Album Review: Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (1992)

Following on the heels of the excellent groove metal "debut" of 1990's Pantera, Cowboys From Hell, the band would soon find themselves cranking up the heavy notch by a few with the release of Vulgar Display of Power in 1992.  And the "new level" of power manifested in the album does not disappoint one bit.  Even more aggro, angry, and raw than its predecessor, and a continuing reminder of the late Dimebag's proficiency with an axe, the fist on the front of the record tells everything about what the album is and what makes it so great - both authoritarian and anti-authoritarian at the same time, this is the raw essence of the movie Fight Club in the form of a heavy metal record, only the ending is much better.  Top picks are, "A New Level", "Walk", "Mouth for War", "F***ing Hostile."  This is Pantera in their prime.  A brilliant album.  A 

Album Review: Pantera - Power Metal (1988)

Coming across an ultra-rare album is one thing, but being able to savor every moment of it is certainly another, especially when what you hear is completely the opposite of what you would have expected otherwise.  I was most fortunate to be able to hear Pantera's very rare and very unknown Power Metal from 1988, their first album to feature Phil Anselmo on vocals.  This "glam metal" album, in my opinion, is the best metal album I have heard in a long time - and that is saying something.  Most people will think it sounds a lot like 1980s Judas Priest, and they would be right.  Just listen to the first track and you can instantly tell, right down to Phil's Halford-esque screaming that would carry on in diluted form into 1990's Cowboys From Hell (an excellent album, I must say).  And the riffs - Dimebag's proficiency with an axe really shines on this record - are at the very pinnacle of 80s metal excellence, and given that Pantera are best known for their 90s work, that is an outstanding achievement.  My picks - all of them really, but play "Power Metal", "P*S*T*88" and "We'll Meet Again" first.  That is, of course, if you can get hold of the album. A+

Album Review: Pantera - Cowboys From Hell (1990)

When people think of Heavy Metal music, they think of a band of four bogans wearing ripped Levis, long hair, t-shirts with their band name on it, armed with Flying-Vs and angrily screaming out Satan-themed lyrics darker than a chubby Goth chick's ass-crack. And their fans aren't much different either; up there in the mosh pit, dressed in black and banging their long-haired bonces around like a pro-wrestler with 'roid rage strangling a mop to thrash classics like "Whiplash" by Metallica, or "Rattlehead" by Megadeth. And when it comes to being stereotyped by others, they're probably the most care-free group of people you'll ever come across. And that's why I like them.

Pantera is a classic example of this metal-head stereotype. Their music screams power, anger and control, yet it doesn't seem to influence anyone in any negative way whatsoever. Listen to "F***ing Hostile", and you won't find people going at each other doing the two-fist twist. In fact, you'll find them jumping up and down with smiles on their faces large enough to accommodate a banana, and trying to restrain themselves from hugging people around them in all the excitement.

And now down to the album in question - Cowboys from Hell. Technically not their debut, but it is often regarded as their first proper mainstream album as a groove metal band. And a great debut it is, I went nuts for this album the first time I heard it. Unlike it's successor Vulgar Display of Power, I didn't have to wean myself into listening to it, and it wasn't the acquired taste I felt "Vulgar" was. And the songs will testify to this; "Primate Concrete Sledge", in it's own display of power, will get the adrenaline flowing first time you hear it, and the legendary "Cemetery Gates" is a (n ironically) mellowed out 'death' ballad to help bring you back down from that winded up state. And the album finishes with the very awesome "The Art of Shredding", one of my all time favorites.

The rest of the album is very close to being on par with these songs, in terms of quality and consistency (you like one, you'll like the others), but considering I'm pressed for space I'll leave it up to you to decide whether this record is just the cat's ass (that's a good thing). For me though, it's one of the best. A