Pantera was not just a pulverizing force on their studio albums. The live power and presence of this fearsome foursome was every bit as brutal as their records. Damn, I mean I’ve only seen DVDs at the most and am still impressed as all hell by the jamming-meets-brutal-metal-churning.

Recorded during the tour in support of The Great Southern Trendkill, the record contains a good cross section of the bands best cuts from the 90s (unfortunately, although understandably, they didn’t play Ride My Rocket of Proud To Be Loud). There’s the Walk, the 5 Minutes Alone, Fucking Hostile, Strenght Beyond Strenght and Cowboys From Hell. It’s a shame they play Domination and Hollow as a medley as both songs would have ruled even more as complete versions. The bit of Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever inserted into Cowboys rules! I love how the guys implant little bits like a different drum roll or a whammied guitar harmonic in between places that weren't there on the studio recordings. I hope more bands would incorporate such jamming elements into the live setting as it makes it more interesting, fun and essentially alive then just reproducing a record note for note onstage.

Cemetery Gates receives a huge and breath-taking rendition that is very unsettling – in a good way. Anselmo gives the monstrous wails at the end of the track a gutsy effort, but you can really hear how years on the road and heavy metal excesses have taken a toll on his voice. Despite this, he still screams and growls like a raging bull on a steroid-induced adrenaline rush. The band, one of the tightest and most grooving in all of metal history, is in top shape. Dimebag wields the riffs and solos like flaming hunting knives while Rex and Vinnie smash that beat into oblivion. The crowds are rabid with their vocal responses to Anselmo’s macho rants. Loud chants of the bands name emanate to the arena ceilings and you can smell the sweat and moshpitting action.

The album also has two separate studio tracks recorded for this album. Where You Come From is a mighty groovin’ piece of pure Pantera with awesome southern rockin' riffage and hateful attitude all over the place. I Can’t Hide is a faster, rougher piece of punk-meets-semi-thrashy-guitar-work. While the tune does make my head spin madly, it’s not that special when put next to all the awesomness of Panteras earlier work on display here.

Overall Official Live 101 Proof accomplishes the demanding feat of presenting Panteras live destruction in easily portable audio form. I still wish they would have made this a double disc, as so many great songs were still left out. A must have for all fans of the band.