Pantera

:For other uses of the name "Pantera," see Pantera (disambiguation).

Biography

Activity

Formed in 1982, Pantera was a very successful Heavy Metal band, even in the mid to late 1990s when the popularity of heavy metal had begun to drop. They were modern (or so-called "power-groove") metal. This term (one the band devised themselves) refers to the fact that a significant number of their songs were composed from groove-oriented riffs. This is especially evident on the album "Vulgar Display of Power."

Related Topics:
1982 - Heavy Metal - Groove

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Pantera released three initial albums (Metal Magic, Projects In The Jungle and I Am The Night) before ditching singer Terry Glaze in favor of Phil Anselmo with 1988's Power Metal. At the time, Glaze was apparently included in talks to sign with a label fronted by Gene Simmons of KISS, but Terry balked at the contract and he was kicked out of the band. The remaining members then located Phil Anselmo in New Orleans and produced "Power Metal", a recording which had Phil re-recording some songs originally sung by Glaze, in addition to a few originals.

Related Topics:
Metal Magic - Projects In The Jungle - I Am The Night - Terry Glaze - Phil Anselmo - 1988 - Power Metal - Gene Simmons - KISS

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The first commercially successful album Pantera recorded was 1990's Cowboys From Hell. At this point, Pantera's music was still heavily influenced by "classic heavy metal" — with Rob Halford-style vocals and more complex riffs and solos of guitarist Dimebag Darrell, though the album also began showing a much more extreme style than previous efforts.

Related Topics:
Cowboys From Hell - Rob Halford - Riff - Solo - Guitar - Dimebag Darrell

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Pantera's breakthrough album was 1992's Vulgar Display of Power, which saw the replacement of the falsetto vocals with a more hardcore-influenced shouted delivery and a much heavier guitar sound. The extent to which this album grew in popularity can be assessed by the instant success of the 1994 follow-up, Far Beyond Driven which debuted at number one in both American and Australian album charts, the first metal album ever to achieve this, despite the failing fortunes of metal in America at that time. In this release, Pantera took an even more extreme direction. Pantera's next album The Great Southern Trendkill, was released in 1996 during the height of grunge rock. The album saw moderate success, especially considering the time at which it was released. Pantera's final album was titled Reinventing The Steel, and included the singles "Goddamn Electric" and "Revolution is My Name."

Related Topics:
Vulgar Display of Power - Far Beyond Driven - The Great Southern Trendkill - Reinventing The Steel

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Throughout career of Pantera, the band became a legendary band on tour. They became known for their excessive partying and debauchery. They even acquired an official drink called the "Black Tooth".

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Break-up

Pantera dissolved after Anselmo left the band to pursue other work with such bands as Down, though the Abbott brothers did not officially end the band until they began work on their new project New Found Power. Similar to the circumstances when Rob Halford left Judas Priest, the remaining members held out for a time that he would return to the group, but this never occurred. Anselmo instead decided to carry on full time with one of his (several) side bands Superjoint Ritual, who have as of 2003 released two albums. Following the release of the second Superjoint Ritual album, Vinnie Paul (Abbott) and Dimebag Darrell (Abbott) formed New Found Power which was later renamed Damageplan.

Related Topics:
Down - Superjoint Ritual - Vinnie Paul - Damageplan

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The break-up of the band was not amicable and subsequently a war between Superjoint and Damageplan was waged via the heavy metal and musical press. Among the accusations thrown were that Anselmo and the Abbott brothers had difficulties in agreeing upon the direction in which they wanted Pantera's music to go in. Vinnie Paul and Dimebag later commented that Anselmo was forcing them to make the music that Anselmo wanted to make, and that they were not allowed to experiment and take chances with their recordings. In addition, Anselmo's drug habits (for example, a rather famous heroin overdose) are known to have caused some turmoil within the band. Finally, likely as a result of the other issues Pantera faced internally, the relationship between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers was rapidly deteriorating in general. Caught up in the torrent was bassist Rex Brown, who ultimately aligned himself with Anselmo, joining him on the second Down album - A Bustle In Your Hedgerow.

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In 2004, a crazed Pantera fan named Nathan Gale shot and killed Dimebag Darrell at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio as Damageplan took the stage. An audience member, a club employee, and a member of the bands' security entourage were killed before Gale was shot dead by police officer James Niggemeyer (for more on the shooting, see Dimebag Darrell).

Related Topics:
Dimebag Darrell - Alrosa Villa - Columbus, Ohio - Police officer - James Niggemeyer

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After Dimebag's death, a Pantera reunion has of course become impossible but public comments made by Phil Anselmo following the shooting suggest that he had considered reuniting with the band.

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