Pantera began in the early '80s. They were interested in putting on makeup and having their hair all poofed up. With founding members Darrell and Vincent Abbot. The band consisted of "Diamond" Darrell, Vinnie Paul, Rex Brown and originally vocalist Terry Glaze. Vince and Darrell's dad owned the record label. They released albums on the Metal Magic label. The albums were called- Metal Magic (1983), followed by Projects in the Jungle (1984) and I Am The Night (1985). Those three albums were unsuccessful, so Terry Glaze left the band. The rest of Pantera went looking for a new singer. They were at a club in Louisiana, they found a singer up on stage and he was perfect for the band. His name was Philip Anselmo. Phil's first album with Pantera was called Power Metal (released in 1988). It wasn't quite successful but it did all right. It signed them a deal with East West. The lineup is now: Phil Anselmo (vocals), "Diamond" Darrell (guitars), Vinnie Paul (drums) and Rex (bass). This was Pantera's "official" debut album. In 1990, they released Cowboys From Hell. It was a huge hit. With classic songs such as- the title track, Cemetary Gates, Psycho Holiday and among others. In 1992, (with no break from Cowboys From Hell) they went right into the studio and created the classic Vulgar Display of Power. With such classic songs as Walk, Mouth For War, This Love and Fucking Hostile it gave a reason for people to mosh. People say that this is the album that broke Pantera into the big time. Vulgar Display changed heavy metal forever. In 1994, they released Far Beyond Driven. It was intensly heavy and had a lot more screaming done by Phil, more crazy riffs by Darrell (this album showed that he changed his name from "Diamond" Darrell to Dimebag Darrell). It went straight to number one when it came out. The songs 5 Minutes Alone and I'm Broken were instant classics and fan faves. Also, Pantera did a cover of Black Sabbath's Planet Caravan (this song appeared on Black Sabbath's Paranoid album). In 1996, The Great Southern Trendkill is released. Phil claimed that this album would be heavy as hell (and it was). People noticed that Phil's lyrics were going down hill. They seemed to be more depressive and suicidal. He also had some drug abuse problems. Phil overdosed on heroin and was dead for four minutes. After that, he quit cold turkey and continued touring in support of the album. The Great Southern Trendkill is the most overlooked album by Pantera. In 1997, they released a live album with two studio tracks on it. They headlined the Ozzfest tour. The album is called Official Live: 101 Proof. Fans waited three years for Pantera's next release. In 2000, they released Reinventing The Steel. It was undoubtedly heavy fans were no doubt pleased. They toured with Slayer extensively. Pantera's music is still cherished today. Phil has had some side projects (besides being with Pantera). He had a band named Down. It consisted of Phil, Rex, and members of Corrosion of Conformity. They released Down "NOLA," and Down II. Phil is currently with Superjoint Ritual. They were on Ozzfest this year. They were on the mainstage. Vinnie and Dimebag have a new bag named Damageplan. They released New Found Power in 2003. Rex is currently with Crowbar. In 2003, a greatest hits package was released. It has covers from Black Sabbath (Planet Caravan) and Ted Nugent (Cat Scratch Fever. This song is also appeared on the Detroit Rock City). It also had a song on there named Hole In The Sky. This song appeared on the Japenese version of Reinventing The Steel. The greatest hits package contains a bonus dvd. It contains all of the music videos that they have done. Hopefully, the members of Pantera will get back together and do a reunion tour. Longtime Pantera fans would greatly appreciate it. They are sadly gone, but not forgotten.
Bio written by: riff_master |
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