Pantera; White Zombie

By TROY J. AUGUSTO

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Pantera; White Zombie (Great Western Forum, Inglewood; 15,500 capacity; $ 25 top)
 
Bands: (Pantera) Phil Anselmo, Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, Rex; (White Zombie) Rob Zombie, J., Sean Yseult, John Tempesta.
 

TX:Presented by Goldenvoice/Avalon. Reviewed July 19, 1996. Heavy metal's death has been heralded, but these two bands, which take entirely different hard-rock paths, nearly filled the Forum with a motley group of mostly teens that cheered more for the effects than for the music of either band. White Zombie was the first of the co-headliners (after an early slot by shock upstarts Eye Hate God) and put on an hourlong show that was as much carnival as music.

Fireworks exploded, dummies hung from rafters and scary old film footage rolled as gravel-voiced singer Rob Zombie and his cohorts sludged their way through such horrifying tunes as "Electric Head," the cheesy "More Human Than Human," which featured an appearance by comic Adam Sandler, and dance-metal "The One," a cut from the soundtrack to upcoming pic "Escape From L.A."

White Zombie's No matter: The theatrical stage tricks that accompanied the New York quartet were plenty entertaining.

Texas thrash foursome Pantera played a vicious and punishing style that inspired a wild mosh pit on the floor; outside the pit, though, the crowd was underwhelmed by the band's mediocre performance.

Wide-eyed and perpetually pissed, vocalist Phil Anselmo cut a swaggering figure, but was more engaging for what he said than for what he sang. "The only good things on TV are horror movies, boxing and porno," offered the singer, who also mixed commentary on labelmate Metallica's new album ("It sucks") with curt thoughts on the heroin overdose he survived one week before, following a hometown show ("I died for a reason, but I'm not sure what the reason is.")

The band's angry songs of machismo and honor often blurred into each other. Neither of these bands said much here for the future of hard rock, though the sizable crowd and the continued impressive sales numbers of both bands proves there still is an audience for the unfashionable style.

Music, which borrows equally from Black Sabbath riffage and Nine Inch Nails synthage, echoed about the arena, rendering much of the band's efforts into acoustic mud.