Pantera
Encyclopedia
Pantera was an American heavy metal
band from Arlington, Texas
. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul
(drums
) and Dimebag Darrell
(guitar
) 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 the new vocalist.
Pantera has sold around 20 million albums. Starting as a glam metal band, Pantera played a heavier groove and thrash sound when they released Cowboys from Hell
in 1990. Their second album Vulgar Display of Power
, released in 1992, revealed a heavier sound than Cowboys from Hell and their 1994 release of Far Beyond Driven
debuted at No.1 in the Billboard 200
.
Tensions began to surface amongst the band members when Phil Anselmo became addicted to heroin in 1995. This resulted in the recording sessions for The Great Southern Trendkill
to be held separately. The ongoing tensions lasted for another seven years, in which only one studio album, Reinventing the Steel
was released. Feeling that Anselmo had abandoned Pantera due to his time away from the band, the Abbott brothers disbanded Pantera in 2003 and subsequently formed Damageplan
. Any hopes of a reunion were lost on December 8, 2004, when Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed onstage by a mentally unstable fan
during a Damageplan performance.
" in Spanish and several other languages. Hart left the band because he did not agree with the bands' ethics and Glaze became the group's vocalist, leaving Darrell as the sole guitarist. Later that year Bradford also departed and was replaced by Rex Brown
(then known as Rexx Rocker). Pantera became an underground favorite, though its regional tours in this era never took them beyond Texas
, Oklahoma
, and Louisiana
. The band began supporting fellow heavy metal
acts such as Stryper
, Dokken
, and Quiet Riot
, who in turn promoted Pantera's debut, Metal Magic
. Metal Magic was released on the band's record label of the same name in 1983 and produced by the Abbott brothers' father, Jerry Abbott
(referred to as "The Eldn"), at Pantego Studios.
The following year, Pantera released its second album, Projects in the Jungle
. Though still very much a glam metal album, the band members crafted songs that had less overbearing melodic influences than songs from Metal Magic. Another change was Terry Glaze's name, as he was henceforth credited as "Terrence Lee". In addition, a music video for the album's lead track, "All Over Tonight", was eventually created. Projects in the Jungle was also released on the band's independent Metal Magic Records label and produced by Jerry Abbott.
In 1985, Pantera again released a full-length album on Metal Magic Records, entitled I Am the Night
. As with Projects in the Jungle, this album saw Pantera's sound becoming heavier (though still rooted in glam metal), and the heavy metal press took more notice of the band. Because of poor distribution, I Am the Night was a costly album to many fans. Around 25,000 copies of I Am the Night were sold. Pantera's second music video was produced for the track "Hot and Heavy".
1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal
albums that would prove influential to Pantera's developing musical style. Among the most prominent of these were Metallica
's Master of Puppets
, Slayer
's Reign in Blood
, Anthrax
's Among the Living
and Megadeth
's Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?
Terrence Lee's glam approach did not fit the band's new outlook and he and the other members parted ways, beginning the search for his replacement. Terrence then went on to form rock group, Lord Tracy
.
The band went through temporary vocalists Rick Mythiasin, Dave Peacock and Matt L’Amour before eventually discovering New Orleans
native Phil Anselmo
in 1987. Anselmo had previously been the vocalist for the bands Samhain (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig
's band of the same name
) and Razorwhite. Upon playing with Pantera, Anselmo immediately clicked with the other three members.
More than just the band's image was changing, however. In 1988, Pantera released its first album with Anselmo, entitled Power Metal
. By far the band's heaviest album at this point, Power Metal was a mix of 1980s hard rock and thrash metal, sometimes blending both styles in a single song. Complementing the band's new sonic approach was Anselmo's harder-edged vocals compared to those of Terrence Lee. After the release of Power Metal, the band members decided to seriously reconsider their glam metal sound and image. Referring to the band's spandex appearance, Vinnie Paul remarked at a band meeting that "These magic clothes don't play music; we do. Let's just go out there and be comfortable—jeans, t-shirt, whatever—and see where it goes."
As with the previous three 1980s albums, Power Metal was released on Metal Magic Records. Power Metal began to reflect the characteristic sound of later Pantera, though it still contained many elements of 1980s glam metal
. The band members would later ignore their independent releases, including Power Metal, as they sculpted a new, heavier image to accompany their developing "groove
" sound. Their four independent albums are not listed on the band's official website and have become hard-to-find collector's items.
's vacant guitarist slot, and was invited to join the band. Darrell insisted his brother, bandmate Vinnie Paul, be included, but because Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine
had already hired a drummer, Nick Menza
, Darrell declined and Mustaine instead decided on Marty Friedman
. The Abbott brothers refocused their attention on Pantera, and in 1989 they were given their first shot at commercial success. 1989 was also when the band formed their relationship with Walter O'Brien at Concrete Management (the management arm of Concrete Marketing
), who remained their manager until they disbanded in 2003.
After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth", Atco Records
representatives Mark Ross and Stevenson Eugenio were asked by their boss Derek Shulman
, who was interested in signing Pantera, to see the band perform after Hurricane Hugo
stranded them 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. Atco Records accepted, and at the close of 1989, the band recorded its major label debut at Pantego Studios.
Released on July 24, 1990, and produced by Terry Date
and Pantera, Cowboys from Hell
was another leap into heavier territory. Pantera showed a more extreme style on this outing, leaving behind its glam metal influences in favor of an amalgamation of thrash metal
and groove metal
dubbed "power groove" by the band. Although Anselmo still used Rob Halford
and Eric Adams
-influenced falsetto vocals, he also adopted a more abrasive delivery. Darrell's more complex guitar solo
s and riff
s, along with his brother's faster-paced drumwork were evidence of the band's extreme transformation. The album marked a critical juncture in the band's history. Many fans, as well as the band itself, consider it Pantera's "official" debut. Cowboys included the tracks "Cemetery Gates
", a brooding seven-minute piece that focuses on death and religion, and the thrashing title track
, which gave the band members their nickname and asserted their raucous personality and style.
So began the Cowboys from Hell tour 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 Soviet Union shortly before its collapse
three months later. The band was often found at the Dallas club "the Basement", where the band shot the videos for "Cowboys from Hell" and "Psycho Holiday". Pantera's 2006 home video compilation 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell
features performances of "Primal Concrete Sledge", "Cowboys from Hell", "Domination", and "Psycho Holiday
" from the show in Moscow.
Pantera's unique "groove" style came to fruition in its breakthrough album Vulgar Display of Power
, released on February 25, 1992. On this album, the power metal falsetto vocals were replaced with a hardcore-influenced shouted delivery and heavier guitar sound. Two other singles from the album became two of Pantera's most notable ballads: "This Love
", a haunting piece about lust and abuse, and "Hollow
", somewhat reminiscent of "Cemetery Gates" from Cowboys. The band would play the song "Domination" (from Cowboys) leading into the ending of "Hollow" (what is roughly the last 2:30 of the album version), forming a medley referred to as "Dom/Hollow", as can be heard on the band's 1997 live album
. Singles from Vulgar also received significant airplay on radio as did the companion music videos on MTV
. The album entered the American charts at #44. Pantera hit the road again, visiting Japan for the first time in July 1992 and later performing at the "Monsters of Rock" festival co-headlined by Iron Maiden
and Black Sabbath
in Italy. It was around this time that Darrell Abbott dropped the nickname "Diamond Darrell" and assumed "Dimebag Darrell
", and Rex Brown
dropped the pseudonym "Rexx Rocker".
Far Beyond Driven
(released on March 22, 1994
) debuted at #1 in both United States and Australian album charts. The album's first single, "I'm Broken
", earned the band's first Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance"
in 1995
. Driven saw Pantera continue its groove metal approach, while taking an even more extreme direction with its musical style. The album's original artwork (a drill bit impaling an anus) was banned, so it was re-released with the now familiar skull impaled with a drill bit. A limited edition was released with a slip-cover case. Also, a boxed set called Driven Downunder Tour '94 Souvenir Collection
was released in Australia and New Zealand to coincide with the tours there. It featured Far Beyond Driven
(with its original banned artwork) with a bonus 13th track, "The Badge" (a Poison Idea
cover), the 5-track aLIVE and hostile e.p.
, and the Japanese collector's edition Walk
EP, all presented in a special cardboard box with an 8-page color biography. Just like the other rare editions of Far Beyond Driven, this box set is very rare and is highly sought after.
Pantera hit the road again and toured South America, along with being accepted into another "Monsters of Rock" billing. At that festival on June 4, 1994, the Abbott brothers got into a scuffle with journalists from the music magazine Kerrang!
over unflattering cartoon depictions of drummer Vinnie Paul. Then in late June, Anselmo was charged with assault for hitting a security guard after he prevented fans from getting on stage, Anselmo was released on $5,000 bail the next day. The trial was delayed three times. In May 1995, he apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. Pantera continued their tour of the United Kingdom in 1994 and eventually ended it in the United States where the band was opened for by fellow groove metal band Prong.
Anselmo's on-stage remarks became notorious during this time. After stating at a Montreal
concert that "rap music advocates the killing of white people", Anselmo denied accusations of racism, and later issued an apology, stating that he was drunk and that his remarks were a mistake.
In 1995, Down
, one of Anselmo's many side projects, took off. Down was a supergroup
consisting of Anselmo, three members of Crowbar—guitar
ist Kirk Windstein
, bassist
Todd Strange
and drummer
Jimmy Bower
(also of Eyehategod
)—and Corrosion of Conformity
guitarist Pepper Keenan
. Down's 1995 debut, NOLA
, was a success, but shortly after the group members returned to their respective bands, leaving Down inactive for several years.
Pantera's next album, The Great Southern Trendkill
(released May 22, 1996). It is often considered Pantera's "overlooked" album. Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals for this release in Nine Inch Nails
frontman Trent Reznor
's studio in New Orleans
while the rest of the band members recorded in Dallas
, evidence of the continued distancing between Anselmo and the rest of the band. In comparison to the band's previous efforts, there was a heavier emphasis on vocal overdubbing in a somewhat "demonic" fashion. Drug abuse is a recurring theme in Trendkill, as exemplified by tracks such as "Suicide Note Pt. I", "Suicide Note Pt. II" and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)". "Drag the Waters" became the album's only music video
, and likewise, the only track from the album to appear on the band's compilation album
. Another Trendkill single, "Floods
", achieved acclaim largely because of Darrell's complex guitar solo
in the song, which ranked #15 on Guitar World
magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" of all-time.
In an episode of the short-lived Australian sex advice show "Sex Life", in a segment discussing what to make of a man's CD collection when first going back to his place, the host drew out a copy of The Great Southern Trendkill and referred to Pantera as "the loudest band in the world."
Some of the band's live performances were eventually compiled in its July 29, 1997 release, Official Live: 101 Proof
, which included fourteen live tracks and two new studio recordings: "Where You Come From" and "I Can't Hide". Two weeks before the live album's release, Pantera received its first platinum album
, for Cowboys from Hell. Just four months later, both Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven went platinum as well. The band also received their second and third "Best Metal Performance
" Grammy Nominations for Trendkill' s "Suicide Note (Pt. I)" and Cowboys' s "Cemetery Gates
" in 1997
and 1998
, respectively.
Also in 1997, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest
alongside Ozzy Osbourne
, Black Sabbath
, Marilyn Manson
, Type O Negative
, Fear Factory
, Machine Head
, and Powerman 5000
. Additionally, the band played on the 1998 UK Ozzfest tour alongside Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Foo Fighters
, Slayer
, Soulfly
, Fear Factory, and Therapy?
Around this time, Anselmo ventured into more side projects, such as playing guitars on Necrophagia
's 1999 release Holocausto de la Morte
, where he went as the alias "Anton Crowley", which combines the names of Church of Satan
founder Anton LaVey
and occultist Aleister Crowley
. He also temporarily joined the black metal
supergroup Eibon and contributed to that band's 2000 release. Another one of Anselmo's "Anton Crowley" projects was black metal band Viking Crown
. The Abbott brothers and Rex Brown began their own country metal
crossover project, Rebel Meets Rebel
with David Allan Coe
, around the same time.
Fans of the NHL
's Dallas Stars
were treated to a raucous fight song penned by Pantera and dedicated to their favorite hockey team during the Stars 1999 Stanley Cup Championship run
. Throughout the season members of the team befriended members of Pantera. During a Stanley Cup party hosted by drummer Vinnie Paul, the Stanley Cup
was damaged when Guy Carbonneau
attempted to throw the Cup from the roof of Vinnie Paul's house into his pool. The Cup landed short on the concrete deck and had to be repaired by NHL commissioned silversmiths.
, which was released on March 21, 2000. Steel debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200
and included "Revolution Is My Name
" and "Goddamn Electric", the latter of which featured a Kerry King
outro solo recorded backstage in one take during Ozzfest
in Dallas. "Revolution Is My Name" became the band's fourth nomination for Best Metal Performance
in the 2001 Grammys
.
In 2000, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest
alongside Ozzy Osbourne
, Godsmack
, Static-X
, Methods of Mayhem
, Incubus
, P.O.D.
, Black Label Society
, Queens of the Stone Age
, and Apartment 26
. In November the band cancelled their planned tour after Anselmo broke his ribs after falling during his eighth annual House of Shock
event.
The band once again returned to touring and visited the United States (where they were guest musicians on the show SpongeBob SquarePants
in the episode "Pre-Hibernation Week"), Canada, South Korea, Australia, and Europe. The tour in Europe was cut short, however, by the September 11, 2001 attacks
which left the band stranded in Dublin, Ireland for 6 days as a result of all flights being cancelled. Pantera played their last show in Yokohama, Japan at the 'Beast Feast' festival on 28th August 2001. This would be the last time the members of Pantera performed together. Back home, the band planned to release its fourth home video in Summer 2002 and record another studio album later that year, but neither came about.
Anselmo again engaged in numerous side projects. In March 2002, Down
released its second studio album, Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow
, which featured Rex Brown on bass
following Todd Strange
's departure in 1999. Brown remained Down's full-time bassist until 2011, having appeared on their subsequent release in 2007
. Also, in May of that year Anselmo's Superjoint Ritual
released its debut, Use Once and Destroy
. Vinnie Paul claims that Anselmo told him he would take a year off following the events of September 11, 2001 attacks
, but Anselmo's touring and record output for both Superjoint Ritual and Down contradicted this. The Abbott brothers were frustrated, and held out for a time, assuming Anselmo would return. However, according to Anselmo, taking a break from Pantera was a "mutual thing" between each of the band members.
The Abbott brothers officially broke up Pantera in 2003, also the year when their "Best Of" compilation album
was released (on September 23), when the Abbott brothers concluded that Anselmo had abandoned Pantera and would not return. The break-up of the band was not amicable and subsequently a war of words was waged between the former bandmates via the heavy metal and musical press. The Abbott brothers and Pantera crew members claimed that they tried numerous times to contact Anselmo over the phone to reorganize Pantera, but Anselmo maintains that they never called him. Caught up in the torrent was Rex Brown, who later said "It was a bunch of he said, she said nonsense that was going on, and I wasn't going to get in the middle of it." Anselmo's comment in a 2004 issue of Metal Hammer
magazine saying that "Dimebag deserves to be beaten severely" typified Pantera's internal conflicts; Anselmo insists that this comment was tongue-in-cheek
, and he was angered his comment ended up on the cover of the "god damn" magazine. This explanation was soon dismissed by Vinnie Paul, who said shortly after the 2004 murder of his brother that he had personally listened to the audio files of the interview and that Anselmo had not been misquoted or misrepresented, but said the exact words which appeared in the article.
In July 2004, Vulgar Display of Power went double-platinum, and The Great Southern Trendkill went platinum the next month.
, with vocalist Pat Lachman
and bassist Bob Zilla
. The group released their first album, New Found Power
, in February of 2004. The album was a commercial success; over 44,000 copies were sold in its first week alone and within a year over 100,000 copies were sold. However, some fans felt that Damageplan's material did not measure up to that of Pantera.
Tragedy struck on December 8, 2004. Damageplan was performing in support of their album at a show at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio
when, less than a minute into the first song of their set, mentally unstable Nathan Gale
, 25, went onstage and shot and killed Darrell
. Gale also killed fan Nathan Bray, 23, club employee Erin Halk, 29, and Pantera security official Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40, and injured longtime Pantera and Damageplan drum technician John "Kat" Brooks and Damageplan tour manager Chris Paluska before being shot dead by Columbus police officer James Niggemayer.
Public comments made by Phil Anselmo following the shooting suggested that he had considered reuniting with the band prior to Darrell's death. However, one year after the murder Vinnie stated in an interview that this reunion was never going to happen.
On May 11, 2006, the VH1
Behind the Music
episode on Pantera premiered. While focusing heavily on Darrell's murder, the episode also detailed the band's glam metal beginnings, the band's perceived rise in its own popularity after the change in musical direction, and the conflicts between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers in the band's later years that would tear them apart.
When asked by Crave Music in 2006 if there was any chance of reconciling with Phil Anselmo, Vinnie Paul answered "Absolutely not. That's it." The former Pantera drummer has since begun work on Hellyeah
, a collaboration between him and members from Mudvayne
and Nothingface
. Both Anselmo and Brown have reunited with Down, and supported Heaven & Hell and Megadeth
on their 2007 Canadian tour, as well as supporting Metallica
on the first half of their World Magnetic Tour
.
In interviews in 2009 & 2010, both Rita Haney & Phil Anselmo have stated that after a meeting at Download 2009 they have patched up their differences and are once again on speaking terms.
On March 30, 2010, Pantera released a greatest-hits collection, titled "1990-2000: A Decade of Domination". It was made available exclusively at Walmart stores and is made up of 10 tracks that were remastered.
, metalcore
, and several other movements. They have also been called one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal
. Popmatters
has claimed that, "Darrell Abbott's influence on the entire genre of heavy metal is massive; after Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power, every notable young American metal band since has, in some way or another, copied their guitar style from those records: Tool
, Korn
, Deftones
, Killswitch Engage
, Limp Bizkit
, Disturbed, White Zombie
, Slipknot
, Trivium
, As I Lay Dying
, Job for a Cowboy
, Avenged Sevenfold
, Bullet for My Valentine
, A Day to Remember
, Hatebreed
, Lamb of God
, Shadows Fall
, Mastodon
, The Showdown
, Evile
, James Durbin
, DevilDriver
, Five Finger Death Punch
... the list is endless."
Pantera toured on Ozzfest
as main stage acts twice; the band played at the second annual Ozzfest in 1997 and the fifth Ozzfest in 2000. Over the course of their career, Pantera's members became known for their excessive partying and debauchery, even acquiring an official drink called the "Black Tooth Grin". The "Black Tooth Grin" ("Black Tooth", "The Grin", or "BTG", alternatively), named after lyrics from Megadeth
's "Sweating Bullets
", is a mixture of Crown Royal
or Seagram 7
whisky
(or both) and Coca-Cola
.
Pantera also adopted a self-described "take no shit" attitude, epitomized in its song "5 Minutes Alone
" from the album Far Beyond Driven. According to Vinnie Paul, the song originated when, during a show in San Diego, California
, Anselmo was annoyed by a heckler and encouraged the crowd to "jump [his] ass and beat the shit out of him on the spot." Consequently, the band was sued; the man's father took action and called Pantera's manager, saying, "You just give me five minutes alone with that Phil Anselmo guy and I'll show him who's big daddy around here", to which Anselmo responded, "You just give me five minutes alone with that cat's dad and I'll whoop his ass."
Despite being a by-the-book Glam Metal band early in their career, the band members perceive themselves to have had an uncompromising career in which they never "sold out
" or gave into trends. This is most noticeably highlighted in the themes and title of The Great Southern Trendkill. On Pantera's official website, Anselmo puts it in his own words:
Similarly, the die-hard attitude of "We'll Grind That Axe For a Long Time" (from Reinventing the Steel) is, according to Anselmo, "in a way, our motto."
Aside from their post-glam thrash metal
influences, the band members cite heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath
as one of their favorite bands. As a tribute, Pantera has recorded three different covers of Black Sabbath songs (all from the Ozzy Osbourne
era). The first was "Planet Caravan
", a slower, quieter song planned for the first Sabbath tribute album, Nativity in Black
, that eventually became the final track on Far Beyond Driven. The band performed Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" on the second Nativity in Black. A previously unreleased cover of Sabbath's "Hole in the Sky" was included on the band's 2003 compilation album, The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! Pantera's affinity for Black Sabbath is also shown through the lyrics, "Your trust is in whiskey and weed and Black Sabbath", in "Goddamn Electric". The same song also mentions Slayer
, one of the band's thrash metal influences. Pantera's musical style was also heavily influenced by the bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
such as Motörhead, Judas Priest
, Iron Maiden
, and Venom
.
Pantera has come under some criticism within the fringes of the heavy metal world in relation to New Orleans thrash metal
band Exhorder
. Some fans have accused Pantera of stealing from Exhorder their groove metal sound. While Pantera's style change on Cowboys from Hell
was released before Exhorder's debut, Slaughter in the Vatican
, Exhorder self-released two demos
in the late 1980s (around the time that Pantera was still playing glam metal
) that a number of fans believe to be the real birth of the musical style Pantera invented.
Allmusic points to several elements of Exhorder's debut that could potentially explain its lack of success in relation to Pantera. In disagreement with the opinion that Exhorder is "Pantera minus the good songs", AMG's review of Slaughter in the Vatican expresses that "perhaps a more accurate billing would be to call them Pantera without the major label backing." They also point to the fact that the title of Exhorder's debut, along with the unsubtle album cover, "certainly didn't help [its] cause any."
However, some fans and critics dispute any notion that Pantera "stole" Exhorder's sound. Brian Davis, a contributor to Internet radio
station KNAC
, addresses the issue as follows:
Despite originally decrying Pantera as a rip-off to their sound, lead vocalist of Exhorder, Kyle Thomas, has stated that he does not care about any of the criticism and is sick of seeing Exhorder's name tied to Pantera's. He also stated that he and the members of Pantera were great friends who used to tour together, and that he mourns the loss of Dimebag Darrell. Recently, Thomas suggested that while it is possible Pantera may have been influenced by his band, the members of Pantera "work[ed] a ... lot harder than [we] did."
Previous members
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band from Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
. Formed by the Abbott brothers, 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...
(drums
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
) and Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag 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...
(guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
) in 1981, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
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:...
would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze
Terry Glaze
Terrence Lee Glaze is an Ohio-born and Texas raised singer who is most well known for his work in American heavy metal band Pantera during their glam metal years, and Lord Tracy....
. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with 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....
as the new vocalist.
Pantera has sold around 20 million albums. Starting as a glam metal band, Pantera played a heavier groove and thrash sound when they released Cowboys from Hell
Cowboys from Hell
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...
in 1990. Their second album 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...
, released in 1992, revealed a heavier sound than Cowboys from Hell and their 1994 release of Far Beyond Driven
Far Beyond Driven
Far Beyond Driven is the seventh album by American groove metal band Pantera. It was released on March 22, 1994 through East West Records. Upon its release, it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200...
debuted at No.1 in the 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...
.
Tensions began to surface amongst the band members when Phil Anselmo became addicted to heroin in 1995. This resulted in the recording sessions for The Great Southern Trendkill
The Great Southern Trendkill
-Credits:* Philip Anselmo – lead vocals* Dimebag Darrell – guitar, backing vocals, 12 string acoustic guitar on "Suicide Note Pt. I"* Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals* Vinnie Paul – drums* Produced, Recorded, and Mixed by Terry Date and Vinnie Paul...
to be held separately. The ongoing tensions lasted for another seven years, in which only one studio album, Reinventing the Steel
Reinventing the Steel
-Credits:*Phil Anselmo – lead vocals*Dimebag Darrell – guitar, backing vocals*Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals*Vinnie Paul – drums*Produced, Engineered, & Mixed by Sterling Winfield, Dimebag Darrell, and Vinnie Paul....
was released. Feeling that Anselmo had abandoned Pantera due to his time away from the band, the Abbott brothers disbanded Pantera in 2003 and subsequently formed Damageplan
Damageplan
Damageplan was an American heavy metal supergroup from Dallas, Texas that formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman on vocals, and later...
. Any hopes of a reunion were lost on December 8, 2004, when Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed onstage by a mentally unstable fan
Nathan Gale
Nathan M. Gale was a former American Marine who is known for having murdered former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others during a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio, on December 8, 2004.-Life:Nathan M. Gale was born in Calumet City, Illinois, and raised...
during a Damageplan performance.
Formation and early glam years (1981–1987)
The band was originally named Pantera's Metal Magic and consisted of Vinnie Paul Abbott on drums, Dimebag Darrell Abbott (called Diamond Darrell at that time) on guitar, Donnie Hart on vocals, Terry Glaze on guitar, and Tommy Bradford on bass. In 1982, the band was renamed Pantera in order to shorten the name and to settle an agreement between all band members. Also, Pantera is "pantherPanthera
Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae , which contains four well-known living species: the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard. The genus comprises about half of the Pantherinae subfamily, the big cats...
" in Spanish and several other languages. Hart left the band because he did not agree with the bands' ethics and Glaze became the group's vocalist, leaving Darrell as the sole guitarist. Later that year Bradford also departed and was replaced by 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:...
(then known as Rexx Rocker). Pantera became an underground favorite, though its regional tours in this era never took them beyond Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The band began supporting fellow heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
acts such as Stryper
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...
, Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
, and Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet...
, who in turn promoted Pantera's debut, Metal Magic
Metal Magic
- Credits :* Terry Glaze – vocals* Diamond Darrell – guitar* Rex Rocker – bass* Vinnie Paul – drumsThe album also features uncredited keyboard playing in some songs....
. Metal Magic was released on the band's record label of the same name in 1983 and produced by the Abbott brothers' father, Jerry Abbott
Jerry Abbott
Jerry Bob Abbott in Abilene, Texas, is a country music songwriter and record producer from Pantego, Texas. He is also the father of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, and Vinnie Paul Abbott, both of Pantera, Rebel Meets Rebel and Damageplan....
(referred to as "The Eldn"), at Pantego Studios.
The following year, Pantera released its second album, Projects in the Jungle
Projects in the Jungle
Projects in the Jungle is the second album by the American heavy metal band Pantera, released in 1984. The title track's musical style is a foreshadowing of what was to come a few years later, as it features a thrash metal-oriented guitar riff with more groove metal-like breakdowns.-Track...
. Though still very much a glam metal album, the band members crafted songs that had less overbearing melodic influences than songs from Metal Magic. Another change was Terry Glaze's name, as he was henceforth credited as "Terrence Lee". In addition, a music video for the album's lead track, "All Over Tonight", was eventually created. Projects in the Jungle was also released on the band's independent Metal Magic Records label and produced by Jerry Abbott.
In 1985, Pantera again released a full-length album on Metal Magic Records, entitled I Am the Night
I Am the Night
I Am the Night is the third album by metal band Pantera, released in 1985 on record and cassette. Any CD release is a bootleg transferred via vinyl or tape. This album is where some of Pantera's faster and heavier influences were becoming more apparent, especially on the title track and "Down Below"...
. As with Projects in the Jungle, this album saw Pantera's sound becoming heavier (though still rooted in glam metal), and the heavy metal press took more notice of the band. Because of poor distribution, I Am the Night was a costly album to many fans. Around 25,000 copies of I Am the Night were sold. Pantera's second music video was produced for the track "Hot and Heavy".
A new vocalist emerges (1987–1989)
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
albums that would prove influential to Pantera's developing musical style. Among the most prominent of these were Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's Master of Puppets
Master of Puppets
-Personnel:Metallica* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on track 1, first solo on tracks 2 and 7* Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals* Lars Ulrich – drums* Kirk Hammett – lead guitarProduction...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
's Reign in Blood
Reign in Blood
Reign in Blood is the third studio album and the major label debut by the American thrash metal band Slayer. It was released on October 7, 1986 through Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band's first collaboration with record producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band's sound evolve...
, Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
's Among the Living
Among the Living
Among the Living is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax. The album was released in March 1987 by Megaforce Worldwide/Island and is certified gold by the RIAA. The BBC has described the album as "arguably their big breakthrough", and "often cited by fans as their favourite...
and 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...
's Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
-25th Anniversary 2-CD reissue:-25th Anniversary box set:Disc 5 contains both the original album, and the above listed 1987 show in hi-resolution audio....
Terrence Lee's glam approach did not fit the band's new outlook and he and the other members parted ways, beginning the search for his replacement. Terrence then went on to form rock group, Lord Tracy
Lord Tracy
Lord Tracy is a hard rock/heavy metal band formed in 1985.Lord Tracy originally consisted of bassist Kinley "Barney" Wolfe, drummer Chris Craig and guitarist Jimmy Rusidoff. Terry Glaze, formerly of Pantera, joined in 1986 as lead vocalist. Their first album, Deaf Gods of Babylon, was released in...
.
The band went through temporary vocalists Rick Mythiasin, Dave Peacock and Matt L’Amour before eventually discovering New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
native 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....
in 1987. Anselmo had previously been the vocalist for the bands Samhain (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Allen Anzalone; June 23, 1955 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, entrepreneur, and a progenitor of the horror punk subgenre of music. He is a founder of bands the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig...
's band of the same name
Samhain (band)
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from the Misfits. Samhain played in more of a deathrock and heavy metal-infused style of horror punk than Danzig's previous band. By 1987 Samhain's membership evolved into a new band,...
) and Razorwhite. Upon playing with Pantera, Anselmo immediately clicked with the other three members.
More than just the band's image was changing, however. In 1988, Pantera released its first album with Anselmo, entitled 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:...
. By far the band's heaviest album at this point, Power Metal was a mix of 1980s hard rock and thrash metal, sometimes blending both styles in a single song. Complementing the band's new sonic approach was Anselmo's harder-edged vocals compared to those of Terrence Lee. After the release of Power Metal, the band members decided to seriously reconsider their glam metal sound and image. Referring to the band's spandex appearance, Vinnie Paul remarked at a band meeting that "These magic clothes don't play music; we do. Let's just go out there and be comfortable—jeans, t-shirt, whatever—and see where it goes."
As with the previous three 1980s albums, Power Metal was released on Metal Magic Records. Power Metal began to reflect the characteristic sound of later Pantera, though it still contained many elements of 1980s 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...
. The band members would later ignore their independent releases, including Power Metal, as they sculpted a new, heavier image to accompany their developing "groove
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. Their four independent albums are not listed on the band's official website and have become hard-to-find collector's items.
Cowboys from Hell (1989–1991)
Shortly after Power Metal was released, "Diamond Darrell", as he was then known, auditioned for MegadethMegadeth
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...
's vacant guitarist slot, and was invited to join the band. Darrell insisted his brother, bandmate Vinnie Paul, be included, but because Megadeth 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...
had already hired a drummer, Nick Menza
Nick Menza
Nick Menza is an American drummer best known for his work in Megadeth from 1989 to 1998, appearing on four of the band's studio albums.-Early life:...
, Darrell declined and Mustaine instead decided on Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman (guitarist)
Marty Friedman is a guitarist, well known for his tenure as the lead/rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth, which lasted almost a decade...
. The Abbott brothers refocused their attention on Pantera, and in 1989 they were given their first shot at commercial success. 1989 was also when the band formed their relationship with Walter O'Brien at Concrete Management (the management arm of Concrete Marketing
Concrete Marketing
Concrete Marketing is an independent marketing company based in New York, USA, founded by Bob Chiappardi and Walter O'Brien in 1984. is known mainly for its work with cutting edge rock and heavy metal, having amassed a client roster that features bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Korn, Limp...
), who remained their manager until they disbanded in 2003.
After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth", 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...
representatives Mark Ross and Stevenson Eugenio were asked by their boss Derek Shulman
Derek Shulman
Derek Shulman is a British musician and singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record executive...
, who was interested in signing Pantera, to see the band perform after Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
stranded them 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. Atco Records accepted, and at the close of 1989, the band recorded its major label debut at Pantego Studios.
Released on July 24, 1990, and produced by Terry Date
Terry Date
Terry Date is an American record producer and engineer, specializing in the rock and metal genres...
and Pantera, Cowboys from Hell
Cowboys from Hell
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...
was another leap into heavier territory. Pantera showed a more extreme style on this outing, leaving behind its glam metal influences in favor of an amalgamation of thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
and 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...
dubbed "power groove" by the band. Although Anselmo still used Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
and Eric Adams
Eric Adams (singer)
Eric Adams has been the singer of the heavy metal band Manowar since 1980. Before he became the band's singer in 1980, he had sung for a group, called LOOKS. In the band was also future Manowar bassist and childhood friend, Joey DeMaio.-Early life:Eric Adams was born on 12 July 1954, in Auburn,...
-influenced falsetto vocals, he also adopted a more abrasive delivery. Darrell's more complex guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
s and riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s, along with his brother's faster-paced drumwork were evidence of the band's extreme transformation. The album marked a critical juncture in the band's history. Many fans, as well as the band itself, consider it Pantera's "official" debut. Cowboys included the tracks "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 brooding seven-minute piece that focuses on death and religion, and the thrashing title track
Cowboys from Hell (song)
"Cowboys from Hell" is a popular song by heavy metal band Pantera. The song was the band's first single and first appears on the bands 1989 demo album, and later on their major label debut album Cowboys from Hell. The song also appears on the band's compilation album.Pantera used the phrase...
, which gave the band members their nickname and asserted their raucous personality and style.
So began the Cowboys from Hell tour alongside thrash acts Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
and Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is a U.S. crossover thrash band founded in 1981 in Venice, Los Angeles, California by Mike Muir, its leader and only permanent member. The band is sometimes credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash"...
. In 1991, Rob Halford performed with the band onstage, which led Pantera to open for Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
on its first show in Europe. The band eventually landed a billing for "Monsters in Moscow" with AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
and Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
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 Soviet Union shortly before its collapse
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
three months later. The band was often found at the Dallas club "the Basement", where the band shot the videos for "Cowboys from Hell" and "Psycho Holiday". Pantera's 2006 home video compilation 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell
3 Vulgar Videos from Hell
3 Vulgar Videos from Hell is a DVD released in 1999, and re-released in 2006 by the heavy metal band Pantera. This DVD combines all three of the band's previous home videos and features music videos, live performances, appearances, interviews and footage of the band on tour and in the studio from...
features performances of "Primal Concrete Sledge", "Cowboys from Hell", "Domination", and "Psycho Holiday
Psycho Holiday
"Psycho Holiday" is the third single from the heavy metal band Pantera's first major-label album Cowboys from Hell.-Video:There was a video made for the song, which is very similar to their video for "Cowboys from Hell" - in that it simply shows the band playing the song live to an audience...
" from the show in Moscow.
Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven (1992–1994)
Pantera's unique "groove" style came to fruition in its breakthrough album 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...
, released on February 25, 1992. On this album, the power metal falsetto vocals were replaced with a hardcore-influenced shouted delivery and heavier guitar sound. Two other singles from the album became two of Pantera's most notable ballads: "This Love
This 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!...
", a haunting piece about lust and abuse, and "Hollow
Hollow (song)
"Hollow" is a song by the heavy metal group Pantera from the 1992 album Vulgar Display of Power. A live medley of "Hollow" and another Pantera song, "Domination", is featured on Official Live: 101 Proof as "Dom/Hollow".-Lyrics:...
", somewhat reminiscent of "Cemetery Gates" from Cowboys. The band would play the song "Domination" (from Cowboys) leading into the ending of "Hollow" (what is roughly the last 2:30 of the album version), forming a medley referred to as "Dom/Hollow", as can be heard on the band's 1997 live album
Official Live: 101 Proof
-Credits:*Phil Anselmo – vocals*Dimebag Darrell – guitar*Rex Brown – bass guitar*Vinnie Paul – drums-Chart positions:...
. Singles from Vulgar also received significant airplay on radio as did the companion music videos on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The album entered the American charts at #44. Pantera hit the road again, visiting Japan for the first time in July 1992 and later performing at the "Monsters of Rock" festival co-headlined by Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
in Italy. It was around this time that Darrell Abbott dropped the nickname "Diamond Darrell" and assumed "Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag 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...
", and 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:...
dropped the pseudonym "Rexx Rocker".
Far Beyond Driven
Far Beyond Driven
Far Beyond Driven is the seventh album by American groove metal band Pantera. It was released on March 22, 1994 through East West Records. Upon its release, it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200...
(released on March 22, 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
) debuted at #1 in both United States and Australian album charts. The album's first single, "I'm Broken
I'm Broken
"I'm Broken" is a song by the heavy metal group Pantera from the 1994 album Far Beyond Driven. It was the first single issued from the album...
", earned the band's first Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance"
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...
in 1995
Grammy Awards of 1995
The 37th Grammy Awards were presented March 1, 1995. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Bill Bottrell & Sheryl Crow for "All I Wanna Do"*Album of the Year...
. Driven saw Pantera continue its groove metal approach, while taking an even more extreme direction with its musical style. The album's original artwork (a drill bit impaling an anus) was banned, so it was re-released with the now familiar skull impaled with a drill bit. A limited edition was released with a slip-cover case. Also, a boxed set called Driven Downunder Tour '94 Souvenir Collection
Driven Downunder Tour '94 Souvenir Collection
Driven Downunder Tour '94 Souvenir Collection is a box set containing 3 CDs by the band Pantera that was released in 1994 in Australia and New Zealand only.-Album information:...
was released in Australia and New Zealand to coincide with the tours there. It featured Far Beyond Driven
Far Beyond Driven
Far Beyond Driven is the seventh album by American groove metal band Pantera. It was released on March 22, 1994 through East West Records. Upon its release, it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200...
(with its original banned artwork) with a bonus 13th track, "The Badge" (a Poison Idea
Poison Idea
Poison Idea was an American hardcore punk band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1980. The band originally dissolved in 1993, but has been playing intermittently since 1998.-Formation, 1980's and 90's:...
cover), the 5-track aLIVE and hostile e.p.
ALIVE and hostile e.p.
-Credits:*Phil Anselmo – Vocals*Rex Brown – Bass*"Dimebag" Darrell – Guitar*Vinnie Paul – drums...
, and the Japanese collector's edition Walk
Walk (EP)
-Walk Biomechanical:Walk Biomechanical is an EP by the Texas heavy metal band Pantera. It was released in 1993 by Atco Records.-Album information:...
EP, all presented in a special cardboard box with an 8-page color biography. Just like the other rare editions of Far Beyond Driven, this box set is very rare and is highly sought after.
Pantera hit the road again and toured South America, along with being accepted into another "Monsters of Rock" billing. At that festival on June 4, 1994, the Abbott brothers got into a scuffle with journalists from the music magazine Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
over unflattering cartoon depictions of drummer Vinnie Paul. Then in late June, Anselmo was charged with assault for hitting a security guard after he prevented fans from getting on stage, Anselmo was released on $5,000 bail the next day. The trial was delayed three times. In May 1995, he apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. Pantera continued their tour of the United Kingdom in 1994 and eventually ended it in the United States where the band was opened for by fellow groove metal band Prong.
Band tension and The Great Southern Trendkill (1994–1996)
According to the Abbott brothers, frontman Phil Anselmo began behaving strangely and distanced himself from the band when they returned to the road in 1995. The rest of the band members first thought that Pantera's perception of his fame had gotten to Anselmo, but Anselmo cited back pain from years of intense performances as the reason for his erratic behavior. Anselmo attempted to subdue his pain through alcohol, but this, as he admits, was affecting his performances and "putting some worry into the band." Doctors predicted that with surgery, Anselmo's back problem could be corrected, but that the recovery time could be a year or more. Not wanting to spend that much time away from the band, Anselmo refused, and began using heroin as a painkiller.Anselmo's on-stage remarks became notorious during this time. After stating at a Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
concert that "rap music advocates the killing of white people", Anselmo denied accusations of racism, and later issued an apology, stating that he was drunk and that his remarks were a mistake.
In 1995, Down
Down (band)
Down is an American heavy metal supergroup that formed in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Phil Anselmo, guitarist Pepper Keenan, guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Pat Bruders and drummer Jimmy Bower. Since their formation, Down has gone on hiatus twice...
, one of Anselmo's many side projects, took off. Down was a supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
consisting of Anselmo, three members of Crowbar—guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Kirk Windstein
Kirk Windstein
Kirk Windstein is an English-American sludge metal singer and guitarist for the New Orleans bands Crowbar, Down, and Kingdom of Sorrow....
, bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Todd Strange
Todd Strange
Todd Strange is the bassist who played on the first Down album NOLA and with Crowbar. Forming Crowbar with Kirk Windstein , Matt Thomas and Craig Nunenmacher , they released the best-selling albums of the band's discography...
and drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Jimmy Bower
Jimmy Bower
Jimmy Bower is an American sludge/heavy metal guitarist and drummer who has played with six bands, most notably Eyehategod, Crowbar, Down, and Superjoint Ritual....
(also of Eyehategod
Eyehategod
Eyehategod is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans who formed in 1988. They have become one of the most well known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene...
)—and Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina formed in 1982. For almost the majority of its existence, the band has consisted of guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean , drummer Reed Mullin and vocalist and rhythm...
guitarist Pepper Keenan
Pepper Keenan
Pepper J. Keenan , is an American vocalist and guitarist, best known for his work with heavy metal bands Corrosion of Conformity and Down. He joined Corrosion of Conformity in 1989, but did not become the lead singer until the recording of Deliverance in 1994...
. Down's 1995 debut, NOLA
NOLA (album)
- Band members :* Phil Anselmo - vocals, guitar on "Pray for the Locust", mandolin on "Jail"* Pepper Keenan - guitar* Kirk Windstein - guitar, bass* Jimmy Bower - drums- Guest musicians :...
, was a success, but shortly after the group members returned to their respective bands, leaving Down inactive for several years.
Pantera's next album, The Great Southern Trendkill
The Great Southern Trendkill
-Credits:* Philip Anselmo – lead vocals* Dimebag Darrell – guitar, backing vocals, 12 string acoustic guitar on "Suicide Note Pt. I"* Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals* Vinnie Paul – drums* Produced, Recorded, and Mixed by Terry Date and Vinnie Paul...
(released May 22, 1996). It is often considered Pantera's "overlooked" album. Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals for this release in Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
frontman Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
's studio in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
while the rest of the band members recorded in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, evidence of the continued distancing between Anselmo and the rest of the band. In comparison to the band's previous efforts, there was a heavier emphasis on vocal overdubbing in a somewhat "demonic" fashion. Drug abuse is a recurring theme in Trendkill, as exemplified by tracks such as "Suicide Note Pt. I", "Suicide Note Pt. II" and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)". "Drag the Waters" became the album's only music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, and likewise, the only track from the album to appear on the band's compilation album
The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!
The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! is a compilation album by the heavy metal band Pantera, released on September 23, 2003...
. Another Trendkill single, "Floods
Floods (song)
"Floods" is a song by heavy metal band Pantera from their 1996 album The Great Southern Trendkill. It is the longest song on the album, and the second longest song the band has ever recorded, after "Cemetery Gates".-Guitar solo:...
", achieved acclaim largely because of Darrell's complex guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
in the song, which ranked #15 on Guitar World
Guitar 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 "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" of all-time.
In an episode of the short-lived Australian sex advice show "Sex Life", in a segment discussing what to make of a man's CD collection when first going back to his place, the host drew out a copy of The Great Southern Trendkill and referred to Pantera as "the loudest band in the world."
Overdose, Official Live: 101 Proof, and side projects (1996–2000)
On July 13, 1996, Anselmo overdosed on heroin an hour after a Texas homecoming gig. After his heart stopped beating for almost five minutes, paramedics gave Anselmo a shot of adrenaline and sent him to the hospital. After waking up in the hospital, the nurse working in his room said "Welcome back to life, oh and you have overdosed on heroin." Anselmo apologized to his bandmates the next night, and said he would quit using drugs. The revelation of heroin use came as a shock to Vinnie and Darrell who were embarrassed by Anselmo's actions, according to Rita Haney, the guitarist's girlfriend. Anselmo said he had already overdosed twice before and guilt overcame him.Some of the band's live performances were eventually compiled in its July 29, 1997 release, Official Live: 101 Proof
Official Live: 101 Proof
-Credits:*Phil Anselmo – vocals*Dimebag Darrell – guitar*Rex Brown – bass guitar*Vinnie Paul – drums-Chart positions:...
, which included fourteen live tracks and two new studio recordings: "Where You Come From" and "I Can't Hide". Two weeks before the live album's release, Pantera received its first platinum album
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
, for Cowboys from Hell. Just four months later, both Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven went platinum as well. The band also received their second and third "Best Metal Performance
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...
" Grammy Nominations for Trendkill
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...
" in 1997
Grammy Awards of 1997
The 39th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Babyface & Eric Clapton for "Change the World"*Album of the Year...
and 1998
Grammy Awards of 1998
The 40th Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Rock icon Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, and R...
, respectively.
Also in 1997, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
alongside Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
, Type O Negative
Type O Negative
Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
, 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,...
, Machine Head
Machine Head (band)
Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. Formed on October 12, 1991, the group was founded by Robb Flynn and Adam Duce. There have been 4 member changes since their inception. The current lineup of the band comprises Flynn , Duce , ex-Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel ,...
, and Powerman 5000
Powerman 5000
Powerman 5000 is an American Metal band formed in 1991. Through the span of over two decades, the group has released several albums and gained their highest commercial success with 1999's science fiction themed Tonight the Stars Revolt!...
. Additionally, the band played on the 1998 UK Ozzfest tour alongside Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Soulfly
Soulfly
Soulfly is a heavy metal band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max...
, Fear Factory, and Therapy?
Therapy?
Therapy? is an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar...
Around this time, Anselmo ventured into more side projects, such as playing guitars on Necrophagia
Necrophagia
Necrophagia is an American death metal band. The group was assembled in Wellsville, Ohio in 1983 and are credited as being one of the very first musical groups to be classified within the death metal genre. The group was founded by Frank Pucci...
's 1999 release Holocausto de la Morte
Holocausto de la Morte
Holocausto de la Morte is the third full-length studio album by the American death metal band Necrophagia. It was released in 1998 on Red Stream Records. This is also the first release with Anton Crowley Holocausto de la Morte is the third full-length studio album by the American death metal band...
, where he went as the alias "Anton Crowley", which combines the names of Church of Satan
Church of Satan
The Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.- History :...
founder Anton LaVey
Anton LaVey
Anton Szandor LaVey , born Howard Stanton Levey, was the founder of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, and musician...
and occultist Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
. He also temporarily joined the black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
supergroup Eibon and contributed to that band's 2000 release. Another one of Anselmo's "Anton Crowley" projects was black metal band Viking Crown
Viking Crown
Viking Crown was a side project started by Phil Anselmo in the mid 90's. The first Viking Crown release was an EP recorded in 1994 titled Unorthodox Steps of Ritual which featured Phil, credited as Anton Crowley, on guitar, bass, drums and vocals. The two later Viking Crown releases would feature...
. The Abbott brothers and Rex Brown began their own country metal
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
crossover project, Rebel Meets Rebel
Rebel Meets Rebel
Rebel Meets Rebel is a country metal album by David Allan Coe and Pantera members Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown, and Vinnie Paul. The music was written and recorded by the band when the musicians had time aside from their other projects, including Pantera's world tour supporting Reinventing the...
with David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe is an American outlaw country music singer who achieved popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. He has written and performed over 280 original songs throughout his career...
, around the same time.
Fans of the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
were treated to a raucous fight song penned by Pantera and dedicated to their favorite hockey team during the Stars 1999 Stanley Cup Championship run
1999 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1999 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Eastern Conference champion Buffalo Sabres and the Western Conference champion Dallas Stars. It was the 106th year of the Stanley Cup. The Sabres were led by captain Michael Peca, coach Lindy Ruff and goalie Dominik Hasek. The...
. Throughout the season members of the team befriended members of Pantera. During a Stanley Cup party hosted by drummer Vinnie Paul, the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
was damaged when Guy Carbonneau
Guy Carbonneau
Guy Carbonneau is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. He is also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 's Chicoutimi Saguenéens. He has two daughters Anne-Marie and Kristina, with wife Line Carbonneau. Anne-Marie married his former...
attempted to throw the Cup from the roof of Vinnie Paul's house into his pool. The Cup landed short on the concrete deck and had to be repaired by NHL commissioned silversmiths.
Reinventing the Steel and break-up (2000–2003)
Pantera returned to the recording studio with Anselmo in 1999 and cut its last album, Reinventing the SteelReinventing the Steel
-Credits:*Phil Anselmo – lead vocals*Dimebag Darrell – guitar, backing vocals*Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals*Vinnie Paul – drums*Produced, Engineered, & Mixed by Sterling Winfield, Dimebag Darrell, and Vinnie Paul....
, which was released on March 21, 2000. Steel debuted at #4 on the 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...
and included "Revolution Is My Name
Revolution Is My Name
"Revolution Is My Name" is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera. It was the first single from the band's final album, Reinventing the Steel. It was also included on the band's compilation album.-Release and reception:...
" and "Goddamn Electric", the latter of which featured a Kerry King
Kerry King
Kerry King is an American lead and rhythm guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and cofounder of American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since...
outro solo recorded backstage in one take during Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
in Dallas. "Revolution Is My Name" became the band's fourth nomination for Best Metal Performance
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...
in the 2001 Grammys
Grammy Awards of 2001
The 43rd Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001. Steely Dan was the biggest winner winning three awards including Album of the Year for Two Against Nature. U2 was also a big winner winning three awards as well; including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Beautiful Day. Dr...
.
In 2000, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
alongside Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
, Static-X
Static-X
Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California. They were formed in 1994. They are signed to Warner Bros. Records and have released six albums, their most recent being Cult of Static, which was released on March 17, 2009....
, Methods of Mayhem
Methods Of Mayhem
Methods of Mayhem is an American rock band formed in 1999 by Tommy Lee, who had temporarily quit his position as Mötley Crüe's drummer.-History:...
, Incubus
Incubus (band)
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
, P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
, Black Label Society
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde, with nine studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums released since formation of the band.-Formation and Sonic Brew :...
, Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
, and Apartment 26
Apartment 26
Apartment 26 was an alternative metal band from Leamington Spa, England. They played Ozzfest in 1999 and split up in 2004.They worked with Tchad Blake, at Real World Studios, on their self-financed Music For The Massive, having scrapped "Album 1.5" after two years of production...
. In November the band cancelled their planned tour after Anselmo broke his ribs after falling during his eighth annual House of Shock
House of Shock
Founded by Pantera's Frontman Phil Anselmo and friends Ross Karpelman and Jay Gracinette, the House Of Shock is a seasonal haunted house attraction located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Every year, the House Of Shock is open on weekends in October. The House Of Shock is known for its satanic themes...
event.
The band once again returned to touring and visited the United States (where they were guest musicians on the show SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
in the episode "Pre-Hibernation Week"), Canada, South Korea, Australia, and Europe. The tour in Europe was cut short, however, by the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
which left the band stranded in Dublin, Ireland for 6 days as a result of all flights being cancelled. Pantera played their last show in Yokohama, Japan at the 'Beast Feast' festival on 28th August 2001. This would be the last time the members of Pantera performed together. Back home, the band planned to release its fourth home video in Summer 2002 and record another studio album later that year, but neither came about.
Anselmo again engaged in numerous side projects. In March 2002, Down
Down (band)
Down is an American heavy metal supergroup that formed in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Phil Anselmo, guitarist Pepper Keenan, guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Pat Bruders and drummer Jimmy Bower. Since their formation, Down has gone on hiatus twice...
released its second studio album, Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow
Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow
*The song "Ghosts Along The Mississippi" takes its title from a book by photographer Clarence John Laughlin, whose photographs were used extensively in the booklet art for NOLA....
, which featured Rex Brown on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
following Todd Strange
Todd Strange
Todd Strange is the bassist who played on the first Down album NOLA and with Crowbar. Forming Crowbar with Kirk Windstein , Matt Thomas and Craig Nunenmacher , they released the best-selling albums of the band's discography...
's departure in 1999. Brown remained Down's full-time bassist until 2011, having appeared on their subsequent release in 2007
Down III: Over the Under
-Notes:*Track 13 is a bonus track included with the UK version of the album. On the packaging of the UK album, however, the song is not mentioned, and is thus effectively a hidden track. It was also available on the Japanese pressing through Roadrunner Records Japan....
. Also, in May of that year Anselmo's Superjoint Ritual
Superjoint Ritual
Superjoint Ritual was an American heavy metal band formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III, and Kevin Bond. Their style can be considered a mix of Pantera's style of groove metal and hardcore punk. A small trace of black metal...
released its debut, Use Once and Destroy
Use Once and Destroy
Use Once and Destroy is the first release from heavy metal band Superjoint Ritual.It was recorded in lead singer Phil Anselmo's barn turned recording studio in Louisiana. The guitar and bass work was done by Phil Anselmo and Eyehategod's Jimmy Bower. Drumming was performed by Joe Fazzio. For...
. Vinnie Paul claims that Anselmo told him he would take a year off following the events of September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, but Anselmo's touring and record output for both Superjoint Ritual and Down contradicted this. The Abbott brothers were frustrated, and held out for a time, assuming Anselmo would return. However, according to Anselmo, taking a break from Pantera was a "mutual thing" between each of the band members.
The Abbott brothers officially broke up Pantera in 2003, also the year when their "Best Of" compilation album
The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!
The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! is a compilation album by the heavy metal band Pantera, released on September 23, 2003...
was released (on September 23), when the Abbott brothers concluded that Anselmo had abandoned Pantera and would not return. The break-up of the band was not amicable and subsequently a war of words was waged between the former bandmates via the heavy metal and musical press. The Abbott brothers and Pantera crew members claimed that they tried numerous times to contact Anselmo over the phone to reorganize Pantera, but Anselmo maintains that they never called him. Caught up in the torrent was Rex Brown, who later said "It was a bunch of he said, she said nonsense that was going on, and I wasn't going to get in the middle of it." Anselmo's comment in a 2004 issue of 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...
magazine saying that "Dimebag deserves to be beaten severely" typified Pantera's internal conflicts; Anselmo insists that this comment was tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
, and he was angered his comment ended up on the cover of the "god damn" magazine. This explanation was soon dismissed by Vinnie Paul, who said shortly after the 2004 murder of his brother that he had personally listened to the audio files of the interview and that Anselmo had not been misquoted or misrepresented, but said the exact words which appeared in the article.
In July 2004, Vulgar Display of Power went double-platinum, and The Great Southern Trendkill went platinum the next month.
Damageplan and Darrell's murder (2004)
After Pantera's breakup, Darrell and Vinnie formed a new band, DamageplanDamageplan
Damageplan was an American heavy metal supergroup from Dallas, Texas that formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman on vocals, and later...
, with vocalist Pat Lachman
Patrick Lachman
-Biography:Patrick Lachman is an American heavy metal guitarist and vocalist. The Portland, Oregon native was a short-lived member of Dr. Mastermind, featuring former Wild Dogs vocalist Matt McCourt, before joining his brother, vocalist Tim Lachman, in another local band, Gargoyle, in 1988...
and bassist Bob Zilla
Bob Kakaha
Robert 'Bob' Kakaha, also known as Bobzilla is an American bassist best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Damageplan and is currently a member of heavy metal supergroup Hellyeah.-Life and career:...
. The group released their first album, New Found Power
New Found Power
- Personnel :Damageplan* Patrick Lachman − vocals* Dimebag Darrell − guitars, bass * Vinnie Paul − drumsGuest musicians* Corey Taylor - 2nd verse, breakdown, and last chorus on "Fuck You"...
, in February of 2004. The album was a commercial success; over 44,000 copies were sold in its first week alone and within a year over 100,000 copies were sold. However, some fans felt that Damageplan's material did not measure up to that of Pantera.
Tragedy struck on December 8, 2004. Damageplan was performing in support of their album at a show at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
when, less than a minute into the first song of their set, mentally unstable Nathan Gale
Nathan Gale
Nathan M. Gale was a former American Marine who is known for having murdered former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others during a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio, on December 8, 2004.-Life:Nathan M. Gale was born in Calumet City, Illinois, and raised...
, 25, went onstage and shot and killed Darrell
Dimebag 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...
. Gale also killed fan Nathan Bray, 23, club employee Erin Halk, 29, and Pantera security official Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40, and injured longtime Pantera and Damageplan drum technician John "Kat" Brooks and Damageplan tour manager Chris Paluska before being shot dead by Columbus police officer James Niggemayer.
Aftermath (2004-present)
When Anselmo called in the aftermath of the murders, Rita Haney, Darrell's girlfriend, answered one of Anselmo's calls and said she would "blow Anselmo's head off" if he attended Darrell's funeral. Not long after Dimebag's murder, Anselmo received a heated message from Vinnie, which (according to Anselmo) went along the lines that Anselmo's day was coming. Anselmo's rebuttal was that everybody's day is coming and that if his day should end before Vinnie's it would not change anything, except for Vinnie to go through 'losing another brother'.Public comments made by Phil Anselmo following the shooting suggested that he had considered reuniting with the band prior to Darrell's death. However, one year after the murder Vinnie stated in an interview that this reunion was never going to happen.
On May 11, 2006, the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
Behind the Music
Behind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
episode on Pantera premiered. While focusing heavily on Darrell's murder, the episode also detailed the band's glam metal beginnings, the band's perceived rise in its own popularity after the change in musical direction, and the conflicts between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers in the band's later years that would tear them apart.
When asked by Crave Music in 2006 if there was any chance of reconciling with Phil Anselmo, Vinnie Paul answered "Absolutely not. That's it." The former Pantera drummer has since begun work on Hellyeah
Hellyeah
Hellyeah is an American heavy metal supergroup, consisting of Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett, Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla, and former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul. The idea to form a supergroup originated in 2001 on the...
, a collaboration between him and members from Mudvayne
Mudvayne
Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band. Their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate visual appearance, which has included face and body paint, masks and uniforms...
and Nothingface
Nothingface
Nothingface was a four-piece metal band from Washington, D.C. noted for having graphic lyrics and occasionally using political themes in their later works, as well as polyrhythmic songs.-First Run:...
. Both Anselmo and Brown have reunited with Down, and supported Heaven & Hell and 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...
on their 2007 Canadian tour, as well as supporting Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
on the first half of their World Magnetic Tour
World Magnetic Tour
World Magnetic Tour was a 2008/2009/2010 concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the group's ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, which was released in September 2008....
.
In interviews in 2009 & 2010, both Rita Haney & Phil Anselmo have stated that after a meeting at Download 2009 they have patched up their differences and are once again on speaking terms.
On March 30, 2010, Pantera released a greatest-hits collection, titled "1990-2000: A Decade of Domination". It was made available exclusively at Walmart stores and is made up of 10 tracks that were remastered.
Legacy and influences
Pantera have been influential to the development of nu metalNu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
, metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
, and several other movements. They have also been called one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal
New Wave of American Heavy Metal
The New Wave of American Heavy Metal is a movement in that originated in the United States during the early to mid 1990s and has expanded most in the recent 2000s. Some of the bands considered part of the movement had formed as early as the late 1980s, but did not become influential or reach...
. Popmatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
has claimed that, "Darrell Abbott's influence on the entire genre of heavy metal is massive; after Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power, every notable young American metal band since has, in some way or another, copied their guitar style from those records: 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...
, Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
, Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
, Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...
, Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...
, Disturbed, White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
, Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
, Trivium
Trivium (band)
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has released five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos...
, As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying (band)
As I Lay Dying is an American metalcore band from San Diego, California. Founded in 2000 by Tim Lambesis and having completed their first Line-up in 2001, the band consists of vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, lead guitarist Nick Hipa, rhythm guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and bassist Josh...
, Job for a Cowboy
Job for a Cowboy
Job for a Cowboy is a American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at #54 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in...
, Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
, 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...
, A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida. Founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denny and drummer Bobby Scruggs, the band has released four studio albums, nine singles and eight music videos...
, Hatebreed
Hatebreed
- History :Hatebreed was formed in 1994 in Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Haven. They began by recording a three song demo and selling it to locals. Those three songs would eventually be released on a split seven inch with New York's Neglect in 1995...
, Lamb of God
Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...
, Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall is an American heavy metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. They are one of the few contemporary metal bands who take their lyrical influence from Eastern philosophy and some references to the Rastafari culture...
, Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
, The Showdown
The Showdown (band)
The Showdown is a southern metal/metalcore band based in Elizabethton, Tennessee. While the members of the band are Christian and the band is signed to a Christian record label, the band does not consider itself a Christian act, according to guitarist Josh Childers...
, 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...
, James Durbin
James Durbin
James Durbin is a British statistician and econometrician, known particularly for his work on time series analysis and serial correlation.He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge where his contemporaries included David Cox and Denis Sargan...
, DevilDriver
DevilDriver
DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002. The band was originally named Deathride, however, due to copyright issues and the name being taken by several bands, Deathride changed its name to DevilDriver, which refers to bells Italian witches used to...
, Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2005, the group's name is derived from classic oriental martial arts cinema. The band originally consisted of vocalist Ivan Moody, guitarist Zoltan Bathory, guitarist Caleb Bingham, bassist Matt Snell,...
... the list is endless."
Pantera toured on Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
as main stage acts twice; the band played at the second annual Ozzfest in 1997 and the fifth Ozzfest in 2000. Over the course of their career, Pantera's members became known for their excessive partying and debauchery, even acquiring an official drink called the "Black Tooth Grin". The "Black Tooth Grin" ("Black Tooth", "The Grin", or "BTG", alternatively), named after lyrics from 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...
's "Sweating Bullets
Sweating Bullets (song)
"Sweating Bullets" is a song by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. It was released in 1993 as the third single from their fifth album, Countdown to Extinction. The song charted at #29 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and at #26 in the UK....
", is a mixture of Crown Royal
Crown Royal
Crown Royal is a blended Canadian whisky, 40% alcohol by volume, 80 proof. The brand is currently owned by Diageo, who purchased it when the Seagram portfolio was dissolved in the year 2000. It is the top-selling Canadian whisky in the United States....
or Seagram 7
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
(or both) and Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
.
Pantera also adopted a self-described "take no shit" attitude, epitomized in its song "5 Minutes Alone
5 Minutes Alone
"5 Minutes Alone" is a song by the heavy metal band Pantera from their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven. The song also appears on the bands live album. The song was released as downloadable content for Rock Revolution.-Lyrics:...
" from the album Far Beyond Driven. According to Vinnie Paul, the song originated when, during a show in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, Anselmo was annoyed by a heckler and encouraged the crowd to "jump [his] ass and beat the shit out of him on the spot." Consequently, the band was sued; the man's father took action and called Pantera's manager, saying, "You just give me five minutes alone with that Phil Anselmo guy and I'll show him who's big daddy around here", to which Anselmo responded, "You just give me five minutes alone with that cat's dad and I'll whoop his ass."
Despite being a by-the-book Glam Metal band early in their career, the band members perceive themselves to have had an uncompromising career in which they never "sold out
Selling out
"Selling out" is the compromising of integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for money or "success" . It is commonly associated with attempts to tailor material to a mainstream audience...
" or gave into trends. This is most noticeably highlighted in the themes and title of The Great Southern Trendkill. On Pantera's official website, Anselmo puts it in his own words:
Similarly, the die-hard attitude of "We'll Grind That Axe For a Long Time" (from Reinventing the Steel) is, according to Anselmo, "in a way, our motto."
Aside from their post-glam thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
influences, the band members cite heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
as one of their favorite bands. As a tribute, Pantera has recorded three different covers of Black Sabbath songs (all from the Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
era). The first was "Planet Caravan
Planet Caravan
"Planet Caravan" is a psychedelic song by Black Sabbath. The song's lyrics and mellow music create a dreamy atmosphere.Geezer Butler has stated that the song's meaning is floating through the universe with your lover. The song appears on their 1970 breakthrough album, Paranoid...
", a slower, quieter song planned for the first Sabbath tribute album, Nativity in Black
Nativity in Black
Nativity in Black is the name of two Black Sabbath tribute albums that came out in the 1990s and 2000s. The albums were recorded with various heavy metal bands paying tribute to Black Sabbath for their influence on the heavy metal genre of rock music....
, that eventually became the final track on Far Beyond Driven. The band performed Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" on the second Nativity in Black. A previously unreleased cover of Sabbath's "Hole in the Sky" was included on the band's 2003 compilation album, The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! Pantera's affinity for Black Sabbath is also shown through the lyrics, "Your trust is in whiskey and weed and Black Sabbath", in "Goddamn Electric". The same song also mentions Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, one of the band's thrash metal influences. Pantera's musical style was also heavily influenced by the bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
such as Motörhead, Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, and Venom
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
.
Pantera has come under some criticism within the fringes of the heavy metal world in relation to New Orleans thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Exhorder
Exhorder
Exhorder is an American thrash/groove metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are credited as the purveyors of the groove-oriented thrash sound later made famous by bands such as Pantera, White Zombie, and Machine Head. Initially active from 1985 to 1992, they have since reformed in...
. Some fans have accused Pantera of stealing from Exhorder their groove metal sound. While Pantera's style change on Cowboys from Hell
Cowboys from Hell
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...
was released before Exhorder's debut, Slaughter in the Vatican
Slaughter in the Vatican
-Personnel:*Kyle Thomas - Vocals*Jay Ceravolo - Guitars*Vinnie LaBella - Guitars*Chris Nail - Drums-Production:*Arranged By Exhorder*Produced By Exhorder & Scott Burns*Recorded & Mixed By Scott Burns...
, Exhorder self-released two demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
in the late 1980s (around the time that Pantera was still playing 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...
) that a number of fans believe to be the real birth of the musical style Pantera invented.
Allmusic points to several elements of Exhorder's debut that could potentially explain its lack of success in relation to Pantera. In disagreement with the opinion that Exhorder is "Pantera minus the good songs", AMG's review of Slaughter in the Vatican expresses that "perhaps a more accurate billing would be to call them Pantera without the major label backing." They also point to the fact that the title of Exhorder's debut, along with the unsubtle album cover, "certainly didn't help [its] cause any."
However, some fans and critics dispute any notion that Pantera "stole" Exhorder's sound. Brian Davis, a contributor to Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
station KNAC
KNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...
, addresses the issue as follows:
Despite originally decrying Pantera as a rip-off to their sound, lead vocalist of Exhorder, Kyle Thomas, has stated that he does not care about any of the criticism and is sick of seeing Exhorder's name tied to Pantera's. He also stated that he and the members of Pantera were great friends who used to tour together, and that he mourns the loss of Dimebag Darrell. Recently, Thomas suggested that while it is possible Pantera may have been influenced by his band, the members of Pantera "work[ed] a ... lot harder than [we] did."
Band members
Final lineup- 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...
– guitar, backing vocals (1981–2003) - 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...
– drums (1981–2003) - 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:...
– bass guitar, backing vocals (1982–2003) - 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....
– lead vocals (1987–2003)
Previous members
- Terry GlazeTerry GlazeTerrence Lee Glaze is an Ohio-born and Texas raised singer who is most well known for his work in American heavy metal band Pantera during their glam metal years, and Lord Tracy....
– rhythm guitar (1981–1982), lead vocals (1982–1986) - Tommy Bradford – bass (1981–1982)
- Donnie Hart – lead vocals (1981–1982)
- Matt L'Amour – lead vocals (1986)
- David Peacock – lead vocals (1986)
- Rick Mythiasin – lead vocals (1986)
Discography
| Date of Release | Title | Billboard 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... peak |
RIAA cert. RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards... |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 10, 1983 | Metal Magic Metal Magic - Credits :* Terry Glaze – vocals* Diamond Darrell – guitar* Rex Rocker – bass* Vinnie Paul – drumsThe album also features uncredited keyboard playing in some songs.... |
— | — | Metal Magic |
| 1984 | Projects in the Jungle Projects in the Jungle Projects in the Jungle is the second album by the American heavy metal band Pantera, released in 1984. The title track's musical style is a foreshadowing of what was to come a few years later, as it features a thrash metal-oriented guitar riff with more groove metal-like breakdowns.-Track... |
— | — | |
| 1985 | I Am the Night I Am the Night I Am the Night is the third album by metal band Pantera, released in 1985 on record and cassette. Any CD release is a bootleg transferred via vinyl or tape. This album is where some of Pantera's faster and heavier influences were becoming more apparent, especially on the title track and "Down Below"... |
— | — | |
| 1988 | 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:... |
— | — | |
| July 24, 1990 | Cowboys from Hell Cowboys from Hell 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... |
117 | Platinum | Atco 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... |
| February 10, 1992 | 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... |
44 | 2x Platinum | |
| March 22, 1994 | Far Beyond Driven Far Beyond Driven Far Beyond Driven is the seventh album by American groove metal band Pantera. It was released on March 22, 1994 through East West Records. Upon its release, it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200... |
1 | Platinum | East West East West Records East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:... |
| April 22, 1996 | The Great Southern Trendkill The Great Southern Trendkill -Credits:* Philip Anselmo – lead vocals* Dimebag Darrell – guitar, backing vocals, 12 string acoustic guitar on "Suicide Note Pt. I"* Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals* Vinnie Paul – drums* Produced, Recorded, and Mixed by Terry Date and Vinnie Paul... |
4 | Platinum | |
| March 7, 2000 | Reinventing the Steel Reinventing the Steel -Credits:*Phil Anselmo – lead vocals*Dimebag Darrell – guitar, backing vocals*Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals*Vinnie Paul – drums*Produced, Engineered, & Mixed by Sterling Winfield, Dimebag Darrell, and Vinnie Paul.... |
4 | Gold |