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Pantera

A Texas band of two brothers and two friends who dropped glam metal for the heavier groove metal of Cowboys from Hell and Vulgar Display of Power.

Origin
Arlington, Texas
Years active
1981-2003, 2022-present
Genres
groove metal, thrash metal, heavy metal
Labels
Metal Magic, Atco, East West, Elektra
Also known as
Gemini, Eternity

Arlington

Pantera was formed in Arlington, Texas by the brothers Dimebag Darrell, on guitar, and Vinnie Paul, on drums. Wikipedia gives 1981 as the formation year and MusicBrainz 1982. They began as Gemini, then Eternity; Vinnie Paul's high school friend Don Sowers suggested Pantera, after the De Tomaso Pantera car. The early line-up included Terry Glaze, first on guitar and then on vocals, Donnie Hart and the bassist Tommy Bradford, who was replaced in 1982 by Rex Brown. Darrell was born Darrell Lance Abbott on August 20, 1966.

The first three albums, Metal Magic (1983), Projects in the Jungle (1984) and I Am the Night (1985), were glam-influenced and had little success. Glaze left in 1986 after disputes over the band's voting system, and late that year Phil Anselmo, then 18, joined as vocalist. The heavier Power Metal followed in 1988.

Cowboys from Hell and Vulgar Display of Power

Pantera signed to Atco in 1989. Atco's Mark Ross, sent to Texas by Derek Shulman and stranded there by Hurricane Hugo, saw them and recommended signing; the band then waited about six months before recording. Cowboys from Hell was produced by Terry Date at Pantego Sound in Pantego, Texas, and released on July 24, 1990. Recording dates differ by source: late 1989 to April 1990 in the infobox, February to April 1990 by Rex Brown's account. It sold slowly, first charted in 1992, reached platinum in 1997 and is now double platinum.

Vulgar Display of Power followed on February 25, 1992, produced by Date and Vinnie Paul at Pantego Sound in 1991. After about two months of sessions the band played Monsters of Rock at Tushino airfield in Moscow on September 28, 1991, opening for Metallica and AC/DC, then returned to finish; the aim was the heaviest record ever. It debuted at number 44 on the Billboard 200 and stayed 78 weeks. Far Beyond Driven (March 22, 1994) debuted at number one, The Great Southern Trendkill followed on May 7, 1996, and the live Official Live: 101 Proof on July 29, 1997. Reinventing the Steel (March 21, 2000) was the last studio album. Pantera received four Grammy nominations without a win, and Wikipedia says they sold about 20 million records.

The split and the reunion

The last show with all four original members was in Yokohama on August 26, 2001, and the brothers disbanded the band in November 2003. Darrell and Vinnie Paul formed Damageplan, whose New Found Power came out on February 10, 2004. Dimebag Darrell was killed on stage at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 2004, during a Damageplan show, at 38; three others were also killed. Vinnie Paul formed Hellyeah and died on June 22, 2018, aged 54.

Billboard reported a reunion on July 13, 2022, with Anselmo and Brown joined by Zakk Wylde in Darrell's place and Charlie Benante in Vinnie Paul's. The first show was on December 2, 2022 in Mexico. The band played Download at Donington Park on June 15, 2024, its first UK show since Brixton Academy on April 30, 2000. Some 2023 festival dates in Germany and Austria were canceled after an outcry over Anselmo's past remarks. Setlist.fm logs 1,469 setlists, and "Cowboys from Hell" (663 performances) and "Walk" (609) are the most played songs.

Members

Records

Songs

Metallica, Black Sabbath

Where to go next

Official

  • Pantera Profiles, tour dates and history posts.

Reference

Writing and criticism

Live performance archives

Film and video

Sources

  1. Pantera, Wikipedia
  2. Dimebag Darrell, Wikipedia
  3. Cowboys from Hell, Wikipedia
  4. Vulgar Display of Power, Wikipedia
  5. Pantera statistics, setlist.fm
  6. Pantera play first UK show in over 20 years, Loudwire