The Rise and Fall of Pantera
The Early Years – Terry Glaze Era:
Pantera had its beginnings in Texas in 1981. Darrell (lead guitar) and Vincent Paul “Vinnie Paul” Abbott (drums), sons country music songwriter and producer Jerry Abbot, formed the core of the band. Also present in the early incarnation of the band were Terry Glaze (guitar), Tommy Bradford (bass) and Donnie Hart (vocals). Formed while they were in high school, the band was highly influenced by Van Halen and Kiss, covering these songs as well as playing original material in live performances. Donnie Hart and Tommy Bradford eventually left the band. Bradford was replaced with Rex Brown on bass and Terry Glaze settled in on vocal duties, leaving Darrell (then known as “Diamond Darrell”) as the band’s sole guitarist.
The band released their first effort Metal Magic in 1983 and toured regionally in support of heavy metal giants. Their first release was promoted by Quiet Riot, which helped get them a record deal. By this time, their second album Projects in the Jungle (1984) was released. Elektra signed the band and bought and re-released Pantera’s back catalog. “All Over Tonight” and “Only A Heartbeat Away” became instant favorites as videos were released for these songs. After a brief six month tour supporting Judas Priest, Pantera returned to the studio to record their major label debut I Am The Night (1985).
I Am The Night was a heavier album than their previous releases and generated the singles “Hot and Heavy” and “Come-On Eyes.” The heavy glam sound of I Am The Night separated Pantera from other glam acts of the day and they became instant favorites as they toured relentlessly across the country. Darrell Abbott accepted an endorsement from Dean Guitars and was widely admired among the new crop of guitarists popping up in popular music.
The New Image – The Phil Anselmo Years:
Creative differences over the future direction of the band led eventually led to the firing of vocalist Terry Glaze (he would later find success with the band Lord Tracy) as the band wanted to revamp its glam image to further separate themselves from the community they once embraced. Terry Glaze commented in a 1990 interview that he did not feel ill will towards the members of Pantera, saying that Phil was a better fit with the band in terms of personality.
Pantera was influenced by the landmark thrash releases Master of Puppets (Metallica) and Reign in Blood (Slayer). The band eventually settled on Razor White vocalist and New Orleans native Phil Anselmo and recorded their second major studio release Power Metal (1988), a collaboration with Marc Ferrari of Keel. Pantera restyled its image, no longer wearing spandex onstage, but jeans, t-shirts and denim. Power Metal continued on the heavy direction that began with I Am The Night, but retained elements of glam metal.
The arrival of Phil Anselmo was received with a mixed reaction with the metal community, but Power Metal proved to be their most successful album at the time, launching the singles “Proud to be Loud,” “Rock the World” and “We’ll Meet Again” and it even earned a Grammy nomination in 1989. “Proud to be Loud” was co-written with Marc Ferrari of Keel and the song became an anthem for the rock and metal world, a distinction that still persists on rock radio and sporting events. The final track of the album “P.S.T. ‘88” featured Diamond Darrell on lead vocals and earned the ire of the P.M.R.C. due to its vulgar and sexual lyrics. This led to Darrell dedicating the “love song” to Tipper Gore during the tour. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7PIIa9ljZ4 for an OTL performance of the song)
Pantera launched a nine-month world tour as a headlining act and released the live album Live and Heavy in 1990. A VHS tape with the same name was also released, containing more songs than were present on the CD version. At this point, Pantera was among the most popular heavy metal acts in the United States.
Some critics who were initially skeptical at the change in direction affirmed that Pantera managed to take the best of everything and forge it (Power Metal) into one of the greatest metal albums of the late 1980s. They were representing the shift away from glam metal. Cinderella was also a band departing from its glam roots, aiming for a bluesy direction. Guns N’ Roses with Appetite for Destruction (1987) were also part of this revolution in popular music. Also popular were Metallica with their 1988 release …And Justice For All and Megadeth for Rust in Peace (1990).
Following the release of Live and Heavy, Pantera worked on the follow up for Power Metal. Abandoning their glam style, Pantera focused on the heavy direction established by the last two albums, which developed into the power groove style. Cowboys From Hell (1991) was released to the world and shocked some in the metal press and fans due to the new direction the band was taking. However, the album was wildly popular and attracted new fans to the act. “Cowboys from Hell” and “Cemetery Gates” received airplay on MTV and the radio. Pantera toured in support of the album, though they omitted material from Metal Magic from their setlist and focused mostly on the material from I Am The Night, Power Metal and Cowboys From Hell. They released a VHS tape entitled Vulgar Videos in 1992 containing all the band’s music videos up to that point.
Cowboys From Hell was part of the trend that many metal bands were leaving their roots for new directions. Metallica’s self-titled 1991 effort was purely hard rock and devoid of much of the thrash metal that made them icons of the metal community. In this respect, Pantera was different in they embraced the heavier direction. Alice in Chains also released Facelift in 1991, which served as the warning sign that the glam era of popular music was coming to an end.
Pantera released its fourth major studio effort Vulgar Display of Power in 1993. The band focused more on groove metal, alienating many longtime fans of the band. However, the glam era in popular music was ending as grunge began to sweep the nation. Diamond Darrell Abbott restyled himself as Dimebag Darrell. Pantera’s heavy groove metal direction breathed fresh air into the metal world and placed them among the surviving giants of the day (Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer). Some people accused Pantera of selling out to a new generation, a sentiment that gained weight when the tour commenced. During the tour, they further alienated longtime fans by not playing any material from Metal Magic, Projects in the Jungle and I Am The Night. On this time period, Darrell Abbott later admitted that in an effort to secure the new direction for the band, they were burying their glam past. In this 1999 interview, he expressed regret for the decision.
Continuing on this direction, Pantera released Far Beyond Driven in 1995. Phil Anselmo’s drug habit began to plague the band as he overdosed on heroin in 1996, an addiction he developed due to chronic back pain. He apologized to the band, but the rift was growing. They managed to release one final album with Phil Anselmo, The Great Southern Trendkill (1998), though he was fired from the band six months into the supporting tour. The recording of the album created a rift that would not heal as Phil insisted on recording his vocal tracks in New Orleans. That combined with his drug and alcohol abuse led to Phil being fired. The tour was completed with ex-Judas Priest and Fight vocalist Rob Halford. Pantera released 101 Proof Live in late 1999, which featured tracks with Phil and Rob on vocals.
The 21st Century – The Return of Terry Glaze:
Pantera reunited with Terry Glaze in 2000 and launched a massive reunion tour in 2001. The albums Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill were completely ignored in the setlist, with only “This Love” from Vulgar Display of Power representing the band’s groove metal era. Though this reunion went well with old fans of the band, many who preferred the groove metal sound were turned off and abandoned Pantera. The band released a DVD from a concert in Dallas, Texas called Widowmaker. Pantera was also featured in VH1’s Behind the Music series.
Phil Anselmo continued to work with his new band Superjoint Ritual after getting back surgery in 2002 and constantly blasted Pantera in the press. Superjoint Ritual continued the groove metal sound established during his time with Pantera and many younger fans supported the band. However, Pantera soldiered on with a new release Damage Control in 2004, which was a heavy release that embraced some of their old glam style in the vein of Power Metal and the power groove style of Cowboys from Hell. In the same year, they also released the DVD Vulgar Videos II containing all the band’s videos up to that point, including material recorded especially for the original Vulgar Videos.
Following the tour, Phil Anselmo sought to end the rift between Pantera and himself. Pantera took a break from recording as Terry Glaze returned to Lord Tracy. Rex Brown recorded and toured with Superjoint Ritual. Darrell and Vinnie Paul worked on a side project called Damageplan, which saw a return to their former groove metal style established in the 1990s. The feud between Anselmo and his former bandmates ended in 2006 when Damageplan and Superjoint Ritual performed at Ozzfest. Phil joined his former bandmates on stage at the conclusion of their setlist at a show in Texas and the band performed “Fucking Hostile” together for the first time in years and later proclaimed the feud to be concluded.
Rumors began to circulate throughout the metal press that Phil was going to rejoin Pantera. Phil even commented in an interview at metal-rules.com that he’d spoken with Darrell and Vinnie about possibly doing a reunion show. In 2006, a DVD version of 101 Proof Live was released, further adding fuel to the speculation.
Terry Glaze and Rex Brown rejoined Darrell and Vinnie to begin work on a new Pantera album in late 2006, ending all talks of a reunion with Phil Anselmo. Vinnie Paul commented in a 2007 interview that they never could reach an agreement with Phil on when they’d get together again. Phil claimed in another interview that they had disagreements in musical direction. “It’s the same shit that happened between Dime and Vinnie in their disputes with Terry,” he said. The comment reignited the feud between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers. Pantera released Reinventing the Steel in 2007, which was met with mixed reviews.
Feuds:
Pantera turned out to be a wildly influential band in the glam and post-thrash era of metal, making them one of the most successful bands to survive the 80’s alongside Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. However, there remain sharp divisions in the band’s fan base. Older fans of the original glam era rejoiced over the return of Terry Glaze. Others point to the fact that the band enjoyed enormous commercial success with Phil Anselmo’s vocals and lyrics and regarded his era with the band a pioneering effort in the forging of groove metal.
Critics of Terry Glaze say his return to the band was one ridden on the coattails of the band’s headlining efforts with Phil Anselmo and they further lambast him for refusing to perform songs from Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill as well as the majority of songs from Vulgar Display of Power. Fans of the groove metal era of Pantera flocked to Superjoint Ritual.
There are also fans who enjoyed both eras of the band and accepted Terry Glaze’s return with enthusiasm. They frequently address Phil’s drug addiction as the reason he was fired from the band. Vinnie Paul stated in a 2000 interview that they would have been more than willing to continue working with Phil had he brought his drug addiction under control as well as “turned the ego down a few notches.” Phil later fired back in a 2002 interview, calling Vinnie Paul and Darrell greedy because The Great Southern Trendkill did not perform well in sales. “They judged me for how much money I could make them. I entered rehab after getting fired and I even asked Rex if they could take me back. That’s when I found out they rehired Terry. It was bullshit. They saw dollar signs by doing this glam era revival tour and took a shit on everything I did with the band.”
Vinnie Paul stated in a 2002 interview for Playboy that Phil didn’t know what he was talking about. “We were already having problems with his addiction to heroin following the recording of Far Beyond Driven. He doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about because he obviously remembers history differently from the rest of the band. We had him check into rehab after he overdosed in 1996 and started again three months after he returned. We had a difficult time getting through the recording of The Great Southern Trendkill because he insisted on recording his vocal tracks in New Orleans instead of joining us in the studio. We were tired of it, so we fired him during the tour.”
Phil Anselmo later caused controversy in a Superjoint Ritual show in 2002 in which he and his band played a setlist composed of entirely groove metal era Pantera songs. When questioned about it, Phil said, “Those are my songs. The new Pantera doesn’t want you to hear them even though that’s what the fans want. They should be sending me checks to play “This Love” at their shows. We all know what the song really sounds like. A girl isn’t supposed to be singing the song.”
The rift between Pantera and Phil Anselmo began to disappear following the lukewarm reception of Pantera’s 2004 effort Damage Control. Rex Brown joined Superjoint Ritual. Superjoint Ritual shared the stage with Darrell and Vinnie’s band Damageplan at the 2006 Ozzfest Tour. Phil, Rex, Vinnie and Darrell got together during the conclusion of the Superjoint Ritual set in Dallas, TX and performed “Fucking Hostile” together. Phil hugged Darrell and Vinnie after the performance and proclaimed, “All that shit between Superjoint Ritual and Pantera is over.”
The metal press buzzed that Phil would possibly reunite with Pantera, but this never happened as Terry and Rex returned to Pantera and recorded Reinventing the Steel. Words exchanged in the media following this event reignited the feud anew.
Discography:
Metal Magic (1983)
Projects in the Jungle (1984)
I Am the Night (1985)
Power Metal (1988)
Live and Heavy (1990)
Cowboys from Hell (1991)
Vulgar Display of Power (1993)
Far Beyond Driven (1995)
The Great Southern Trendkill (1998)
101 Proof Live (1999)
Widowmaker (2002)
Damage Control (2004)
Reinventing the Steel (2007)
Video:
Live and Heavy (1990), DVD release 2001
Vulgar Videos (1992), No DVD release
Widowmaker (2002)
Vulgar Videos II (2004)
101 Proof Live (2006)
Singles:
“All Over Tonight”
“Only a Heartbeat Away”
“Hot and Heavy”
“Come-On Eyes”
“Rock the World”
“We’ll Meet Again”
“Proud To Be Loud”
“Cowboys from Hell”
“Cemetery Gates”
“Mouth for War”
“Walk”
“This Love”
“Hollow”
“I’m Broken”
“Five Minutes Alone”
“Drag the Waters”
“Floods”
“Damage Control”
“I’ll Cast a Shadow”
OTL References:
-The Parents Music Resource Center was a real organization and Tipper Gore was a member. They claimed that lyrics in rock music were responsible for the decline of the nuclear family and the Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics sticker was a result of the P.M.R.C.’s influence. As Power Metal was not a major release in OTL, the song “P.S.T. ‘88” never was an issue to the organization.
-Darrell Abbott’s stage name before Vulgar Display of Power was Diamond Darrell. Evidence of this can be seen in the Cowboys from Hell album booklet.
-The Pantera set played during a Superjoint ritual show has grounding in OTL as such things have been done famously by Ozzy Osbourne and David Lee Roth. Ozzy Osbourne actually released a live album after the death of Randy Rhoads called Speak of the Devil, which was composed of nothing but Black Sabbath songs. I heard from one guy who saw David Lee Roth in concert that he performed a whole set of nothing but Van Halen songs at one show, though this is not the case when I saw Roth in 2003.
-Phil’s comment about “This Love” being “sung by a girl” is a reference to David Lee Roth’s comment on Sammy Hagar singing the song “Panama.”
-Phil really did have a heroin addiction as he overdosed in 1996. This was mentioned on MTV that year and covered in the VH1: Behind the Music episode on Pantera. Phil did have back pain due to his violent onstage performances and I saw no reason why he wouldn’t develop back pain here. The circumstances of Phil’s departure from the band are different than OTL as Phil just didn’t show up to rejoin the band after doing his side projects.
-The recording of The Great Southern Trendkill was a difficult experience for the band in OTL, but it was before Phil had his overdose. Phil recorded his vocals in New Orleans and the rest of the band recorded their tracks in Texas.
-Marc Ferrari did collaborate with Pantera during the 1980s. He tried to get attention for the band in OTL. I don’t see why they would not have worked together here as they were friends.
-Terry Glaze was released from the band after I Am The Night and really did join the band Lord Tracy.
-The success of the album Power Metal prompted later release dates for albums in the Pantera catalogue in the ATL. I saw no reason why they would not follow the same progression in musical direction as they did it during their early years.
-Information on Pantera was taken from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantera
http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/marc_ferrari.html
VH1: Behind the Music
Comments?
The Early Years – Terry Glaze Era:
Pantera had its beginnings in Texas in 1981. Darrell (lead guitar) and Vincent Paul “Vinnie Paul” Abbott (drums), sons country music songwriter and producer Jerry Abbot, formed the core of the band. Also present in the early incarnation of the band were Terry Glaze (guitar), Tommy Bradford (bass) and Donnie Hart (vocals). Formed while they were in high school, the band was highly influenced by Van Halen and Kiss, covering these songs as well as playing original material in live performances. Donnie Hart and Tommy Bradford eventually left the band. Bradford was replaced with Rex Brown on bass and Terry Glaze settled in on vocal duties, leaving Darrell (then known as “Diamond Darrell”) as the band’s sole guitarist.
The band released their first effort Metal Magic in 1983 and toured regionally in support of heavy metal giants. Their first release was promoted by Quiet Riot, which helped get them a record deal. By this time, their second album Projects in the Jungle (1984) was released. Elektra signed the band and bought and re-released Pantera’s back catalog. “All Over Tonight” and “Only A Heartbeat Away” became instant favorites as videos were released for these songs. After a brief six month tour supporting Judas Priest, Pantera returned to the studio to record their major label debut I Am The Night (1985).
I Am The Night was a heavier album than their previous releases and generated the singles “Hot and Heavy” and “Come-On Eyes.” The heavy glam sound of I Am The Night separated Pantera from other glam acts of the day and they became instant favorites as they toured relentlessly across the country. Darrell Abbott accepted an endorsement from Dean Guitars and was widely admired among the new crop of guitarists popping up in popular music.
The New Image – The Phil Anselmo Years:
Creative differences over the future direction of the band led eventually led to the firing of vocalist Terry Glaze (he would later find success with the band Lord Tracy) as the band wanted to revamp its glam image to further separate themselves from the community they once embraced. Terry Glaze commented in a 1990 interview that he did not feel ill will towards the members of Pantera, saying that Phil was a better fit with the band in terms of personality.
Pantera was influenced by the landmark thrash releases Master of Puppets (Metallica) and Reign in Blood (Slayer). The band eventually settled on Razor White vocalist and New Orleans native Phil Anselmo and recorded their second major studio release Power Metal (1988), a collaboration with Marc Ferrari of Keel. Pantera restyled its image, no longer wearing spandex onstage, but jeans, t-shirts and denim. Power Metal continued on the heavy direction that began with I Am The Night, but retained elements of glam metal.
The arrival of Phil Anselmo was received with a mixed reaction with the metal community, but Power Metal proved to be their most successful album at the time, launching the singles “Proud to be Loud,” “Rock the World” and “We’ll Meet Again” and it even earned a Grammy nomination in 1989. “Proud to be Loud” was co-written with Marc Ferrari of Keel and the song became an anthem for the rock and metal world, a distinction that still persists on rock radio and sporting events. The final track of the album “P.S.T. ‘88” featured Diamond Darrell on lead vocals and earned the ire of the P.M.R.C. due to its vulgar and sexual lyrics. This led to Darrell dedicating the “love song” to Tipper Gore during the tour. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7PIIa9ljZ4 for an OTL performance of the song)
Pantera launched a nine-month world tour as a headlining act and released the live album Live and Heavy in 1990. A VHS tape with the same name was also released, containing more songs than were present on the CD version. At this point, Pantera was among the most popular heavy metal acts in the United States.
Some critics who were initially skeptical at the change in direction affirmed that Pantera managed to take the best of everything and forge it (Power Metal) into one of the greatest metal albums of the late 1980s. They were representing the shift away from glam metal. Cinderella was also a band departing from its glam roots, aiming for a bluesy direction. Guns N’ Roses with Appetite for Destruction (1987) were also part of this revolution in popular music. Also popular were Metallica with their 1988 release …And Justice For All and Megadeth for Rust in Peace (1990).
Following the release of Live and Heavy, Pantera worked on the follow up for Power Metal. Abandoning their glam style, Pantera focused on the heavy direction established by the last two albums, which developed into the power groove style. Cowboys From Hell (1991) was released to the world and shocked some in the metal press and fans due to the new direction the band was taking. However, the album was wildly popular and attracted new fans to the act. “Cowboys from Hell” and “Cemetery Gates” received airplay on MTV and the radio. Pantera toured in support of the album, though they omitted material from Metal Magic from their setlist and focused mostly on the material from I Am The Night, Power Metal and Cowboys From Hell. They released a VHS tape entitled Vulgar Videos in 1992 containing all the band’s music videos up to that point.
Cowboys From Hell was part of the trend that many metal bands were leaving their roots for new directions. Metallica’s self-titled 1991 effort was purely hard rock and devoid of much of the thrash metal that made them icons of the metal community. In this respect, Pantera was different in they embraced the heavier direction. Alice in Chains also released Facelift in 1991, which served as the warning sign that the glam era of popular music was coming to an end.
Pantera released its fourth major studio effort Vulgar Display of Power in 1993. The band focused more on groove metal, alienating many longtime fans of the band. However, the glam era in popular music was ending as grunge began to sweep the nation. Diamond Darrell Abbott restyled himself as Dimebag Darrell. Pantera’s heavy groove metal direction breathed fresh air into the metal world and placed them among the surviving giants of the day (Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer). Some people accused Pantera of selling out to a new generation, a sentiment that gained weight when the tour commenced. During the tour, they further alienated longtime fans by not playing any material from Metal Magic, Projects in the Jungle and I Am The Night. On this time period, Darrell Abbott later admitted that in an effort to secure the new direction for the band, they were burying their glam past. In this 1999 interview, he expressed regret for the decision.
Continuing on this direction, Pantera released Far Beyond Driven in 1995. Phil Anselmo’s drug habit began to plague the band as he overdosed on heroin in 1996, an addiction he developed due to chronic back pain. He apologized to the band, but the rift was growing. They managed to release one final album with Phil Anselmo, The Great Southern Trendkill (1998), though he was fired from the band six months into the supporting tour. The recording of the album created a rift that would not heal as Phil insisted on recording his vocal tracks in New Orleans. That combined with his drug and alcohol abuse led to Phil being fired. The tour was completed with ex-Judas Priest and Fight vocalist Rob Halford. Pantera released 101 Proof Live in late 1999, which featured tracks with Phil and Rob on vocals.
The 21st Century – The Return of Terry Glaze:
Pantera reunited with Terry Glaze in 2000 and launched a massive reunion tour in 2001. The albums Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill were completely ignored in the setlist, with only “This Love” from Vulgar Display of Power representing the band’s groove metal era. Though this reunion went well with old fans of the band, many who preferred the groove metal sound were turned off and abandoned Pantera. The band released a DVD from a concert in Dallas, Texas called Widowmaker. Pantera was also featured in VH1’s Behind the Music series.
Phil Anselmo continued to work with his new band Superjoint Ritual after getting back surgery in 2002 and constantly blasted Pantera in the press. Superjoint Ritual continued the groove metal sound established during his time with Pantera and many younger fans supported the band. However, Pantera soldiered on with a new release Damage Control in 2004, which was a heavy release that embraced some of their old glam style in the vein of Power Metal and the power groove style of Cowboys from Hell. In the same year, they also released the DVD Vulgar Videos II containing all the band’s videos up to that point, including material recorded especially for the original Vulgar Videos.
Following the tour, Phil Anselmo sought to end the rift between Pantera and himself. Pantera took a break from recording as Terry Glaze returned to Lord Tracy. Rex Brown recorded and toured with Superjoint Ritual. Darrell and Vinnie Paul worked on a side project called Damageplan, which saw a return to their former groove metal style established in the 1990s. The feud between Anselmo and his former bandmates ended in 2006 when Damageplan and Superjoint Ritual performed at Ozzfest. Phil joined his former bandmates on stage at the conclusion of their setlist at a show in Texas and the band performed “Fucking Hostile” together for the first time in years and later proclaimed the feud to be concluded.
Rumors began to circulate throughout the metal press that Phil was going to rejoin Pantera. Phil even commented in an interview at metal-rules.com that he’d spoken with Darrell and Vinnie about possibly doing a reunion show. In 2006, a DVD version of 101 Proof Live was released, further adding fuel to the speculation.
Terry Glaze and Rex Brown rejoined Darrell and Vinnie to begin work on a new Pantera album in late 2006, ending all talks of a reunion with Phil Anselmo. Vinnie Paul commented in a 2007 interview that they never could reach an agreement with Phil on when they’d get together again. Phil claimed in another interview that they had disagreements in musical direction. “It’s the same shit that happened between Dime and Vinnie in their disputes with Terry,” he said. The comment reignited the feud between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers. Pantera released Reinventing the Steel in 2007, which was met with mixed reviews.
Feuds:
Pantera turned out to be a wildly influential band in the glam and post-thrash era of metal, making them one of the most successful bands to survive the 80’s alongside Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. However, there remain sharp divisions in the band’s fan base. Older fans of the original glam era rejoiced over the return of Terry Glaze. Others point to the fact that the band enjoyed enormous commercial success with Phil Anselmo’s vocals and lyrics and regarded his era with the band a pioneering effort in the forging of groove metal.
Critics of Terry Glaze say his return to the band was one ridden on the coattails of the band’s headlining efforts with Phil Anselmo and they further lambast him for refusing to perform songs from Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill as well as the majority of songs from Vulgar Display of Power. Fans of the groove metal era of Pantera flocked to Superjoint Ritual.
There are also fans who enjoyed both eras of the band and accepted Terry Glaze’s return with enthusiasm. They frequently address Phil’s drug addiction as the reason he was fired from the band. Vinnie Paul stated in a 2000 interview that they would have been more than willing to continue working with Phil had he brought his drug addiction under control as well as “turned the ego down a few notches.” Phil later fired back in a 2002 interview, calling Vinnie Paul and Darrell greedy because The Great Southern Trendkill did not perform well in sales. “They judged me for how much money I could make them. I entered rehab after getting fired and I even asked Rex if they could take me back. That’s when I found out they rehired Terry. It was bullshit. They saw dollar signs by doing this glam era revival tour and took a shit on everything I did with the band.”
Vinnie Paul stated in a 2002 interview for Playboy that Phil didn’t know what he was talking about. “We were already having problems with his addiction to heroin following the recording of Far Beyond Driven. He doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about because he obviously remembers history differently from the rest of the band. We had him check into rehab after he overdosed in 1996 and started again three months after he returned. We had a difficult time getting through the recording of The Great Southern Trendkill because he insisted on recording his vocal tracks in New Orleans instead of joining us in the studio. We were tired of it, so we fired him during the tour.”
Phil Anselmo later caused controversy in a Superjoint Ritual show in 2002 in which he and his band played a setlist composed of entirely groove metal era Pantera songs. When questioned about it, Phil said, “Those are my songs. The new Pantera doesn’t want you to hear them even though that’s what the fans want. They should be sending me checks to play “This Love” at their shows. We all know what the song really sounds like. A girl isn’t supposed to be singing the song.”
The rift between Pantera and Phil Anselmo began to disappear following the lukewarm reception of Pantera’s 2004 effort Damage Control. Rex Brown joined Superjoint Ritual. Superjoint Ritual shared the stage with Darrell and Vinnie’s band Damageplan at the 2006 Ozzfest Tour. Phil, Rex, Vinnie and Darrell got together during the conclusion of the Superjoint Ritual set in Dallas, TX and performed “Fucking Hostile” together. Phil hugged Darrell and Vinnie after the performance and proclaimed, “All that shit between Superjoint Ritual and Pantera is over.”
The metal press buzzed that Phil would possibly reunite with Pantera, but this never happened as Terry and Rex returned to Pantera and recorded Reinventing the Steel. Words exchanged in the media following this event reignited the feud anew.
Discography:
Metal Magic (1983)
Projects in the Jungle (1984)
I Am the Night (1985)
Power Metal (1988)
Live and Heavy (1990)
Cowboys from Hell (1991)
Vulgar Display of Power (1993)
Far Beyond Driven (1995)
The Great Southern Trendkill (1998)
101 Proof Live (1999)
Widowmaker (2002)
Damage Control (2004)
Reinventing the Steel (2007)
Video:
Live and Heavy (1990), DVD release 2001
Vulgar Videos (1992), No DVD release
Widowmaker (2002)
Vulgar Videos II (2004)
101 Proof Live (2006)
Singles:
“All Over Tonight”
“Only a Heartbeat Away”
“Hot and Heavy”
“Come-On Eyes”
“Rock the World”
“We’ll Meet Again”
“Proud To Be Loud”
“Cowboys from Hell”
“Cemetery Gates”
“Mouth for War”
“Walk”
“This Love”
“Hollow”
“I’m Broken”
“Five Minutes Alone”
“Drag the Waters”
“Floods”
“Damage Control”
“I’ll Cast a Shadow”
OTL References:
-The Parents Music Resource Center was a real organization and Tipper Gore was a member. They claimed that lyrics in rock music were responsible for the decline of the nuclear family and the Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics sticker was a result of the P.M.R.C.’s influence. As Power Metal was not a major release in OTL, the song “P.S.T. ‘88” never was an issue to the organization.
-Darrell Abbott’s stage name before Vulgar Display of Power was Diamond Darrell. Evidence of this can be seen in the Cowboys from Hell album booklet.
-The Pantera set played during a Superjoint ritual show has grounding in OTL as such things have been done famously by Ozzy Osbourne and David Lee Roth. Ozzy Osbourne actually released a live album after the death of Randy Rhoads called Speak of the Devil, which was composed of nothing but Black Sabbath songs. I heard from one guy who saw David Lee Roth in concert that he performed a whole set of nothing but Van Halen songs at one show, though this is not the case when I saw Roth in 2003.
-Phil’s comment about “This Love” being “sung by a girl” is a reference to David Lee Roth’s comment on Sammy Hagar singing the song “Panama.”
-Phil really did have a heroin addiction as he overdosed in 1996. This was mentioned on MTV that year and covered in the VH1: Behind the Music episode on Pantera. Phil did have back pain due to his violent onstage performances and I saw no reason why he wouldn’t develop back pain here. The circumstances of Phil’s departure from the band are different than OTL as Phil just didn’t show up to rejoin the band after doing his side projects.
-The recording of The Great Southern Trendkill was a difficult experience for the band in OTL, but it was before Phil had his overdose. Phil recorded his vocals in New Orleans and the rest of the band recorded their tracks in Texas.
-Marc Ferrari did collaborate with Pantera during the 1980s. He tried to get attention for the band in OTL. I don’t see why they would not have worked together here as they were friends.
-Terry Glaze was released from the band after I Am The Night and really did join the band Lord Tracy.
-The success of the album Power Metal prompted later release dates for albums in the Pantera catalogue in the ATL. I saw no reason why they would not follow the same progression in musical direction as they did it during their early years.
-Information on Pantera was taken from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantera
http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/marc_ferrari.html
VH1: Behind the Music
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