For one more memorable music will always sell more. It has since day one.
If somethings is dumbed down it's dumb,shitty ?. You're forgetting that they wrote good songs while Exhorder was more about playing very intence thrash. Both are good things, both bands do things better than each. You might want to hear both bands but one fits your mood. If you want a more speedy approach put on Exhorder. If you want more memorable diverse approach put on Pantera. Pantera's albums as full are more diverse,interesting,enjoyable than Exhorders. What if someone liked metal but not the speed,riff fest, they are are going to prefere pantera. Does that mean they are dumb for that ?. Just because Pantera were not as thrashy,intence or maybe not even original it does not take away from memorable,well written songs that attracted people. You're forgetting about naturally getting into music. Why assume people are dumb because a rule you have that most people don't care about. The fact is people are drawn to more memorable music. Maybe because the music was faster it took Pantera to show someone something they missed in Exhorder, that they might have liked, only if the part repeated more,stood out in a song. Exhorder throws tons of great riffs together which I like but it can be pointless to others. You can hear one band,notice the controversy,check out the other, you can listen to both. Some of you take things way to serious. What another band does, does not always fit another band. Phil had higher vocal range where the singer for Exorder did not. It's obvious Phil has some other infleunces even if the EXhorder singer infleunced him at a certain point. He joined Pantera in 88. Tons of death metal singers sound the same, no one will not listen to a band, hate a band, think they suck,etc... People get unfluenced by people. Pantera was around since what 81. Eventually they were going to open up to knew idea's,hear some bands especially at the end of the 80's. If they did not make a change they would have not gotten anywhere going into 1900.
Pantera did improve on things Exhorder did not,could not have.
'The Law' was also not nearly as good as 'Slaughter In The Vatican'. The band was already running it's course. That happening early in a bands carrer is already a forshadowing demise.
I'd rather be stuck with 5 pantera fullengths from 90 to 2001 than 2 exhorder cds,especially when one is not as good.
Pantera > Exhorder
Some of you're trying to be elitists not even factoring in many things about both bands. If Exhorder would have progressed,matured their music,songwriting,changed the albums up more they might have been more popular. Being signed to RR in the early 90's probably did not help though the label released tons of great records. I highly doubt metalblade,etc.. would have signed them. RR would have eventually dropped them. I doubt bigger labels would have been interested. The band would have signed to a small label playing thrash in 95,96. They got screwed,or maybe they did not put in the effort to help their carrer continue. I don't know. Times change.
You're not going to like a band because of another bands sucess,fanbase,etc.. that's ridiculous. Pantera was around for awile, I highly doubt one band dicatated their existence fully. will never believe that.
That would be like saying when Slayer put out 'diabolous in musica',heard slipknot,made a sound change, that without Slipknot they are nothing. Not worth hearing.