Pantera was formed in 1981 by
brothers Darrell Lance Abbott and Vincent Paul Abbott. They started out as a
KISS-influenced glam band. They added
bassist Robert "Rex"
Brown, and changed their names to Diamond Darrell, Vinnie Paul and Rexx Rocker,
respectively. They found vocalist Donnie Hart, who sang for a few rehearsals,
and then Terry Glaze "Terrence Lee". With the help of Jerry Abbott, Darrell and
Vinnie's father, nick named "The Elder" (who was a
famous country-music producer, and owned a studio), they put out their first
album, 'Metal Magic', in
1983. The first three albums in fact were on Metal Magic Records, and were all
self-produced. 1984's 'Projects
in the Jungle' and 1985's 'I
Am the Night' followed, with Terrence taking on the
name "Terry Glaze" in
1985. They also put out 'The Hot 'n Heavy Home Vid'
in 1985, a set of live clips and other footage. A meeting between Darrell and
Metallica's James Hetfield turned
fateful in 1985. At this point, Darrell had a
"wall of glam" in his
room, with pictures of Bon Jovi and
whatnot. James spit on it, and Darrell, instead of getting angry, joined in. The
"wall of loogies" is still
there today. This marked a change in the band, as
'I am the Night' was far
heavier and faster. When Terry Glaze wanted to stay
with the glam sound, his influence in the band diminished. Darrell took over a
lot of the vocals live, especially on covers by
Metallica and other thrash bands.
However, the reason he left the band was due to his father objecting to
"The Elder" having a 1/5
stake in the band (same as a full member) due to his recording and management.
When Pantera got signed to Atco in late 1986, Terry left. Jason McMaster
(Watchtower, Dangerous Toys)
was offered the gig but declined. Terry was replaced first by David Peacock, and
then Matt Lamour. Finally, Donnie Hart was brought back, and an audition was
given to Rhett Forrester (Riot), but it
turned out Phil Anselmo from Razor White was the final choice. His first
gig was January 11th, 1987. 1988 brought the album
'Power Metal', their
fastest and heaviest yet, and at some point Rex Rocker lost an X. Soon he would
lose his last name too, and in 1989, possibly due to an encounter with Slayer's
Kerry King on May 18th (a video exists of the jam session, and also a later
concert where they player "Raining Blood"
and some Priest covers), they
dropped the whole big hair thing. They also phased out the old songs in the
setlist and brought in new ones that would appear on 1990's
'Cowboys from Hell'. With
this album the band launced a new subgenre in metal, which has been labeled
everything from power metal to nu-meal.
COWBOYS FROM HELL (1990) ATCO
|
Phillip Anselmo - Vocals |
MTV's Headbangers Ball introduced me to Pantera. One night they had a coverage of this album, and played the videos for "Cowboys..." and "Cemetery Gates". I was just awestruck. Not since they played "Gutter Ballet" with Savatage (not comparable in any other respect) did I get so involved and interested in a band played on that show. Their sound was so fresh and new, yet still very heavy. NU-metal was not a term yet, and Pantera was just another cool band to me (still is). I also remember rushing over to a friends house, telling him how much he needed to hear these guys, only to get surprised when the friend pulled the record out of his shelve. On "Cemetery Gates" Phil really shows that he is a highly capable singer, and is not forced to scream all his lyrics, to sound good. This song is my favorite Pantera track, and is one of the finest power ballads of all times (together with Iced Earth's "Melancholy", and Brainstorm's "Beyond My Destiny". 'Cowboys From Hell' is still the best aggressive power metal platter around, and it's my favorite album by Pantera.
Killer tracks: Cowboys From Hell, Primal Concrete Sledge, Cemetery Gates, Domination, The Art Of Shredding
VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER (1992) ATCO
|
 Rex -
Bass |
This album is just as good as the previous one. The only complaint, is that it doesn't have the amazing over-the-top songs, like "Cowboys..." and "Cemetery Gates" was. "Mouth For War" and "This Love" tries, and are very good tunes, but I don't think they are as good as the above mentioned. "This Love" is in fact the story in "Cemetery Gates" retold. It's about a close friend of Phil that died. At first Phil didn't want to sing a ballad about a guy, because he was afraid of being stamped as gay, but he changed his mind here. Pantera was on a roll now, and strangely enough they were very successful on the charts. Why this kind of music went mainstream is beyond my grasp, but it's way better than grunge, that's for sure.
Killer tracks: Mouth For War, A New Level, Walk, This Love, Hollow
FAR BEYOND DRIVEN (1994) EASTWEST
|
Diamond "Dimebag" Darrell (R.I.P.) |
Sadly Pantera seem to get more and more angry, and less concerned about writing good songs. This is the last album I still find enjoyable, but it's also the first one to include fewer good songs, than uninteresting ones. If more tunes were like "I'm Broken" I would be pleased. But Pantera are more out to sing about pills and booze. "Planet Caravan" is a Black Sabbath cover, and Pantera had a minor single-hit with it.
Killer tracks: 5 Minutes Alone, I'm Broken
THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL (1996)
EASTWEST
|
Vinnie Paul - Drums |
Aaaaaarrrrgggggghhhh!! Angry, angry, angry! It's just full throttle all the way, and Pantera is rapidly losing my interest. I have never understood that angry just for the sake of anger, kind of thing, and anger is what this album is filled with. I hated it when it was new, and didn't give it much attention. But in all fairness, it has grown a bit on me. All in all, not their worst, but far from their best. Phil is dealing lyrically with his abuse, and his near-death experience.
Killer tracks: Drag The Waters, 13 Steps To Nowhere
OFFICIAL LIVE: 101 PROOF (1997)
EASTWEST
|
|
And now the band felt it was time for a live album. Anyone who has seen this band live, or even watched any of the 3 official videos the band have released, now that Pantera caught live, is an experience you won't forget. That doesn't mean that a live-record is a pleasant thing, because most of Pantera's vibe has to do with the visual aspect. Nudity, drinking, obscene gestures and language, smoking dope and offering the crowd, the list goes on. This has nothing to do with the music, of course, and is a degrading way to act. So this album isn't going to be in my player too often, simply because Pantera doesn't give me anything, as a live band!
Oh, you also get 2 new studio-tracks here (marked *), but they are not much to write home about either.
REINVENTING THE STEEL (2000) ELEKTRA
|
4 years have pasted since the last studio-album. And in 2000 metal is almost back in style. So guess how high my hopes were, when Pantera release an album entitled 'Reinventing The Steel'! (Man, that would have been a cool Manowar, Saxon or Anvil album-title.) But my hopes were soon shattered. Phil & co. are angrier than ever, and seem to be quite out of focus. Not one of the tracks re-invite me to another listen, and I don't think I have heard the entire album in one go more than once. Think I'll try and get some of those hair-metal albums this band recorded instead. They are bound to be light-years better than this crappy outlet!
Killer tracks: None in sight!
December 8th 2004: "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, 38, was shot and killed Dec. 8th 2004 while performing with his band DamagePlan at a Columbus, Ohio, nightclub. Three other people, including the bands chief of security, died after a deranged fan opened fire on stage. R.I.P.
Pantera also appear on:
V/A - 'Music From The Motion Picture "Detroit Rock City"'
"Dimebag" Darrell guest appearances:
Anthrax - 'We've Come For You All'
V/A - 'Spacewalk - A Tribute To Ace Frehley'
Vinnie Paul guest appearances:
V/A - 'Spacewalk - A Tribute To Ace Frehley'
Rex Brown guest appearances:
Cavalera Conspiracy - 'Inflikted'
