Cowboys from Hell
Encyclopedia
Cowboys from Hell is Pantera
's fifth album and their first Atco Records
album, recorded at The Dallas Sound Lab in Irving, TX and released on July 24, 1990. This was their first commercially successful album, exposing the band's groove metal style to mainstream audiences. Cowboys from Hell is seen as Pantera's "official" debut by most fans, as well as the band itself as they left behind their glam metal
past and began to exhibit a more groove metal
-oriented sound. After its release, a logo for the band was made featuring the letters 'CFH' (the abbreviation of the album title) in a circular design.
Ross on the performance:
Atco Records accepted, and at the close of 1989, the band began writing and recording its major label debut at Pantego Studios. The band adopted a new sound and attitude, and the writing of what would become Cowboys from Hell saw the band exploring darker subject matters, while the guitar would be notably heavier, despite occasionally reverting to the hair metal formula. The band recorded Cowboys from Hell: The Demos, a self-produced demo album which featured 11 tracks, 10 of which would make the album cut. The last two tracks to be written were "Clash With Reality" and "Primal Concrete Sledge", while a song entitled "The Will to Survive" would be discarded early in the recording sessions.
Recording took place in Irving, Texas at the Dallas Sound Lab and the band were feeling confident about their material and themselves, finally feeling that they were making the kind of album they believed in. One key track to emerge during the writing was Cemetery Gates
, a seven-minute power ballad that would be the first song to show both their diversity and Anselmo’s vocal range. Although they had already recorded four albums prior to Cowboys from Hell, Pantera felt that this was their true debut, working with a professional producer and a major label for the first time and creating music that was not simply stealing from other similar bands in an attempt to attract attention.
is pictured in the center playing guitar, while Vinnie Paul
is to his right counting money, Rex Brown
is leaning against the countertop and Phil Anselmo
is shown jumping in the air to Brown's left. Anselmo states that he jumped off a bar stool to get high up in the air. He also said that it took him about ten takes until the cameramen got the shot into the desired style.
. The 2010 reissue of the album managed to reach #117 on the Billboard Top 200 and #8 on the Catalog Albums
selling 4,200. The album has since gone on to attain both Gold (500,000 units) and Platinum (1,000,000 units) certifications in the U.S. as well as Gold status in the U.K. for sales of 100,000.
named Cowboys from Hell the 19th most influential heavy metal album of all-time.
They said about the album:
Allmusic says about the album:
from Vulgar Display of Power
) along with demo versions of ten songs from the original album.
The third disc of the deluxe set, Cowboys from Hell: The Demos, was released as a separate limited-edition vinyl LP at the same time. It was exclusively available at Metal Club record stores.
magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It was ranked the #85 best heavy metal album of all time by metal-rules.com. IGN
named Cowboys from Hell the 19th most influential heavy metal album of all-time. Cemetery Gates
was nominated for Best Metal Perfomance
at the 1998 Grammy Awards but lost to Ænema
by Tool
.
, and is featured on their second album, Inquisition Symphony
.
Spanish thrash metal band Angelus Apatrida
also covered "Domination" on their album Evil Unleashed.
Texas Band Pissing Razors covered "Domination" for a compilation CD.
Bullet For My Valentine
covered "Domination" on the Tears Don't Fall
single.
UK thrash band Evile
covered "Cemetery Gates" for Metal Hammer
's Dimebag tribute CD.
Between the Buried and Me
covered "Cemetery Gates" for their covers album The Anatomy Of
.
Michael Angelo Batio
covered "Cemetery Gates" and "Cowboys From Hell" together in his album Hands Without Shadows 2: Voices.
Dream Theater
have covered "Cemetery Gates" live, they also played the live cover during 2005's Gigantour
, a festival put together by Megadeth
frontman Dave Mustaine
, he played as a guest on lead guitar along with other guests Burton C. Bell
(vocalist of Fear Factory
and City of Fire
) and Russell Allen
(vocalist of Symphony X
).
Brazillian harcore band Glória covered "Domination" and "Walk" live at the Rock in Rio 4 on September 25, 2011.
(1990)
Alive and Hostile EP
The track listing in the demo differs from the album version. The intro track on the demo does not appear on the final album version, though it has been used as an intro song for many Pantera shows worldwide. The album version also contains the songs "Primal Concrete Sledge" and "Clash with Reality", which do not appear on this demo. Several songs on the demo contain different lyrics and different guitar solos to the final version.
Another important note is that the demo has been classed as self produced in the section marked label. This is because it was not officially released on the band's 'Metal Magic Records' record label.
The demos were released on the band's 20th anniversary edition of their major label debut. The demos of the deluxe version however, feature the same tracklist as the original demos, although the "Intro" has been replaced by a previously unreleased track, "The Will To Survive", that was written during the same sessions but resembles a sound closer to their previous album effort Power Metal
(1988) than the groove metal
sound evident on the other demos. The demos were re-released on Black Friday
2010 and were limited to 3,000 180-gram pressings, with the vinyl including the custom cover and demos of the original tracks, as well as the previously unreleased demo cut, “The Will To Survive”.
Demos of the album's tracks were also released in 2010, in the 20th anniversary edition of Cowboys from Hell, but with a different tracklisting.
Certifications
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
's fifth album and their first Atco Records
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
album, recorded at The Dallas Sound Lab in Irving, TX and released on July 24, 1990. This was their first commercially successful album, exposing the band's groove metal style to mainstream audiences. Cowboys from Hell is seen as Pantera's "official" debut by most fans, as well as the band itself as they left behind their glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
past and began to exhibit a more groove metal
Groove metal
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It was often used to describe Pantera and Exhorder.- Characteristics and origins :Pantera's Cowboys from Hell album from 1990 was described as "groundbreaking" and "blueprint-defining" for the groove metal genre...
-oriented sound. After its release, a logo for the band was made featuring the letters 'CFH' (the abbreviation of the album title) in a circular design.
Writing and recording
After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth", Atco Records representative Mark Ross was asked by his boss, Derek Shulman (who was interested in signing them), to see the band perform after Hurricane Hugo stranded him in Texas. Ross was so impressed by the band's performance that he called his boss that night, suggesting that Pantera be signed to the label.Ross on the performance:
"By the end of the first song, my jaw was on the floor. The sonic power of it all — the attitude and the musicianship — blew me away. Basically, you had to be an idiot to not think they're amazing. I mean, how could you see these guys and not think, Holy shit!?"
Atco Records accepted, and at the close of 1989, the band began writing and recording its major label debut at Pantego Studios. The band adopted a new sound and attitude, and the writing of what would become Cowboys from Hell saw the band exploring darker subject matters, while the guitar would be notably heavier, despite occasionally reverting to the hair metal formula. The band recorded Cowboys from Hell: The Demos, a self-produced demo album which featured 11 tracks, 10 of which would make the album cut. The last two tracks to be written were "Clash With Reality" and "Primal Concrete Sledge", while a song entitled "The Will to Survive" would be discarded early in the recording sessions.
Recording took place in Irving, Texas at the Dallas Sound Lab and the band were feeling confident about their material and themselves, finally feeling that they were making the kind of album they believed in. One key track to emerge during the writing was Cemetery Gates
Cemetery Gates
"Cemetery Gates" is a song by heavy metal band Pantera. The song is the fifth track from Cowboys from Hell, the band's fifth album and second with lead singer Phil Anselmo...
, a seven-minute power ballad that would be the first song to show both their diversity and Anselmo’s vocal range. Although they had already recorded four albums prior to Cowboys from Hell, Pantera felt that this was their true debut, working with a professional producer and a major label for the first time and creating music that was not simply stealing from other similar bands in an attempt to attract attention.
Cover art
The cover art depics the band in a quaint western saloon. Dimebag DarrellDimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
is pictured in the center playing guitar, while Vinnie Paul
Vinnie Paul
Vincent Paul Abbott, also known as "Vinnie Paul" is a heavy metal drummer and producer who is currently a member of supergroup Hellyeah, but is best known for being a member, and co-founder, of the heavy metal band Pantera...
is to his right counting money, Rex Brown
Rex Brown
Rex Robert Brown is an American heavy metal bassist. A former member of Down, he is most famous as the longtime bassist for the Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling band Pantera.-Pantera:...
is leaning against the countertop and Phil Anselmo
Phil Anselmo
Philip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo is an American musician who is best known as the lead singer for the heavy metal band Pantera. He is currently the frontman for the Louisiana-based metal act Down. He is also the owner of Housecore Records....
is shown jumping in the air to Brown's left. Anselmo states that he jumped off a bar stool to get high up in the air. He also said that it took him about ten takes until the cameramen got the shot into the desired style.
Commercial performance
The album was released on July 24, 1990 and was available on tape, CD, vinyl and a Limited Edition version (Same album but in a long box). The album would become the band's breakthrough record as it became their first album to chart in 1992, reaching #27 on the Billboard Music Charts Top HeatseekersTop Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
. The 2010 reissue of the album managed to reach #117 on the Billboard Top 200 and #8 on the Catalog Albums
Catalog (album)
Catalog is a "best of" album by Tsukiko Amano, released on February 27, 2006. The album contains every A-side from each of her singles up until 2006. It was released in three editions: a normal, one-CD edition, a limited edition pressing with a card jacket designed by Amano herself, and a Deluxe...
selling 4,200. The album has since gone on to attain both Gold (500,000 units) and Platinum (1,000,000 units) certifications in the U.S. as well as Gold status in the U.K. for sales of 100,000.
Critical reception
The album has been praised by most critics as it would prove to be one of the most influential albums in the metal scene in the 1990's and of all time, and would inspire a generation of musicians, particularly guitarists. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
named Cowboys from Hell the 19th most influential heavy metal album of all-time.
They said about the album:
"Along with Vulgar Display of PowerVulgar Display of PowerVulgar Display of Power is the sixth studio album by heavy metal band Pantera. It was released through Atco Records, on February 25, 1992. It is the last album where Darrell Abbott is credited as "Diamond Darrell". One of the most influential groove metal albums of the 1990s, Vulgar Display of...
, Pantera's fifth album is not only considered one of the band's best, but is also one of the defining albums of early '90s metal. The band's chemistry really begins to gel with collective symmetry here, as a pre-Dimebag DarrellDimebag DarrellDarrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
(he was known as Diamond Darrell back then) rips the strings of his axe like a rabid weasel, frontman Phil AnselmoPhil AnselmoPhilip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo is an American musician who is best known as the lead singer for the heavy metal band Pantera. He is currently the frontman for the Louisiana-based metal act Down. He is also the owner of Housecore Records....
following in kind with chaotic vocal utterances, and the rhythm section of Vinnie PaulVinnie PaulVincent Paul Abbott, also known as "Vinnie Paul" is a heavy metal drummer and producer who is currently a member of supergroup Hellyeah, but is best known for being a member, and co-founder, of the heavy metal band Pantera...
and Rex BrownRex BrownRex Robert Brown is an American heavy metal bassist. A former member of Down, he is most famous as the longtime bassist for the Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling band Pantera.-Pantera:...
keeping the rhythms in check and the whole mess glued together with low end prowess."
Allmusic says about the album:
"Pantera's breakthrough album, Cowboys from Hell, is largely driven by the band's powerful rhythm section and guitarist Diamond Darrell(s) unbelievably forceful riffing, which skittered around the downbeats to produce unexpected rhythmic phrases and accents, as well as his inventive soloing."
Re-release
On November 22, 2010, a 20th anniversary edition was released with a remastered mixed from the original analog recordings. The expanded edition features a bonus CD of previously unreleased live recordings and the Alive And Hostile E.P. The deluxe edition features an additional third CD with the previously unreleased demo track "The Will to Survive" (parts of the song were later used in the song This LoveThis Love (Pantera song)
"This Love" is a popular song by the heavy metal band Pantera. It was first released on the band's best selling album, Vulgar Display of Power, and later on the band's compilation album, The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!...
from Vulgar Display of Power
Vulgar Display of Power
Vulgar Display of Power is the sixth studio album by heavy metal band Pantera. It was released through Atco Records, on February 25, 1992. It is the last album where Darrell Abbott is credited as "Diamond Darrell". One of the most influential groove metal albums of the 1990s, Vulgar Display of...
) along with demo versions of ten songs from the original album.
The third disc of the deluxe set, Cowboys from Hell: The Demos, was released as a separate limited-edition vinyl LP at the same time. It was exclusively available at Metal Club record stores.
Accolades
The album was ranked #11 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar WorldGuitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It was ranked the #85 best heavy metal album of all time by metal-rules.com. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
named Cowboys from Hell the 19th most influential heavy metal album of all-time. Cemetery Gates
Cemetery Gates
"Cemetery Gates" is a song by heavy metal band Pantera. The song is the fifth track from Cowboys from Hell, the band's fifth album and second with lead singer Phil Anselmo...
was nominated for Best Metal Perfomance
Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre...
at the 1998 Grammy Awards but lost to Ænema
Ænema
"Ænema" is a Grammy Award-winning song by rock band Tool, released as the third single from their second album Ænima. Adam Jones made a video for the song using stop-motion animation that appears on Salival. The song reached number twenty-five on the U.S...
by Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
.
Tour
Pantera toured alongside thrash acts Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies. In 1991, Rob Halford performed with the band onstage, which led Pantera to open for Judas Priest on its first show in Europe. The band eventually landed a billing for "Monsters in Moscow" with AC/DC and Metallica in September 1991, where they played to a crowd of over 500,000 in celebration of the new freedom of performing Western music in the former Soviet Union shortly before its collapse three months later.Covers
The song "Domination" has been covered by the Finnish band ApocalypticaApocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén...
, and is featured on their second album, Inquisition Symphony
Inquisition Symphony (album)
Inquisition Symphony is the second studio album by the Finnish metal band Apocalyptica. The album branches from their previous effort, containing only four Metallica covers. The remainder of the compositions are by Faith No More, Pantera, and Sepultura, as well as three originals by Apocalyptica...
.
Spanish thrash metal band Angelus Apatrida
Angelus Apatrida
Angelus Apatrida is a thrash metal band formed in 2000 in Albacete, Spain.-Biography:Angelus Apatrida is one of the most influential bands in the Spanish metal scene together with Legen Beltza, Killem and Rancor...
also covered "Domination" on their album Evil Unleashed.
Texas Band Pissing Razors covered "Domination" for a compilation CD.
Bullet For My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...
covered "Domination" on the Tears Don't Fall
Tears Don't Fall
"Tears Don't Fall" is a song by Bullet for My Valentine. It is the band's fourth single from their first full-length studio album, The Poison. The single was released on June 23, 2006 through Trustkill Records in the US.- Track listings :...
single.
UK thrash band Evile
Evile
Evile is a thrash metal band from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Their debut album, Enter the Grave, was produced by Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark and was released worldwide in 2007 by Earache Records to critical acclaim by fans and critics...
covered "Cemetery Gates" for Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
's Dimebag tribute CD.
Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. They have released a total of five studio albums, as well as a cover album, an EP and a live DVD/CD...
covered "Cemetery Gates" for their covers album The Anatomy Of
The Anatomy Of
The Anatomy Of is the first cover album by the American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It is the second release to include Dan Briggs, Blake Richardson, and Dustie Waring.-Track listing:-Reception:*Allmusic [ link]*Lambgoat...
.
Michael Angelo Batio
Michael Angelo Batio
Michael Angelo Batio also known as Mike Batio or MAB, is a guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. His work has encompassed many genres, notably metal and its subgenres. Batio was voted the "No. 1 Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003...
covered "Cemetery Gates" and "Cowboys From Hell" together in his album Hands Without Shadows 2: Voices.
Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
have covered "Cemetery Gates" live, they also played the live cover during 2005's Gigantour
Gigantour
Gigantour is the name of a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America, and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also traveled to Australia...
, a festival put together by Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
frontman Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
, he played as a guest on lead guitar along with other guests Burton C. Bell
Burton C. Bell
Burton Christopher Bell is an American musician. Bell is best known as the frontman of the metal band Fear Factory where he is the only consistent member. His singing style mixes clean vocals with death growls.-Fear Factory:...
(vocalist of Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
and City of Fire
City of Fire (band)
City of Fire is a hard rock band from Canada, formed in 2008. Members include vocalist Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory and bassist Byron Stroud from Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad and Zimmers Hole. City of Fire has so far released a self-titled album, issued in Australia in April 2010 and...
) and Russell Allen
Russell Allen
Russell Allen is the singer of the American progressive metal band Symphony X.-Biography:Before working with a rock band, he was a jouster at a Medieval Times Dinner Theater. He was introduced to the band Symphony X by former singer Rod Tyler...
(vocalist of Symphony X
Symphony X
Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey.Founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community...
).
Brazillian harcore band Glória covered "Domination" and "Walk" live at the Rock in Rio 4 on September 25, 2011.
Track listing
Disc 2: Expanded Edition Bonus CD
Live: Foundations ForumFoundations Forum
Foundations Forum was the first exclusively heavy metal music industry convention, held annually from 1988 - 1997 in Los Angeles. The convention was set up by Concrete Marketing who had in January 1988 created the first industry trade magazine for the heavy metal world - Foundations...
(1990)
Alive and Hostile EP
ALIVE and hostile e.p.
-Credits:*Phil Anselmo – Vocals*Rex Brown – Bass*"Dimebag" Darrell – Guitar*Vinnie Paul – drums...
Disc 3: Cowboys from Hell: The Demos
Only available on the 'Deluxe' and 'Ultimate' editions of the albumCowboys from Hell: The Demos
The album contains all the necessary demos for the final recording of their major label debut, Cowboys from Hell.The track listing in the demo differs from the album version. The intro track on the demo does not appear on the final album version, though it has been used as an intro song for many Pantera shows worldwide. The album version also contains the songs "Primal Concrete Sledge" and "Clash with Reality", which do not appear on this demo. Several songs on the demo contain different lyrics and different guitar solos to the final version.
Another important note is that the demo has been classed as self produced in the section marked label. This is because it was not officially released on the band's 'Metal Magic Records' record label.
The demos were released on the band's 20th anniversary edition of their major label debut. The demos of the deluxe version however, feature the same tracklist as the original demos, although the "Intro" has been replaced by a previously unreleased track, "The Will To Survive", that was written during the same sessions but resembles a sound closer to their previous album effort Power Metal
Power Metal (album)
Power Metal is the fourth studio album by heavy metal band Pantera, released in 1988 through Metal Magic Records. It is the first album to feature Phil Anselmo on vocals, as part of a line-up which would last until the band's split in 2003.-Background:...
(1988) than the groove metal
Groove metal
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It was often used to describe Pantera and Exhorder.- Characteristics and origins :Pantera's Cowboys from Hell album from 1990 was described as "groundbreaking" and "blueprint-defining" for the groove metal genre...
sound evident on the other demos. The demos were re-released on Black Friday
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
2010 and were limited to 3,000 180-gram pressings, with the vinyl including the custom cover and demos of the original tracks, as well as the previously unreleased demo cut, “The Will To Survive”.
Track listing
NOTE - All marked with an * include different lyrics to the official debut.Demos of the album's tracks were also released in 2010, in the 20th anniversary edition of Cowboys from Hell, but with a different tracklisting.
Personnel
- Philip Anselmo – lead vocals
- Diamond DarrellDimebag DarrellDarrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
– guitar, backing vocals - RexRex BrownRex Robert Brown is an American heavy metal bassist. A former member of Down, he is most famous as the longtime bassist for the Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling band Pantera.-Pantera:...
– bass, backing vocals - Vinnie Paul – drums
- Produced, Engineered, and Mixed by Terry DateTerry DateTerry Date is an American record producer and engineer, specializing in the rock and metal genres...
and PanteraPanteraPantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as... - Assistant Engineer - Matt Lane
- Mastered by Howie WeinbergHowie WeinbergHowie Weinberg is a music mastering engineer who has worked with numerous bands.- Career :He has worked at Masterdisk, New York City, since 1977...
at MasterdiskMasterdiskMasterdisk is an audio mastering and multimedia company in New York City, located on West 45th Street in Manhattan. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production....
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Charts and certifications
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
27 |
| 1995 | Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
46 |
| 2010 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
117 |
| Catalog Albums Chart | 8 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | Gold | September 14, 1993 | 500,000 |
| U.S. | Platinum | July 16, 1997 | 1,000,000 |
| U.K. | Gold | September 2006 | 100,000 |
Trivia
- Philip Anselmo has the "CFH" logo tattooed on the side of his head with a ring of barbed wire surrounding it.
- The song "Cowboys from Hell" is featured on the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game Guitar Hero and a live version of the song is featured in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.