand into the air, forming a fist. After holding the fist for a moment, Phillip slowly lowered his arm and placed the fist over his left chest.

“Today, I meet you again in the place where you left.”

In the standing audience, one of the spectators who had been staring blankly at Phillip raised a clenched fist high, then, like Phillip, placed it over his chest. The overwhelming crowd psychology spread silently, and most people, looking at the sky, placed their fists over their chests.

At that moment, on the large screen, an interview video of the late Dimebag Darrell started playing. In the interview, Dimebag Darrell, with a long, red beard, spoke while caressing his beard on the black-and-white screen.

“A band is actually quite similar to the concept of a family. So, respecting each other, acknowledging each other’s differences, these are crucial. But above all, what’s most important is that every member must have the same crazy passion and crazy love for the band and music. Pantera has different roles for each member within the band. But you know what’s really killer? It’s not something you decide and create in advance; it happens naturally!”

Some audience members teared up at the sight of Dimebag Darrell. Phillip and Vinnie, too, gazed at Darrell’s image on the screen with reddened eyes. Darrell in the screen continued speaking.

“Did you know Pantera played as a cover band for nine years before releasing the first album, ‘Cowboys From Hell’? Damn, it took nine years to produce a sound like ‘Cowboys From Hell’! So, be patient and work hard. It will happen someday. I guarantee it. Won’t I be a witness soon?”

The audience watched the image of Dimebag Darrell on the screen quietly, immersed in longing. Phillip turned around, facing the screen where Darrell was frozen, and spoke into the microphone.

“Yeah, friend! Let me remind you. Let’s go!! ‘Cowboys From Hell’!”

Geon, who had been quietly watching the screen, exploded with sharp guitar sounds that seemed to shred the entire body. The audience of 90,000 erupted into tremendous cheers.

Watching the performance of Pantera from the glass window in the top-level broadcast booth of the multipurpose stadium, Son Lin picked up the walkie-talkie.

“Are the cameras filming properly?”

“Roger, yes, filming is going smoothly.”

“After the performance ends, we’ll upload the edited version to social media right away. Camera directors 1 and 4, please transmit the footage to the editing room once this song finishes. We’ll edit during the performance. The rest of the directors, keep filming. We’ll use it for the making film later.”

Putting down the walkie-talkie, Lin rested her hand on the table and, slightly stooping, looked down at the ongoing Pantera performance below. Her eyes deepened.

“It’s not a legend restarting. It’s starting now. The beginning of a new legend!”

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