Pantera

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This article is about the band. For other uses, see Pantera (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Panthera.

Pantera

Pantera circa 2000. Left to right: Phil

Anselmo,Vinnie Paul, Dimebag Darrell and Rex
Brown.
Background information
Origin

Arlington, Texas, United States

Genres

Heavy metal, groove metal,thrash

metal, alternative metal,glam
metal (early)

Years
active

19812003

Labels

Metal Magic, Atco, EastWest, Elektra

Associat Damageplan, Down, Hellyeah,Superjoi

ed acts

nt Ritual, Pumpjack, David Allan

Coe, Necrophagia, Southern
Isolation, Arson Anthem, Rebel Meets
Rebel, Crowbar, Type O Negative

Website Official website

Past

Band members

member
s
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. The group was formed in 1981
by the Abbott brothers drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell along with
vocalist Terry Glaze. Bassist Rex Brown joined the band the following year, replacing the original
unofficial bass guitarist Tommy D. Bradford. Having started as a glam metal band, Pantera released
four albums during the 1980s. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera replaced Glaze
with Phil Anselmo in 1987. With its fifth album, 1990's Cowboys from Hell, Pantera introduced
a groove metal sound. The sixth album, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power, exhibited even heavier
sound. Far Beyond Driven (1994) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.[1]
Tensions began to surface amongst the band members when Anselmo became addicted to heroin in
1995, which nearly led to his death in 1996 following an overdose. These tensions resulted in the
recording sessions for The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) to be held separately. The ongoing
tension lasted for another seven years, in which only one studio album, Reinventing the
Steel (2000), was recorded. Pantera went on hiatus in 2001, but was disbanded by the Abbott
brothers in 2003 amid communication problems and their conclusion that Anselmo would not return
to the band.
The Abbott brothers went on to form Damageplan, while Anselmo began work on several side
projects, including Down in which Rex Brown joined as well. On December 8, 2004, Dimebag Darrell
was shot and killed on stage by a deranged fan during a Damageplan concert inColumbus, Ohio,
permanently ending hopes for a reunion.[2][3]

Contents
[hide]

1 History
o

1.1 Formation and early glam years (19811987)

1.2 Anselmo's induction (19871989)

1.3 Cowboys from Hell (19891991)

1.4 Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven (19921994)

1.5 Band tension and The Great Southern Trendkill (19941996)

1.6 Overdose, Official Live: 101 Proof, and side projects (19962000)

1.7 Reinventing the Steel and break-up (20002003)

1.8 Damageplan and the murder of Dimebag Darrell (2004)

1.9 Aftermath (2004present)

2 Style, influences and legacy

3 Band members
o

3.1 Timeline

4 Discography

5 References

6 External links

History[edit]
Formation and early glam years (19811987)[edit]
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 lead guitar, and Terry
Glaze on rhythm guitar; the line-up was completed with two more unofficial members, namely
vocalist Donnie Hart and bassist Tommy D. Bradford. In 1982, the band was renamed Pantera in
order to shorten the name and to settle an agreement between all band members. Hart left the band
because he did not agree with the band's ethics 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 Rex Rocker). Pantera became an underground favorite, though its regional
tours in this era never took them beyond Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The band began
supporting fellow heavy metal/glam metal acts such as Stryper, Dokken, andQuiet Riot, who in turn

promoted Pantera's debut, Metal Magic. Metal Magic was released on the band's record label of the
same name in 1983 and produced by the Abbott brothers' father,Jerry Abbott (referred to as "The
Eldn"), at Pantego Studios.[4]
The following year, Pantera released its second studio album, Projects in the Jungle. Though still
very much a glam metal album, the band members crafted songs that had less overbearing melodic
influences than songs from Metal Magic. Another change was Terry Glaze's name, as he was
henceforth credited as "Terrence Lee". In addition, a music video for the album's lead track, "All Over
Tonight", was eventually created. Projects in the Jungle was also released on the band's
independent Metal Magic Records label and produced by Jerry Abbott. 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. Pantera's
second music video was produced for the track "Hot and Heavy".

Anselmo's induction (19871989)[edit]

1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums that would prove influential
to Pantera's developing musical style. Among the most prominent of these wereMetallica's Master of
Puppets, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Anthrax's Among the Living and Megadeth's Peace Sells... but
Who's Buying?[5][page needed] Terrence Lee's glam approach did not fit the band's new outlook and he and
the other members parted ways, beginning the search for his replacement. Terrence then went on to
form rock group, Lord Tracy. The band went through temporary vocalists Rick Mythiasin (also known
from the bands Steel Prophet and Agent Steel), Dave Peacock and Matt LAmour before eventually
discovering New Orleans nativePhil Anselmo in 1987. Anselmo had previously been the vocalist for
the bands Samhain[4] (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig's band of the same name) and Razor
White. 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.
Complementing the band's new sonic approach were Anselmo's harder-edged vocals compared to
those of Terrence Lee. After the release of Power Metal, the band members decided to seriously
reconsider their glam metal sound and image. Referring to the band's spandex appearance, Vinnie
Paul remarked at a band meeting that "These magic clothes don't play music; we do. Let's just go
out there and be comfortablejeans, t-shirt, whateverand see where it goes." [5] As with the
previous three 1980s albums, Power Metal was released on Metal Magic Records. Power
Metal showed a change in their sound. 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.