Pantera was an American groove metal band from Arlington, Texas. Starting as a glam metal band, the band was originally named Pantera's Metal Magic and consisted of Vinnie Paul Abbott on drums, Dimebag Darrell Abbott (called Diamond Darrell at that time) on guitar, Donnie Hart on vocals, Terry Glaze on guitar, and Tommy Bradford on bass. The band was renamed Pantera to shorten the name and settle an agreement between band members. Hart left the band and Terry Glaze became the group's vocalist, leaving Darrell as the solo guitarist. Later that year Bradford also departed and was replaced by Rex Brown (then known as Rexx Rocker). Pantera became an underground favorite, though its regional tours never took them beyond Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The band began supporting fellow heavy metal acts such as Stryper, Dokken, and Quiet Riot, who in turn promoted Pantera's debut, Metal Magic. Metal Magic was released on the band's label of the same name in 1983 and produced by the Abbott brothers' father Jerry Abbott at Pantego Studios.
The following year, Pantera released its second album, Projects in the Jungle. Though still very much a glam metal album, the band's songs had less glam influences than songs from Metal Magic. Another change was Terry Glaze's name, changed to Terrence Lee. A music video for the album's lead track, "All Over Tonight", was eventually created.
In 1985, Pantera again released a full-length album on Metal Magic Records, entitled I Am the Night. As with Projects in the Jungle, this album saw Pantera's sound becoming heavier (though still rooted in glam metal), and the heavy metal press took more notice of the band. Because of poor distribution, I Am the Night was a costly album to many fans. Around 25,000 copies of I Am the Night were sold.
1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums from Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth that would prove influential to Pantera's developing musical style. Terrence Lee's glam approach did not fit the band's new outlook and he left the band and went on to form rock group, Lord Tracy.
The band went through temporary vocalists Rick Mythiasin, Dave Peacock and Matt L’Amour before discovering Phil Anselmo in 1987. Upon playing with Pantera, Anselmo immediately clicked with the other three members. More than just the band's image was changing, however. In 1988, Pantera released its first album with Anselmo, entitled Power Metal. By far the band's heaviest album at this point, Power Metal was a mix of 1980s hard rock and thrash metal, sometimes blending both styles in a single song.After the release of Power Metal, the band members decided to seriously reconsider their glam metal sound and image. The band members would later ignore their independent releases, including Power Metal, as they sculpted a new, heavier image to accompany their later groove metal sound. Their four independent albums are not listed on the band's official website and have become hard-to-find collector's items.
Shortly after Power Metal was released, "Diamond Darrell", as he was then known, auditioned for Megadeth's vacant guitarist slot, and was invited to join the band. Darrell insisted his brother, bandmate Vinnie Paul, be included, but because Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine had already hired a drummer, Darrell declined and Mustaine instead decided on Marty Friedman.
The Abbott brothers refocused their attention on Pantera, and in 1989 they were given their first shot at commercial success. After being turned down 28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth, Atco Records reps Mark Ross and Stevenson Eugenio were asked by their boss Derek Shulman to see the band perform after Hurricane Hugo stranded them in Texas. Ross was so impressed by the band's performance that he called his boss that night, suggesting that Pantera be signed to the label. Atco Records accepted, and at the close of 1989, the band recorded its major label debut at Pantego Studios.
Released on July 24, 1990, Cowboys from Hell was another leap into heavier territory. Pantera showed a more extreme style on this outing, leaving behind its glam metal influences in favor of an amalgamation of thrash metal and groove metal dubbed "power groove" by the band. Although Anselmo still used Eric Adams-influenced falsetto vocals, he also adopted a more abrasive delivery. Darrell's more complex guitar riffs, along with his brother's faster-paced drumwork were evidence of the band's transformation.. Many fans, as well as the band itself, consider it Pantera's "official" debut. Cowboys included the tracks "Cemetery Gates", a brooding seven-minute piece that focuses on death and religion, and the thrashing title track, which gave the band members their nickname and asserted their raucous personality and style.
Pantera's unique style came to fruition in its breakthrough album Vulgar Display of Power, released on February 25, 1992. On this album, the power metal falsetto vocals were replaced with a hardcore-influenced shouted delivery and heavier guitar sound. Two other singles from the album became two of Pantera's most notable ballads: "This Love", a haunting piece about lust and abuse, and "Hollow", somewhat reminiscent of "Cemetery Gates" from Cowboys. Singles from Vulgar also received significant airplay on radio as did the music videos on MTV. The album entered the American charts at No. 44. It was around this time that Darrell Abbott dropped the nickname Diamond Darrell and assumed Dimebag Darrell, and Rex Brown dropped the pseudonym Rexx Rocker.
Far Beyond Driven (released on March 22, 1994) debuted at No. 1 in both United States and Australian album charts. The album's first single, "I'm Broken", earned the band's first Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1995. Driven saw Pantera continue its groove metal approach, while taking an even more extreme direction with its musical style. The album's original artwork (a drill bit impaling an anus) was banned, so it was re-released with the now familiar skull impaled with a drill bit.
Pantera hit the road and toured South America, along with being accepted into the Monsters of Rock festival. At that festival on June 4, 1994, the Abbott brothers got into a scuffle with journalists from the music magazine Kerrang! over unflattering cartoon depictions of drummer Vinnie Paul. Then in late June, Anselmo was charged with assault for hitting a security guard after he prevented fans from getting on stage, Anselmo was released on $5,000 bail the next day. The trial was delayed three times until Anselmo apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
Frontman Phil Anselmo began behaving strangely and distanced himself from the band when they returned to the road in 1995. The rest of the band members first thought that Pantera's perception of his fame had gotten to Anselmo, but Anselmo cited back pain as the reason for his behavior. Anselmo attempted to subdue his pain through alcohol, but this, as he admits, was affecting his performances. Doctors predicted that with surgery, Anselmo's back problem could be corrected, but that the recovery time could be a year or more. Not wanting to spend that much time away from the band, Anselmo refused, and began using heroin as a painkiller.
In 1995, Down, one of Anselmo's many side projects, took off. Down was a supergroup consisting of Anselmo, three members of Crowbar—guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Todd Strange and drummer Jimmy Bower—and Corrosion of Conformity guitarist Pepper Keenan. Down's 1995 debut, NOLA, was a success, but shortly after the members returned to their respective bands, leaving Down inactive for several years.
Pantera's next album, The Great Southern Trendkill (released May 22, 1996), is often considered Pantera's overlooked album. Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals for this release in Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor's studio in New Orleans while the rest of the band members recorded in Dallas, evidence of the continued distancing between Anselmo and the rest of the band. In comparison to the band's previous efforts, there was a heavier emphasis on vocal overdubbing in a somewhat "demonic" fashion. Drug abuse is a recurring theme inTrendkill, as exemplified by tracks such as "Suicide Note Pt. I", "Suicide Note Pt. II" and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)".
On July 13, 1996, Anselmo overdosed on heroin an hour after a Texas homecoming gig. After his heart stopped beating for almost five minutes, paramedics gave Anselmo a shot of adrenaline (most likely Narcan) and sent him to the hospital. After waking up in the hospital, the nurse working in his room said "Welcome back to life, oh and you have overdosed on heroin." Anselmo apologized to his bandmates the next night, and said he would quit using drugs. The revelation of heroin use came as a shock to Vinnie and Darrell who were embarrassed by Anselmo's actions. Anselmo said after which, he relapsed twice and was overcome with guilt.
Some of the band's live performances were eventually compiled in its July 29, 1997 release, Official Live: 101 Proof, which included fourteen live tracks and two new studio recordings. Also in 1997, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Marilyn Manson, Type O Negative, Fear Factory, Machine Head, and Powerman 5000. Additionally, the band played on the 1998 UK Ozzfest tour alongside Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Foo Fighters, Slayer, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Therapy?, as well as touring with Clutch and Neurosis.
Around this time, Anselmo ventured into more side projects, (Necrophagia, Eibon and Viking Crown.) The Abbott brothers and Rex Brown began their own country metal crossover project, Rebel Meets Rebel with David Allan Coe, around the same time.
Pantera returned to the recording studio with Anselmo in 1999 and cut its last album, Reinventing the Steel, which was released on March 21, 2000. Steel debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Godsmack, Static-X, Methods of Mayhem, Incubus,P.O.D., Black Label Society, Queens of the Stone Age, and Apartment 26. In November the band cancelled their planned tour after Anselmo broke his ribs after falling during his eighth annual House of Shock event. Back home, the band planned to release its fourth home video in Summer 2002 and record another studio album later that year, but neither came about.
Anselmo again engaged in numerous side projects. In March 2002, Down released its second studio album, Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, which featured Rex Brown on bass. Brown remained Down's full-time bassist until 2011, having appeared on their subsequent release in 2007. Also, in May of that year Anselmo's Superjoint Ritual released its debut, Use Once and Destroy. Vinnie Paul claims that Anselmo told him he would take a year off following the events of September 11, 2001, but Anselmo's touring and record output for both Superjoint Ritual and Down contradicted this.
The Abbott brothers were frustrated, and held out for a time, assuming Anselmo would return. However, according to Anselmo, taking a break from Pantera was a "mutual thing" between each of the band members. The Abbott brothers officially broke up Pantera in 2003, when they concluded that Anselmo had abandoned Pantera and would not return. The break-up of the band was not amicable and subsequently a war of words was waged via the heavy metal and musical press. The Abbott brothers and Pantera crew members claimed that they tried to contact Anselmo over the phone to reorganize Pantera, but Anselmo maintains that they never called him. Caught up in the torrent was Rex Brown.
After Pantera's breakup, Darrell and Vinnie formed Damageplan with vocalist Pat Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla. The group released their first album, New Found Power, in Februaryof 2004. The album was a commercial success; over 44,000 copies were sold in its first week alone and within a year over 100,000 copies were sold. However, some fans felt that Damageplan's material did not measure up to that of Pantera.
Tragedy struck on December 8, 2004 when Damageplan was performing in support of their album at a show in Columbus, Ohio. Less than a minute into the first song of their set, Nathan Gale, 25, went onstage and shot and killed Darrell. Gale killed 3 other people and injured 2 more before being shot dead by a Columbus police officer. No motive has ever been given as to why Gale killed Dimebag Darrell, but early theories (dismissed by police) suggested that Gale was angered over Pantera's breakup and resorted to violence. In a number of interviews, some of Gale's friends suggested that he claimed that he had written songs that were stolen by Pantera.
When Anselmo called in the aftermath of the murders, Rita Haney, Darrell's girlfriend, answered one of Anselmo's calls and said she would blow Anselmo's head off if he attended Darrell's funeral. He was buried with Eddie Van Halen's black and yellow-striped Charvel electric guitar. Dimebag had asked for one of these guitars in 2004, shortly before he was shot. Eddie Van Halen originally agreed to make Darrell a copy of the guitar, but upon hearing of Abbott's death, offered to place the actual guitar in his casket. Dimebag was buried in a KISS Kasket. Inspired by the rock 'n' roll group KISS, he requested in his will that he be buried in one of the famous coffins. Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons said, "There were a limited number made and I sent mine to the family of 'Dimebag' Darrell. He requested in his will to be buried in a Kiss Kasket, as he sort of learned his rock 'n' roll roots by listening to us for some strange reason."
On May 11, 2006, the VH1 Behind the Music episode on Pantera premiered. While focusing heavily on Darrell's murder and burial, the episode also detailed the band's glam metal beginnings, the band's perceived rise in its own popularity after the change in musical direction, and the conflicts between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers in the band's later years that would tear them apart. In interviews in 2009 & 2010, both Rita Haney & Phil Anselmo have stated that after a meeting at Download 2009 they have patched up their differences and are once again on speaking terms.
Pantera has come under some criticism within the fringes of the heavy metal community in relation to the New Orleans band Exhorder. Although the music, lyrics and song titles are entirely different works, some fans have accused Pantera of stealing the "style" of their groove metal sound from Exhorder. While Pantera's style change on Cowboys from Hell was released just before Exhorder's debut, Slaughter in the Vatican, Exhorder self-released two demos in the late 1980s that a number of fans believe to be the real birth of the musical style Pantera is often credited for inventing. Exhorder lead vocalist Kyle Thomas has stated that he does not care about any of the criticism and that he and the members of Pantera were great friends who used to tour together.
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