Metal Reviews

They were arguably the most groundbreaking metal band of the 90's. They're widely credited as the band that kept metal viable after Nirvana. And they pretty much established the core sound of modern mainstream metal, which continues even to this day. That band was, of course, Pantera.

But 20 years after their breakthrough album (Cowboys From Hell), what do you think of them? Were they awesome, or were they overrated?

Well, I'm not going to lie to you guys: I am a Pantera fan. Granted, I've never heard their 80's glam albums. But I can say with a straight face that Cowboys From Hell, Far Beyond Driven, and especially Vulgar Display Of Power are three of my favorite 90's metal albums. The Great Southern Trendkill and Reinventing The Steel were very good (in fact, Drag The Waters and Yesterday Don't Mean Shit are two of my favorite Pantera songs). But the prior three albums IMO showed (90's) Pantera at their peak. They were excellently produced (in fact, Vulgar Display probably had some of the best production of any metal album up to that point), heavy-yet-catchy, and they actually managed to sound fresh during a time when many felt metal had become stagnant (Exhorder influence not withstanding).

Many complain about Pantera's whole "tough guy image/sound." However, I think it's important to mention (for the record) that, unlike many of their followers, Pantera was very tongue-in-cheek about it. In the midst of Phil's growling and ranting, the band's music almost broke the fourth wall to wink at the listener and tell him, "We know this is silly/goofy, but goddamnit! It's fun!" By contrast, many of their imitators (such as Lamb Of God) have a similar "tough guy image/sound" but, in comparison, handle it so... joylessly. Not realizing that a significant part of Pantera's greatness was their subtle sense of humor and ability to play brutal thrash/groove metal without taking themselves too seriously (well, unless of course you called them out on their glam metal past, but that's another issue).

So, even though I may be flamed for it, I vote "Awesome!"

Awesome, no metal band grooves like they do.
But some people probably over glorify them at times...

Eh.

Eh. Not an expert, but crediting a single band with keeping metal alive is silly, and the core sound of modern metal being post-Pantera isn't that much of a good thing. I don't think I've listened to them in years, they just bore me now. Lamb Of God are better songwriters, overall.

I dunno if I've even heard any Pantera :(

Pantera could write awesome riffs and had some great moments in their songs. That being said, they are terrible song writers. They repeat the same riff over and over until it gets boring. If they could have just figured out how write more interesting songs they could have been a truly great band.

So, basically what I'm saying is, I can enjoy them in small doses, but overall I think they are overrated. Oh, and the past 4 Lamb of God albums are far superior to anything Pantera released.

I really don't like them. Around in like 2000 I was in my teens, and I think that every wanna be tough kid and their mother listened to Panterrible.

I always thought that they were just alright. I mean, I'll listen to a Pantera song if I REALLY have to ( IE Bar, friends place, whatever ) but otherwise that shit gets turned off immediately. I don't like what they do, I don't really think any of them are as outstanding or memorable as people give them credit for, and while it'd be stupid of me to say that Dimebag isn't influencial to bazillions of bands, I don't think he's all that great.

So, yeah. Overrated. Very overrated. Only song I really like by them is The Great Southern Trendkill or maybe Cemetary Gates.

Awesome without a doubt not the best , but still an excellent band in their own right.

I was waiting for someone to post the cover to Metal Magic. I was going to take it upon myself to do so if no-one else would. Glad to see that my services aren't needed.

Proud to be Loud!

It's fun to work out too. Beyond that, it's for inbred rednecks to get drunk and beat their wives to.

+1 to all who support lamb of god over pantera
lamb of god is superior in everyway to pantera
im a fan of pantera but i much prefer lamb of god

And who could forget this?



"ARE YOU TALKING TO ME? ARE YOU TALKING TO ME???"

Diamond is a way cooler nickname than Dimebag.

Pantera is awesome and overrated at same time. But I think it's slighty more overrated than awesome.

Pantera are cute until you realize you could be listening to the same thing being done much better by Lamb of God. And even that only works for a couple of songs.

This.

God, Vinnie Paul looks like Roseanne with a jerry curl.

I don't even like Pantera that much, but that, Sir, is bullshit. In my opinion at least. Lamb of God is prbably the most overrated band that has ever come out of the US.