New Year’s Eve 1992: Watch Pantera Cover Judas Priest With King Diamond

In celebration of another year gone by and a fresh one to come, let's look back to New Year's Eve 1992 where Pantera were joined onstage by King Diamond to perform a pair of Judas Priest covers as well as tackling one of King's originals.

Just over 10 months prior to this show at Savvy's in Pantera's home town of Arlington, Texas, the band has released Vulgar Display of Power, which firmly cemented them as the pioneers of a new sound within metal — one that was far more aggressive than the glam era that preceded it, but still with mainstream appeal.

As one of metal's most notorious party bands, it's no shock Pantera booked a small show in Arlington to ring in the new year. The fact that King Diamond, also of Mercyful Fate fame (that band would reunite the following year as King maintained two active groups) lived in Texas made it all the sweeter.

Although the set spanned just four songs, per setlist.fm, it was a historic night for those lucky enough to have been in attendance. Together, Pantera and King Diamond covered Judas Priest's "The Ripper," which King's shrieking voice is perfectly suited for, as well as Priest's take on the Fleetwood Mac original, "Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)."

Adding to the festive night was a cover of "Omens" from King Diamond's legendary Abigail album that had come out in 1987. The stuttered, chugging rhythm lends itself well to Pantera's similar style and was the most ideal selection they could've made.

Watch videos of all three covers below. Unfortunately, no footage turned up on YouTube of the final song of the night — the raunchy "P*S*T*88" on which Dimebag Darrell presumably sang lead, as he did on the original recording. The song first appeared as the closing track on Pantera's 1988 record, Power Metal, which also marked the first album with Philip Anselmo and the last of the so-called "Glamtera" era.