Still Spinning: Pantera, "Power Metal"

The announcement of a Pantera “reunion” tour in 2023 leaves me with a lot of mixed feelings. Obviously, a true reunion is impossible, and I really hope that they ultimately spin this tour as a tribute to guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbot rather than a return of the band. While I’m a huge fan of guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) and drummer Charlie Benante (Anthrax), they’re not the late Abbot brothers and this is not Pantera. That said, it would be great to hear those songs live again, and, yeah, I’ll probably go. But the announcement brought to mind another record that I’ve meant to write about for a long time, the album that featured the debut of vocalist Phil Anselmo: 1988’s Power Metal:

Normally, when I write in the Still Spinning series, they’re records overlooked by fans – but in this case, it’s a record that was buried by the band itself. In the 1980s, a very young Pantera released four albums. Their first three, Metal Magic (1983), Projects in the Jungle (1984) and I Am the Night (1985) featured vocalist Terry Glaze, with Anselmo joining for the fourth. When Pantera made its major label debut on Atlantic with Cowboys From Hell in 1990, it was with a much heavier and thrashier sound than the previous four records, which ranged from glam rock to Judas Priest-influenced heavy metal. With their newfound following of heavier music fans and the hair metal scene of the 1980s waning, Pantera did their best to cover up and ignore the existence of those first albums.

Sunday Sabbath: "Planet Caravan," from Paranoid (1970)

If ever there’s been a soundtrack for the acid trip, it’s probably the third song from Paranoid – “Planet Caravan.” When Pantera covered it for their Far Beyond Driven album, they took that feel even further, creating a trippy animated video that suited the song well. As much as I liked Dimebag’s performance on that version, though, the original still rules.

Though we’d heard psychedelic sounds on the band’s first album, “Planet Caravan” was the first hint of it that we heard on Paranoid, but it’s a full dose.

Stuck in My Head: "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, "Whiskey Road"

Unlike many passed artists, “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott doesn’t seem to have left behind much unreleased material. Either that or his family is being very careful with what they let out. But every now and then, something we haven’t heard before trickles out.

A while back, Guitar World premiered the track “Whiskey Road,” recorded on Pantera’s final tour in 2001. The song features the late Dimebag on all instruments and vocals, and though it’s a rough demo, it shows a lot of promise. If you’re expecting a crushing Pantera tune, think again. “Whiskey Road” is a Southern rock drinking song from start to finish. Though there’s a little bit of “Cemetery Gates” in the clean guitar sound and some of the leads, there’s a lot more twang than crunch.

Saturday Shuffle: Testament, Crue, Danzig, Pantera, Anthrax

This week's shuffle is a pretty hard-hitting lineup ...


Testament, “Electric Crown.” From the album The Ritual (1992). Testament never got the press of the Big Four of thrash, but they can stand with the best of them. This album was a bit of a shock at the time with a couple of ballads and, at times, a more accessible direction. Over time, I’ve come to have a greater appreciation for it. This is just a great heavy metal tune, not as thrashing as perhaps what we expected from them, but with a great hook.

Saturday Shuffle: Savatage, Skynyrd, Billy Idol, Red Eye Gravy, Pantera

Jon Oliva hits a high note, Skynyrd goes creepy with John 5 and Pantera shreds this week ...


Savatage, “Somewhere in Time/Alone You Breathe.” From the album Wake of Magellan (1997). Can I get a hell yeah? Jon Oliva and a piano performing a medley of “Somewhere in Time” from Streets and “Alone You Breathe” from Handful of Rain. This bonus track, for me, is easily one of the strongest performances on Wake of Magellan, and I love the record.

Review: Down, "Down IV: Part 2"

On this second in a series of EPs which will eventually add up to Down’s fourth studio album, the band continues to dish out the same Sabbath-inspired punishment that marked the first EP released in late 2012.

Nowhere is that more evident than fourth track “Conjure,” which follows the Sabbath template to the letter. The eight and a half minute track opens with a ten-ton, doomy slab of a droning riff that probably has Tony Iommi hitting his lawyer’s speed dial right about now. Then Phil Anselmo (Pantera) comes in on vocals, also sounding a bit Ozzy-ish, at least on those first lines. Then about halfway through, guitarist Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity) kicks the speed up with a galloping break in the old Sabbath tradition. Finally, they settle back into that heavy dirge to finish things out.

Saturday Shuffle: Poison, BLS, Quiet Riot, Pantera, Alestorm

A guilty pleasure, a rare miss from Zakk Wylde and the beginnings of my metal journey ...


“Look What the Cat Dragged In,” Poison. From the album Look What the Cat Dragged In (1986). So, yeah, it’s tough to defend Poison, but I will defend this song against the most ardent of hair metal haters. The riff is tough as nails – the best in the band’s repertoire, and despite its shallow nature, it’s a great hard rock song.

Saturday Shuffle: Down, Alestorm, Jon Oliva's Pain, Pantera, Philip Anselmo

A very Phil-centric shuffle this week ...

Down, “The Seed.” From the album Down II (2002). The power of the riff compels me. Down II, despite what some think, may just be my favorite album from the band. This tune is a great groover with the usual Sabbath and stoner rock overtones that you get from the band. Good stuff that’s as sludgy as the south Louisiana swamps it was born from.

Saturday Shuffle: Pantera, Metallica, Adler, BLS, Black Sabbath

Some killer live stuff from Pantera and some new stuff from familiar faces this week:

Pantera, "A New Level." From the bootleg Black Tooth (1998).  The Black Tooth bootleg is perhaps the best-known by Pantera and far more interesting than their official live record. Phil Anselmo is obviously trashed as he rambles from the stage, but it makes his performances that much more intense. We get a warts-and-all Pantera performance that’s actually a pretty strong show despite Phil’s condition. “A New Level” was never one of my favorite Pantera tracks, but they rip it here.

Saturday Shuffle: Pantera, Gloryhammer, Annihilator, Anthrax, Wayne Hancock

Some old stuff, some new stuff in this week's edition of the shuffle:

Pantera, “Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks.” From the album Far Beyond Driven (1994). I differ from many Pantera fans in that Far Beyond Driven is my personal favorite. “Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks,” for some reason seems to come up a lot on my shuffles, though it’s not one of my favorites from the record. It’s still rock solid, though.

Saturday Shuffle: Amon Amarth, Jon Oliva, Slash, White Wizzard, Pantera

Another hard rocking week, from melodic death to pre CFH Pantera ...

Amon Amarth, “And Soon the World Will Cease to Be (Live).” From the album Vs. the World Bonus Edition (2009). This re-issue of the band’s 2002 record featured a second disc with the entire album performed live. This tune, the final cut on the album, is crushing, heavy and melodic. 

Saturday Shuffle: W.A.S.P., Lamb of God, BLS, Tim Owens, Pantera

All metal, all the time this week, though a couple of songs are on the softer side...

W.A.S.P., “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” From the album Inside the Electric Circus (1986). This was one of the weakest releases in the W.A.S.P. catalog, and unlike their other 1980s albums, I very rarely give it a listen these days. This is one of the better songs from it, though.

Review: Philip Anselmo and the Illegals, "Walk Through Exits Only"

Phil Anselmo is angry. And he’s going to scream at you until you get it. That’s the general gist of his first solo album Walk Through Exits Only.

The record opens with a nearly two-minute intro track, “Music Media is My Whore,” which is dissonant, choppy and uncomfortable as he announces his intent to make a type of music that’s never been made before. I’m not quite sure that he achieves that lofty goal, but the eight tracks on this record are certainly different.

There are portions of the album that are like a hard slap in the face or a baseball bat pummeling you over the head. They’re ugly, gnarly and beastly. But nearly every time, those passages are balanced by others where you find yourself bobbing your head and locking into the groove, the way you would with a Pantera or Down record.

Saturday Shuffle: Down, Jamey Johnson, Metallica, Dio, Pantera

A couple of Phil Anselmo's finer moments, a couple of bona fide metal classics, oh, and a country song wedged in there ...

Down, “Mourn.” From the album Down III: Over the Under (2007). I thought this was a very tastefully done tribute to “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and a very good way for Phil Anselmo to address the controversy surrounding it, with him being blocked from the funeral and blacklisted by members of Dime’s family.

Review: "The Merciless Book of Metal Lists" by Howie Abrams and Sacha Jenkins

I think there’s something innate in music fans that drives them to want to make lists. And then, of course, to argue about those lists to the death.

With "The Merciless Book of Metal Lists" ($18.95, Abrams Books), Howie Abrams and Sacha Jenkins take it to a new level. After a foreword by Slayer’s Kerry King (which is really more of a Q&A, actually), they jump right into all of the obligatory lists — best metal bands, best guitarist, best singer, best drummer, best bassist and so on.

Sure, those are fun to agree or disagree with, but it’s the other pieces of the book that actually make it so entertaining. It’s quite possible that even the hardcore metalhead might find something to explore in some of the lists where they play it straight.

Review: Philip H. Anselmo/Warbeast, "War of the Gargantuas" split

Long rumored and long awaited, this split EP from Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Records gives fans the first taste of the former Pantera and current Down frontman’s upcoming solo work.

Warbeast, a Texas thrash/speed metal outfit which is out on the road with Down now, was one of the first signings to Anselmo’s label and rounds out this four-song collection with two abrasive, breakneck tracks — “Birth of a Psycho” and “IT.” Both are solid efforts, calling on the classic thrash sound of the 1980s, but bringing a modern edge to it. There’s a lot of Slayer, particularly in “IT,” but a taste of Pantera, too, along with some European influences.

Review: Texas Hippie Coalition, "Peacemaker"

If somewhere in the Lone Star State there were a city where Pantera Boulevard crossed Skynyrd Street, at that intersection, you’d probably find the world headquarters of Texas Hippie Coalition.

The band describes itself as Red Dirt Metal, and it’s as good a description as any. Like the bands that are often identified as part of the red dirt movement, THC has elements of southern rock, country and other genres, but they also add a bit of extreme to the mix, drawing on the power grooves of Pantera, the heavy rock of Black Label Society and even the occasional modern metal influence.

15 Years, 15 Records: 2006 -- Gone country

If I went back for my whole life, 2006 would probably be the only year that a country album would lead my best-of list. For 2006, though, my top two records are country.

If I had to pick the best record for the first decade of this century, it would be tough to not pick Hank III’s Straight to Hell for its impact on me, personally, and on the underground country scene in general.

While Johnny Cash’s American Recordings in 1994 was the album that reintroduced me to country music and opened me up to listening to some of the classic artists of the genre, it was Straight to Hell that led directly to my discovery of artists who are playing a more traditional form of country today.

15 Years, 15 Records: 2000, Alice Cooper gets 'Brutal'

The thrashing opening riff of Alice Cooper’s Brutal Planet announces immediately that this record is going to be a little different. The record, which is essentially a morality play, is darker and bleaker with less of Cooper’s trademark black humor, though it does creep in on songs like “It’s the Little Things.”

It’s a heavier record musically, easily Alice’s most metallic, and the themes that he tackles in the songs are heavier as well. It was part of a trio of heavier records, ending with 2001’s Dragontown, after which he returned to his garage rock roots.

15 Years, 15 Records: 1997, Bruce Dickinson returns

It’s the first year in the series, and already there’s a three-way battle for my favorite record between Bruce Dickinson’s comeback album Accident of Birth, Aerosmith’s underrated Nine Lives and Judas Priest’s debut with Tim “Ripper” Owens, Jugulator. In the end, though, Dickinson’s reunion with Adrian Smith and return to a more familiar brand of metal won out.

I quite enjoyed Dickinson’s solo debut, Tattooed Millionaire, even though it was more of a brand of 1970s hard rock than what I was familiar with from his days in Iron Maiden. His second outing, Balls To Picasso, left me a little cold. I loved “Tears of the Dragon” and a few other songs, but didn’t care for most of the record. By the time the strange Skunkworks arrived, I had pretty much written him off.