At the Gatez

May 25th, 2008

Just across the river there’s a lawless tribal region of Metro St. Louis. A place where the bars never close, alcohol is served 24 hours a day, and strip clubs outnumber churches ∞ to zero. That place is Sauget, Illinois.

A friend and I made the trip to this great American city and went to Pop’s to see Cemetery Gatez, a tribute to the greatest groove/power metal band of all time, Pantera.

I never got to see Pantera live when they were still together and ever since Dimebag Darrell was murdered onstage in 2004 I’ve felt like I missed an opportunity to see something special. Dimebag was one of the best heavy guitarists ever so I was excited to see if Cemetery Gatez could pull off this tribute.

The show was intense. The band opened with A New Level and kept the energy up through all the hits including Walk, I’m Broken, This Love, Cemetary Gates, Cowboys From Hell, Fucking Hostile, and Drag the Waters. A large circle pit opened up bringing most of the Pop’s floor into a flurry of legs, elbows, tables, and beer. This wasn’t a dead on tribute however. The vocals did a decent job emulating Phil Anselmo’s growl but the guitar solos weren’t exactly up to Dimebag standard. Cemetery Gatez got the job done however. I was happy to scream along with my favorite jams and ended up having a pretty good time. As I sit here 20 hours later my voice is hoarse and I can still hear ringing in my ears. Maybe I’m getting old quicker than I thought. I will definitely be going to the next show Gatez plays in St. Louis.

The show was opened up by Soul Descenders. Though they all looked like they were 17 these boys could shred. Probably one of the best local bands I’ve heard in awhile. Though I can’t figure out the band name. What exactly does Soul Descenders mean? Shouldn’t the name really be Descending Souls? Well nobody said they were geniuses but they can play.

For those of you uninitiated here is a collection of Dimebag Darrell solos: