I want to talk about the surviving members of Pantera.

[NAD]

One of my favorite bands while growing up, and not just because of Dimebag.

Rex Brown
A huge inspiration of mine, one of the main reason why I refuse to play in 2-guitar bands. If you pay attention to what this fucker is doing while Dime was off soloing, it was pretty amazing. My favorite example is during the guitar solo in Five Minutes Alone, he has this massive liquid tone and line that have been one of my Guitar Center staples for years. Far Beyond Driven and Vulgar Display of Power are perfect examples of what metal bassists should be doing. But his work on Down II sucked ass WTF.

Vinnie Paul
I've never really liked the sound of his drums, too slick and clinical. But who cares, he's a fucking badass! I'm not sure how it's possible to inject soul into lightning fast double bass runs, but he always did. Plus some of the most powerful cymbals I've ever heard, it's like he's tearing down walls. Hey, his work even makes that stupid Damage Plan album worth listening to.

Phil Anselmo
Pompous asshole, always has been and quite possibly always will (time will tell how he acts if/when he resurfaces), but I never cared because his voice was always killer. In the Cowboys days he was like a typical thrash singer with a little more melody and attitude, then started to turn into a menace with Vulgar, Far Beyond Driven he was honed to near perfection, then finally Trendkill became a TOTAL FUCKING DEMON. Whoa man, that album isn't my favorite Pantera by any means but his performance is so mindblowing, probably my favorite metal vocal performance overall. Intense on-key screams and growls (Hell's Wrath WTF!!!), great deep clean vocals, and some serious emotion running the whole way through.

Uhh, I guess that's it. :Spin:

 

[lurch70]

Vinnie Paul indeed sounded super precise ... he is a machine even live. I don't particularily like his style either but he complemented his borther's razor sharp guitar perfectly. They were a "team" for sure .. sad

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

yeah adrian i agree with what you said.
rex is ubersolid, he really knows what he's doing. as does vinnie. it always takes me a moment to get used to vinnie's drumming when a song starts up. but then
those 2 are just seemingly, effortlessly solid, as was dime. the three of them were something special

i like phil's voice but i've always thought he coulda been better. he never impressed me much live *shrug*
even so, pantera shows in dallas were the fuckin' WIN. the most badass concerts i've ever gone to ...

 

[BenMech]

Can somebody please take a double barrel shotgun to Phil's jugular and pull the switch???

Vinne and Darrell were interesting together. Rex wasn't. Ever. Period.

 

[lizard]

thanks BenMech, you've just taken the heat of me :Spin:

 

[NAD]

i like phil's voice but i've always thought he coulda been better. he never impressed me much live *shrug*

First time I saw them was in 2000, and Phil had this massive cold/flu/deathrattle thing going on. It ruled because his rasps were just plain sick (no pun intended ), and at the end of every song he would cough up something that probably walked across the stage. You could tell he felt like shit but he gave it his all and sounded great.

 

[JayKeeley]

I know I've asked this before, but why exactly is Phil Anselmo hated so much? I mean, give me an example of the worst thing he ever said/did.

 

[NAD]

He has a real knack for foot-in-mouth disease. I remember one time on the way back from picking up two 1985 Toyota axles in Fresno about 3 years ago wearing my brand new Ray Bans and listening to AM radio while my stupid girlfriend was sleeping (damn my memory is a bit too strong sometimes ), he was talking about some crap that actually made sense, and then for no apparent reason starting mouthing off about "sand my pals" or something to that effect. I don't think he used the N-word, but the point was clear.

JayK, have you heard Vulgar Display of Power? Zat arranged can be, if necessary. :Spin:

 

[JayKeeley]

He has a real knack for foot-in-mouth disease. I remember one time on the way back from picking up two 1985 Toyota axles in Fresno about 3 years ago wearing my brand new Ray Bans and listening to AM radio while my stupid girlfriend was sleeping (damn my memory is a bit too strong sometimes ), he was talking about some crap that actually made sense, and then for no apparent reason starting mouthing off about "sand my pals" or something to that effect. I don't think he used the N-word, but the point was clear.

Ah Billy Milano junior. Yeah, I always wondered why Pantera appealed to red necks so much. (And I don't mean to be facetious, I really mean that -- Pantera are unknown in Europe for the most part).

JayK, have you heard Vulgar Display of Power? Zat arranged can be, if necessary. :Spin:

Right now I've got "Cowboys...: and "...Driven" sitting in my trade list (having been there for about 9 years now), which one should I listen to (again)?

 

[NAD]

Yeah Pantera are definitely southern metal. More metal than southern, but yeah. Note to self: listen to Beaten Back to Pure tonight while smoking.

Right now I've got "Cowboys...: and "...Driven" sitting in my trade list (having been there for about 9 years now), which one should I listen to (again)?

Neither, you need to hear Vulgar because it's much more trad. metal than either of those. If you don't like it, you can safely cross Pantera off your list for good. Although you shouldn't get rid of Far Beyond Driven, didn't you know it's like the 5th greatest metal album ever?

 

[JayKeeley]

I'm going to listen to "Far Beyond Driven" again then - this time while I'm in the shower!!

 

[lurch70]

not to mention that live he can pretty much never shut up between songs, especially lately.

i saw SJR about 1.5 years ago and he just blabbers for almost 5-10 minutes between every fucking song.

 

[NAD]

It was cool with Pantera because he blabbed about how much he loves the fans (I dig on that kind of cheese, sue me ), but with Superjoint he just talks shit on the dude from Godsmack or whoever the most trendy "metal" singer is of the moment. Not that I disagree with him, but between EVERY FUCKING SONG gets annoying.

JayK, look for Vulgar around 9pm your time tonight. :Spin:

 

[JayKeeley]

JayK, look for Vulgar around 9pm your time tonight. :Spin:

Fed Ex works fast these days.

 

[NAD]

Fed Ex works fast these days.

Yet still a few hours later than promised.

For fun and profit I'm going to rank the Pantera albums:

1. Far Beyond Driven
1.00000001. Great Southern Trendkill
3. Vulgar Display of Power
4. Cowboys From Hell
5. Reinventing the Steel

I have not heard any of their glam albums all the way through, IOfTheStorm says one of them is pretty awesome though (Power Metal?). Maybe I'll seek it out someday.

Reinventing the Steel was not bad, but was second rate Pantera with nothing new added, which was the main disappointment since the previous four albums were so distinct.

Why did it take me 6 years to realize how brilliant Trendkill is? I don't know why some albums take like 14429842 listens to click. So did Down II, WEIIIRIRISEDDIIS

God damn this band ruled.

 

[circus_brimstone]

Mine:

1. Vulgar Display of Power
2. Far Beyond Driven
3. Great Southern Trendkill
4. Reinventing the Steel
5. Cowboys From Hell

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

IOfTheStorm says one of them is pretty awesome though (Power Metal?). Maybe I'll seek it out right now.

*looks at you sternly and nods furiously*...in fact...

 

[J.]

Vulgar Display is the only one worth owning, if you like jock metal. Cowboys is OK. The others are the musical equivalent of Ashton Kutcher.

 

[matt99_crew]

I'd rank em just like One Incher, but I'd swap Reinventing and Cowboys.

 

[J.]

I'm not knocking the band, but it seems they are one of only a handful of bands that got away with "evolving". Unless fans of the glam stuff screamed "sellout". I'm knda curious. ANyone know?