I now have burnt copies of all '80s Pantera albums. Here is my rundowns:
Metal Magic (1983)
Reaaaaaaaally bad production, and second rate songwriting. It's fun though, and quite funny hehe. Some songs aren't bad. It's a mix between cheesy glam and Bay Area thrash and that mix just doesn't work!
Projects In The Jungle (1984)
Much much much better! They find more of a middle ground here between the glam and thrash and play more of just an arena style anthem metal, but with more pop/glam metal influences. Some great songs are here like "Heavy Metal Rules", "Like Fire" and "All Over Tonight". Big improvement on the debut but still kinda 2nd rate compared to al the other stuff coming out at the time.
I Am The Night (1985)
Big improvements! Quite a good arena metal album, still not up to the standards of the big bands at the time, but good all the same. Fun fist-in-the-air anthemic metal. Hsa a few really great tracks like "Hot And Heavy", "Come-On Eyes" and "Valhalla" and "Forever Tonight" is a pretty good ballad.
Power Metal (1988)
^)$@^@)#$&^)#@$ This album absolutely kicks anus and EVERY metal fan should hear it! It's in the vein of Cowboys From Hell but more '80s, with more traditional metal influences there. The vocals are great, the way he sings on "Shattered" for most of the album. (This was the first with Phil singing by the way) The band's image was at its best here too, was kinda a leather/denim image, and Phil's hair looked like Sebastian Bach's haha! Every song rocks on this...
"Rock The World" is an ultimate metal anthem, "Power Metal" is an awesome speed metaller, "We'll Meet Again" has traces of their glammier sound in it but isn't 2nd rate like their other ones, it kills, "Over And Out", "Down Below" and "Death Trap" could've come straight off Cowboys From Hell but sound better than most of that album, and "Proud To Be Loud" is an awesome arena anthem!
I reckon everyone should check out Power Metal, its the BEST Pantera album by a mile in my opinion. The first 3 are kinda fun too, and Projects and I Am The Night have some great tracks!
Pantera really should re-release "Power Metal" as it is nothing to be ashamed of. It's like a thrashier version of Priest/Manowar really. Quite similar to alot of the more melodic US thrash bands like Heathen and Overkill.
And all these Pantera fans are always like "Oh Pantera are the only band that has stayed true to their roots and never sold out etc" but that's crap coz if so they'd still be in leather and denim and with high vocals and big choruses. Their roots are the music they played for the first 8 years of their career. And as far as selling out, if I'm not mistaken they were a hair band then as soon as glam metal was on its last legs in about 1990, they changed their image to a grunge image, took the rock'n'roll influences out of their sound and tried to erase their past and pretend they were never glam. True to their roots? I think not!
Metal Magic (1983)
Reaaaaaaaally bad production, and second rate songwriting. It's fun though, and quite funny hehe. Some songs aren't bad. It's a mix between cheesy glam and Bay Area thrash and that mix just doesn't work!
Projects In The Jungle (1984)
Much much much better! They find more of a middle ground here between the glam and thrash and play more of just an arena style anthem metal, but with more pop/glam metal influences. Some great songs are here like "Heavy Metal Rules", "Like Fire" and "All Over Tonight". Big improvement on the debut but still kinda 2nd rate compared to al the other stuff coming out at the time.
I Am The Night (1985)
Big improvements! Quite a good arena metal album, still not up to the standards of the big bands at the time, but good all the same. Fun fist-in-the-air anthemic metal. Hsa a few really great tracks like "Hot And Heavy", "Come-On Eyes" and "Valhalla" and "Forever Tonight" is a pretty good ballad.
Power Metal (1988)
^)$@^@)#$&^)#@$ This album absolutely kicks anus and EVERY metal fan should hear it! It's in the vein of Cowboys From Hell but more '80s, with more traditional metal influences there. The vocals are great, the way he sings on "Shattered" for most of the album. (This was the first with Phil singing by the way) The band's image was at its best here too, was kinda a leather/denim image, and Phil's hair looked like Sebastian Bach's haha! Every song rocks on this...
"Rock The World" is an ultimate metal anthem, "Power Metal" is an awesome speed metaller, "We'll Meet Again" has traces of their glammier sound in it but isn't 2nd rate like their other ones, it kills, "Over And Out", "Down Below" and "Death Trap" could've come straight off Cowboys From Hell but sound better than most of that album, and "Proud To Be Loud" is an awesome arena anthem!
I reckon everyone should check out Power Metal, its the BEST Pantera album by a mile in my opinion. The first 3 are kinda fun too, and Projects and I Am The Night have some great tracks!
Pantera really should re-release "Power Metal" as it is nothing to be ashamed of. It's like a thrashier version of Priest/Manowar really. Quite similar to alot of the more melodic US thrash bands like Heathen and Overkill.
And all these Pantera fans are always like "Oh Pantera are the only band that has stayed true to their roots and never sold out etc" but that's crap coz if so they'd still be in leather and denim and with high vocals and big choruses. Their roots are the music they played for the first 8 years of their career. And as far as selling out, if I'm not mistaken they were a hair band then as soon as glam metal was on its last legs in about 1990, they changed their image to a grunge image, took the rock'n'roll influences out of their sound and tried to erase their past and pretend they were never glam. True to their roots? I think not!
, really??
