1. Black Sabbath
A tolling bell cuts through a torrential thunderstorm. Then, a trudging, three-note riff is capped with a sinister guitar trill. As moody drum fills tumble ominously, a powerful, nasal voice sings, "What is this that stands before me?/ A figure in black which points at me." The year is 1970 and the horned beast of heavy metal has just been born: Black Sabbath have arrived.Musically, Sabbath's inception marked the moment when rock, blues, psychedelia and the occult fused into a powerfully volatile medium. The band's appeal was largely due to the disparate voices and collective might of its members. Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne looked like a disillusioned hippie gripped by madness and consumed by hatred, but he sang memorable melodies with a fatalistic sneer that resonated like a rock through a window. Guitarist Tony Iommi (who'd lost the tips of three fingers in a factory accident, inadvertently spawning the band's down-tuned sound) drew influence from Led Zeppelin, Cream and Blue Cheer and amped up the sound with extra distortion and chugging power chords; bassist Geezer Butler played imaginative counter-lines to the riffs and drummer Bill Ward made sure the music felt like thunder. Together, Black Sabbath were the sound of the world in flames — a working-class shout from the industrial hinterlands of Birmingham, England, to the post-Altamont generation, challenging them to accept a life of chaos and embrace the wreckage.
In addition to being heavy and menacing, Black Sabbath were also incredibly prolific. The band released its classic first four albums in a mere two-and-a-half years. Four more LPs with Osbourne followed before long-simmering tensions led to his departure from the band; he was replaced by Ronnie James Dio, who recorded two impressive albums with Sabbath before leaving to form the eponymously named outfit that continues to this day.
Sabbath persevered through the '80s and '90s, releasing albums and touring with a variety of vocalists, but none could recapture the majesty and insanity of the Ozzy years. Finally, in 1997, Ozzy convinced Iommi and Butler to reunite with him to headline the heralded Ozzfest; Ward was on board for reunion shows at the end of that year, which were released as a live LP, Reunion. The drummer's participation in Sabbath tours has been on-again off-again, and the band's plans to record a new studio LP have yet to reach fruition, but all four members took the stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony earlier this year for the long-overdue induction of this most quintessential heavy metal band.
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Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1971), Master of Reality (1971), Volume 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), Heaven and Hell (1980), Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath (retrospective).
"They were and still are a groundbreaking band. Even though they haven't released any new music in ages, you can put on the first Black Sabbath album and it still sounds as fresh today as it did 30-odd years ago. And that's because great music has a timeless ability: To me, Sabbath are in the same league as the Beatles or Mozart. They're on the leading edge of something extraordinary." — Rob Halford, Judas Priest
"To create something from nothing is impossible (unless you're a wizard). So what Black Sabbath did was magic. These four wizards from Birmingham created a genre of music that didn't exist before Tony Iommi put tipless fingers to fretboard and changed the world. It's as if the notes were just floating around in the ether waiting to be heard until Tony, with the power of his hands, plucked them from limbo to share their doom-onic song with all of us. Sabbath channeled those notes into five perfect albums of pure heavy metal. It's theirs. They own it. Everyone else that followed — Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Pantera (all great bands in their own right) — are just leasing." — Scott Ian, Anthrax
"The heaviest, scariest, coolest riffs and the apocalyptic Ozzy wail are without peer. You can hear the despair and menace of the working-class Birmingham streets they came from in every kick-ass, evil groove. Their arrival ground hippy, flower-power psychedelia to a pulp and set the standard for all heavy bands to come." — Tom Morello, Audioslave/ Rage Against the Machine
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Do Sabbath also top your list? Check out reader top 10s and share your own thoughts in You Tell Us.
2. Judas Priest
If Black Sabbath planted the seeds of metal, their demon offspring Judas Priest made sure the vitriolic blossoms continued to flourish in fresh, exciting ways.
Between 1974 and 1990, Judas Priest — who arose from the same part of England as Sabbath and even shared a rehearsal space with them in the early days — were the keepers of the metal crown, writing songs that were slick as leather and sharp as spikes. Their mid-tempo sound — a surging mix of gleaming guitars, thundering beats and vocals that vaulted from fiery scowls to operatic howls — is custom-designed for headbanging. And their twin-axe attack gives them enormous flexibility: At any given point in a song, guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing can create a dense, impenetrable wall of sound, play flashy guitar harmonies or work in tandem where one provides grinding rhythm while the other solos.
But most of all it is singer Rob Halford who brings the magic to Priest, with a menacing wail that has been often copied but never duplicated. In his songs, Halford addresses themes of self-empowerment, liberation and revenge — and when he screams for vengeance, he looks the part.
Indeed, Judas Priest's biker-bar stagewear, which the band adopted around the release of 1978's Hell Bent for Leather, shaped metal fashion in the '80s. Clad in studded leather and brandishing their instruments like weapons, the members were a vision of danger and devastation— and the band's shows traditionally culminate with Halford coming onstage for the encore astride a roaring motorcycle.
Ironically, Halford was depicted throughout the '80s as a ladykiller, and was frequently photographed with buxom models draped around his shoulders. But in 1998, about seven years after years after he left Judas Priest, he publicly admitted his homosexuality. Fortunately, there was no backlash, and when Halford rejoined the band in July 2003, new and old fans embraced his return. Priest's performance on Ozzfest in 2004 was one of the highlights of the festival, and the band kept the momentum flowing by returning to the studio and releasing a new album, Angel of Retribution, in 2005. Judas Priest are currently in the studio working on their next LP, an epic concept album about the life of legendary soothsayer Nostradamus. In 2007, the screaming will begin anew.
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Stained Class (1977), Hell Bent for Leather (1978), British Steel (1980), Point of Entry (1981), Screaming for Vengeance (1982), The Essential Judas Priest (retrospective).
"I still get giddy when we go on tour with Priest. I think they have a really unique two-guitar attack. Glenn Tipton's probably the most underrated guitar player in existence — he's just stunning. And K.K. Downing was a master of the dive bomb, so you'd probably say I patterned myself more after K.K. There's a little bit of both of them in [my style]. And they're just great f---ing dudes. I still clam up around them." — Kerry King, Slayer
"Real metal for me is Judas Priest, because they don't have any other qualities except metal. They're just pure, 100-percent metal, whereas a band like Metallica has gone through stages where they weren't so metal." — Michael Amott, Arch Enemy
"The first Priest tune I ever heard was 'Painkiller' when I was, like, 10 years old, and it just blew me away. That whole album is still one of the best metal albums ever. I was hooked, and it wasn't until five years later that I even heard their earlier stuff. Probably my number-one metal moment was when I got to play 'Living After Midnight' with the metal god himself, Rob Halford, in Japan." — Alexi Laiho, Children of Bodom
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"#2 through #9 could be switched around in any order" according to Gary from Pennsylvania. Line up your order and check out other reader lists. You tell us!
3. Metallica
In 1982, a Los Angeles-based independent label called Metal Blade opened shop with Metal Massacre, a compilation album that featured songs by fairly heavy bands like Malice, Cirith Ungol, Steeler and others that have long since faded into obscurity. There was also a song from Ratt (about whom the less is said, the better) and that closing track, which cut the rest of the album to ribbons: "Hit the Lights," the first officially released song from a then-unknown San Francisco outfit called Metallica. Heavy metal — and rock music — would never be the same.
Metallica injected a much-needed dose of adrenaline and ferocity into the genre, and for the first four albums of their career, they were the meanest, tightest and most creative metal band on the planet. Combining the speed and sneer of Motörhead with the fist-clenched riffage of then-new British bands like Iron Maiden and Diamond Head, Metallica virtually invented thrash and, unlike many of their peers, emphasized melody and nuance as much as speed and volume.
Frontman James Hetfield spouted tales of violence and fantasy, but he also preached freedom and self-reliance. And although his voice was gruff and aggressive, he sometimes dropped his guard and exhibited a hint of vulnerability. His vocal skills were surpassed only by his fierce, precise rhythm guitar work, which provided the sonic backbone for the fiery leads of guitarist Kirk Hammett, the acrobatic thunder of drummer Lars Ulrich and the versatile bass playing of the late Cliff Burton (and later Jason Newsted and Robert Trujillo).
Yet the band's punkish, renegade attitude counted for as much as the music. For a long time, the approach paid off, especially after they decided to slow down, streamline their arrangements and simplify their melodies for their blockbuster self-titled LP (a.k.a. "The Black Album") in 1991.
But for many, that single-mindedness has been Metallica's greatest flaw. When they strayed from their signature sound and incorporated boogie-blues, country-rock and alt-rock into their music on 1996's Load and its companion album, 1997's Reload, — and, more shockingly, cut their hair — Metallica was harshly criticized by the metal community. And when they tried to single-handedly take on illegal downloading by suing Napster in 2000, they were widely perceived as greedy. Then, when Metallica experimented with studio improvisation and lo-fi recording techniques on St. Anger — not to mention airing their therapy sessions in the film "Some Kind of Monster" — they were dismissed as being arty and out of touch.
Even so, Metallica have continued to sell out arenas and remain a devastating force in concert. Regardless of how you feel about the last decade of the band's career, their early innovations were groundbreaking, affecting nearly every metal band that followed.
Kill 'Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), Master of Puppets (1986), Metallica ("The Black Album") (1991).
"The name says it. They really brought the speed thing to the forefront when they came out, and they've been doing it for 25-plus years. They're the real deal, man. Master of Puppets was the greatest record they ever made. It was when they were at the top of their game, and wrote the best songs they ever wrote. I love it, start to finish — every song. Everybody knew they were the big dog on the block, and they never had to watch out for anybody. We [Pantera] were the only band that ever really got close to achieving what they did. They were a band to measure your accomplishments by." — Vinnie Paul, Pantera/ Damageplan
"They've always been an inspiration to Korn. I love that they've done things their own way and they've persevered over the years and they're still relevant to this day. They still sell out arenas everywhere they go. I'm just a huge fan. They refused to make the same kind of album twice, and I really respect them for that. I think they're one of the greatest bands ever." — Jonathan Davis, Korn
"I love everything they've ever done. 'The Black Album' is one of my favorite albums of all time. To be able to write riffs like that, with such driving beats ... sometimes simplifying things is way more impactful. But my favorite album is [1988's] ... And Justice For All." — Zacky Vengeance, Avenged Sevenfold
Jimmy from L.A. puts Metallica at #2, and blames the panel's "selective memory" for their #3 ranking. Where do they fall on your top 10? You tell us!
Metallica injected a much-needed dose of adrenaline and ferocity into the genre, and for the first four albums of their career, they were the meanest, tightest and most creative metal band on the planet. Combining the speed and sneer of Motörhead with the fist-clenched riffage of then-new British bands like Iron Maiden and Diamond Head, Metallica virtually invented thrash and, unlike many of their peers, emphasized melody and nuance as much as speed and volume.
Frontman James Hetfield spouted tales of violence and fantasy, but he also preached freedom and self-reliance. And although his voice was gruff and aggressive, he sometimes dropped his guard and exhibited a hint of vulnerability. His vocal skills were surpassed only by his fierce, precise rhythm guitar work, which provided the sonic backbone for the fiery leads of guitarist Kirk Hammett, the acrobatic thunder of drummer Lars Ulrich and the versatile bass playing of the late Cliff Burton (and later Jason Newsted and Robert Trujillo).
Yet the band's punkish, renegade attitude counted for as much as the music. For a long time, the approach paid off, especially after they decided to slow down, streamline their arrangements and simplify their melodies for their blockbuster self-titled LP (a.k.a. "The Black Album") in 1991.
But for many, that single-mindedness has been Metallica's greatest flaw. When they strayed from their signature sound and incorporated boogie-blues, country-rock and alt-rock into their music on 1996's Load and its companion album, 1997's Reload, — and, more shockingly, cut their hair — Metallica was harshly criticized by the metal community. And when they tried to single-handedly take on illegal downloading by suing Napster in 2000, they were widely perceived as greedy. Then, when Metallica experimented with studio improvisation and lo-fi recording techniques on St. Anger — not to mention airing their therapy sessions in the film "Some Kind of Monster" — they were dismissed as being arty and out of touch.
Even so, Metallica have continued to sell out arenas and remain a devastating force in concert. Regardless of how you feel about the last decade of the band's career, their early innovations were groundbreaking, affecting nearly every metal band that followed.
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Kill 'Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), Master of Puppets (1986), Metallica ("The Black Album") (1991).
"The name says it. They really brought the speed thing to the forefront when they came out, and they've been doing it for 25-plus years. They're the real deal, man. Master of Puppets was the greatest record they ever made. It was when they were at the top of their game, and wrote the best songs they ever wrote. I love it, start to finish — every song. Everybody knew they were the big dog on the block, and they never had to watch out for anybody. We [Pantera] were the only band that ever really got close to achieving what they did. They were a band to measure your accomplishments by." — Vinnie Paul, Pantera/ Damageplan
"They've always been an inspiration to Korn. I love that they've done things their own way and they've persevered over the years and they're still relevant to this day. They still sell out arenas everywhere they go. I'm just a huge fan. They refused to make the same kind of album twice, and I really respect them for that. I think they're one of the greatest bands ever." — Jonathan Davis, Korn
"I love everything they've ever done. 'The Black Album' is one of my favorite albums of all time. To be able to write riffs like that, with such driving beats ... sometimes simplifying things is way more impactful. But my favorite album is [1988's] ... And Justice For All." — Zacky Vengeance, Avenged Sevenfold
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Jimmy from L.A. puts Metallica at #2, and blames the panel's "selective memory" for their #3 ranking. Where do they fall on your top 10? You tell us!
4. Iron Maiden
To say that a heavy metal band is larger than life verges on redundancy, since the entire genre is about being bigger, stronger, faster, louder and more intense. But even within the metal microcosm, Iron Maiden are larger and more iconic than most of their peers. Unlike many metal bands, however, Maiden's music isn't primarily about rage or revenge — it's more an outlet for escape. And since the release of their debut EP in 1979, Maiden have provided millions of fans with a high-energy vacation from life via thunderous guitars, galloping beats and melodramatic vocals that transport the listener wherever the lyrics command.
In addition to traditional horror-story fare, Iron Maiden have explored Greek mythology ("Flight of Icarus"), ancient Egypt ("Powerslave") and the bowels of hell ("The Number of the Beast"). They also addressed more historically significant subjects such as the genocide of Native Americans ("Run to the Hills") and the war in Iraq ("Face in the Sand"). The horrors described in their lyrics found physical manifestation in the band's ghoulish mascot, "Eddie the 'ead," which routinely joins them onstage in some or other robotic form. And, whether tackling a tale in a conventional four-minute framework or stretching a yarn into a 15-minute mini-epic, Maiden perform with equal vigor, laying down technically proficient passages and mindbending solos that impress without being pretentious.
Although the band recorded classics like "Running Free" and "Wrathchild" with original singer Paul Di'Anno, they hit their stride with his successor, Bruce Dickinson. Between 1982 and 1992, the band released a formidable series of high-impact songs driven by Dickinson's multi-octave vocals and unforgettable guitar parts. Yet the band's anchor since its 1977 inception has been Steve Harris, whose songwriting strength and signature, 16th-note-laden bass runs propel the Maiden sound.
In 1992, Dickinson quit the band to focus on his solo career and Maiden continued with singer Blaze Bailey, but the shift didn't work for either, and in 1999 the powerhouse lineup reunited, even stronger than ever: When early guitarist Adrian Smith, who'd left in 1989, said he wanted to return, the band boosted its lineup to include three guitarists, making the epic vibe of its music even more so. Since then, Maiden have logged thousands of miles on the road, just wrapped their third post-reunion studio LP (slated for release later this year) and look set for another decade of dominance.
Killers (1981), The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984).
"When Maiden came along it was a thrill to see there was another band that was going to go out and dominate the world and keep the faith of metal. It really is a cause that we live for, outside of playing in a metal band. We love this music so dearly and anyone that comes along and is able to keep the blood pumping is important, and Maiden were and still are. I think competitiveness is more of the active emotion, rather than rivalry." — Rob Halford, Judas Priest
"The first time I heard Killers, I was like, 'This is what it's all about.' It had all that power — and hooks. It had everything. They were hugely inspiring last year on Ozzfest, because you can see, decades later, that they had just as much energy onstage, and watching 15-year-old kids and 50-year-old dudes rocking out together is just so inspiring. If you stick to your guns, and never lose sight of what it is you do well, it never has to die. You can just keep going. Anytime I've ever felt tired, I thought, 'Man, you can't be tired. Bruce is up there running around for an hour and a half, covering 30 miles a night on that stage — I have nothing to complain about.' " — Brian Fair, Shadows Fall
"That was the first time I can remember waiting for albums [to be released]. I had just gotten Powerslave and I was waiting for Somewhere in Time to come out. It was vicious. Musically, it was fairly simplistic, but the way they put it together, it never sounded the same. They went back to those old mainstay chord progressions, but they always made it sound different. Steve Harris does more with four fingers than I've ever seen anybody do. And Bruce Dickinson? Dude! To me, he was the quintessential old-school heavy metal singer. He could hit notes that were just sick, and he was a great showman. Everything made me a fan. And there wasn't a dude that I hung out with that wasn't trying to draw Eddie on their schoolbooks." — Corey Taylor, Slipknot
"Iron Maiden is the greatest metal band without question." Oh yeah? Tell us where you'd put them on your list in You Tell Us.
5. Pantera
In addition to traditional horror-story fare, Iron Maiden have explored Greek mythology ("Flight of Icarus"), ancient Egypt ("Powerslave") and the bowels of hell ("The Number of the Beast"). They also addressed more historically significant subjects such as the genocide of Native Americans ("Run to the Hills") and the war in Iraq ("Face in the Sand"). The horrors described in their lyrics found physical manifestation in the band's ghoulish mascot, "Eddie the 'ead," which routinely joins them onstage in some or other robotic form. And, whether tackling a tale in a conventional four-minute framework or stretching a yarn into a 15-minute mini-epic, Maiden perform with equal vigor, laying down technically proficient passages and mindbending solos that impress without being pretentious.
Although the band recorded classics like "Running Free" and "Wrathchild" with original singer Paul Di'Anno, they hit their stride with his successor, Bruce Dickinson. Between 1982 and 1992, the band released a formidable series of high-impact songs driven by Dickinson's multi-octave vocals and unforgettable guitar parts. Yet the band's anchor since its 1977 inception has been Steve Harris, whose songwriting strength and signature, 16th-note-laden bass runs propel the Maiden sound.
In 1992, Dickinson quit the band to focus on his solo career and Maiden continued with singer Blaze Bailey, but the shift didn't work for either, and in 1999 the powerhouse lineup reunited, even stronger than ever: When early guitarist Adrian Smith, who'd left in 1989, said he wanted to return, the band boosted its lineup to include three guitarists, making the epic vibe of its music even more so. Since then, Maiden have logged thousands of miles on the road, just wrapped their third post-reunion studio LP (slated for release later this year) and look set for another decade of dominance.
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Killers (1981), The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984).
"When Maiden came along it was a thrill to see there was another band that was going to go out and dominate the world and keep the faith of metal. It really is a cause that we live for, outside of playing in a metal band. We love this music so dearly and anyone that comes along and is able to keep the blood pumping is important, and Maiden were and still are. I think competitiveness is more of the active emotion, rather than rivalry." — Rob Halford, Judas Priest
"The first time I heard Killers, I was like, 'This is what it's all about.' It had all that power — and hooks. It had everything. They were hugely inspiring last year on Ozzfest, because you can see, decades later, that they had just as much energy onstage, and watching 15-year-old kids and 50-year-old dudes rocking out together is just so inspiring. If you stick to your guns, and never lose sight of what it is you do well, it never has to die. You can just keep going. Anytime I've ever felt tired, I thought, 'Man, you can't be tired. Bruce is up there running around for an hour and a half, covering 30 miles a night on that stage — I have nothing to complain about.' " — Brian Fair, Shadows Fall
"That was the first time I can remember waiting for albums [to be released]. I had just gotten Powerslave and I was waiting for Somewhere in Time to come out. It was vicious. Musically, it was fairly simplistic, but the way they put it together, it never sounded the same. They went back to those old mainstay chord progressions, but they always made it sound different. Steve Harris does more with four fingers than I've ever seen anybody do. And Bruce Dickinson? Dude! To me, he was the quintessential old-school heavy metal singer. He could hit notes that were just sick, and he was a great showman. Everything made me a fan. And there wasn't a dude that I hung out with that wasn't trying to draw Eddie on their schoolbooks." — Corey Taylor, Slipknot
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"Iron Maiden is the greatest metal band without question." Oh yeah? Tell us where you'd put them on your list in You Tell Us.
5. Pantera
When they formed Pantera as teenagers, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and Vinnie Paul Abbott played melodic, Mötley Crüe-style songs that were nearly as flamboyant as their hairstyles. It wasn't until they added singer Phil Anselmo in 1987 that the Texas band started getting mean — and three years later, they found their voice with their second album with Anselmo, 1990's legendary Cowboys From Hell.
Despite its rather cheesy beginnings, the band metamorphosed into something few could have expected: Vicious and furious, the revitalized Pantera redefined heaviness with ripping thrash riffs, bludgeoning rhythms and Anselmo's caged-beast howls.
While never as musically diverse as Metallica, Pantera possessed two traits that made them innovators: a surging "power-groove" inspired by their Southern origins, and one of the best guitarists to ever to pick up an instrument. The late "Dimebag" Darrell's riffs were dense and devastating, and whether he was playing slow chugs or frenetic thrash, his style was instantly identifiable: shredding without wasting a note, and solos punctuated with squealing harmonics, queasy vibrato and ecstatic whammy-bar dives.
The members were just as in-your-face offstage as they were onstage, welcoming musicians and fans with open arms and open bottles, and engaging in the type of rock and roll revelry once enjoyed by their heroes in Kiss and Van Halen.
Between 1990 and 1996, Pantera remained consistently brutal and uncompromising, releasing four devastating studio albums and touring exhaustively, acting as standard-bearers at the height of alt-rock's popularity. But the years took their toll on the bandmembers, and a rift surfaced between the Abbott brothers on one side and Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown on the other. The group kept their personal differences at bay long enough to release a final studio disc, 2000's Reinventing the Steel. But soon after, it became clear that the gulf between the musicians had grown too wide, and Pantera broke up. Anselmo continued rocking in various groups, including Down and Superjoint Ritual, while Vinnie and Dime formed the crushing quartet Damageplan.
Tragically, a deranged fan ended Dime's life on December 7, 2004. And while nothing good came of that event, fans can find solace in the recordings Dime left behind, and the profound influence he's had on everyone from neo-thrashers Trivium to metalcore bands like Atreyu and Bleeding Through.
Cowboys From Hell (1990), A Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Far Beyond Driven (1994).
"Pantera combined the perfect amount of angst, musicianship, groove and heaviness. They waved the flag of metal for well over a decade when most 'heavy' bands were softening their sound to sell more records. Pantera helped saved metal from becoming completely contrived horsesh--. Every single real metal band on the planet today is influenced by Pantera in some shape or form." — Trevor Phipps, Unearth
"When I first heard Pantera, I was incredibly excited. Coming from the metal world, I was waiting and waiting for something to come blasting through the doors, and that's what they did. When I first heard Cowboys From Hell I thought, 'God, this is just awesome. We really need this type of sound and this type of attitude to shake things up.' In the history of rock and roll there have been an enormous number of bands that have come and gone, and the movers and shakers are the ones that are still significant. Pantera is one of those." — Rob Halford, Judas Priest
"The best thing about Pantera is they can do anything in their music, from the simplest to the most complex thing, and still be Pantera. For 'Walk,' it's pretty much two-and-a-half notes — and for two-and-a-half notes to make one of the heaviest riffs in metal ever, it shows they can be as minimalist as they want, and still be completely bludgeoning. And then they do extremely technical crazy sh-- like 'Domination.' Also, Pantera did the breakdown thing that's in all heavy music today long before anyone else thought of it. And Dimebag did all this shreddy stuff with so much feeling, it was incredible." — Corey Beaulieu, Trivium
"Pantera shouldn't be on the list" — is John from Brooklyn, New York, off his rocker or on to something? You tell us!
Despite its rather cheesy beginnings, the band metamorphosed into something few could have expected: Vicious and furious, the revitalized Pantera redefined heaviness with ripping thrash riffs, bludgeoning rhythms and Anselmo's caged-beast howls.
While never as musically diverse as Metallica, Pantera possessed two traits that made them innovators: a surging "power-groove" inspired by their Southern origins, and one of the best guitarists to ever to pick up an instrument. The late "Dimebag" Darrell's riffs were dense and devastating, and whether he was playing slow chugs or frenetic thrash, his style was instantly identifiable: shredding without wasting a note, and solos punctuated with squealing harmonics, queasy vibrato and ecstatic whammy-bar dives.
The members were just as in-your-face offstage as they were onstage, welcoming musicians and fans with open arms and open bottles, and engaging in the type of rock and roll revelry once enjoyed by their heroes in Kiss and Van Halen.
Between 1990 and 1996, Pantera remained consistently brutal and uncompromising, releasing four devastating studio albums and touring exhaustively, acting as standard-bearers at the height of alt-rock's popularity. But the years took their toll on the bandmembers, and a rift surfaced between the Abbott brothers on one side and Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown on the other. The group kept their personal differences at bay long enough to release a final studio disc, 2000's Reinventing the Steel. But soon after, it became clear that the gulf between the musicians had grown too wide, and Pantera broke up. Anselmo continued rocking in various groups, including Down and Superjoint Ritual, while Vinnie and Dime formed the crushing quartet Damageplan.
Tragically, a deranged fan ended Dime's life on December 7, 2004. And while nothing good came of that event, fans can find solace in the recordings Dime left behind, and the profound influence he's had on everyone from neo-thrashers Trivium to metalcore bands like Atreyu and Bleeding Through.
 |
Cowboys From Hell (1990), A Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Far Beyond Driven (1994).
"Pantera combined the perfect amount of angst, musicianship, groove and heaviness. They waved the flag of metal for well over a decade when most 'heavy' bands were softening their sound to sell more records. Pantera helped saved metal from becoming completely contrived horsesh--. Every single real metal band on the planet today is influenced by Pantera in some shape or form." — Trevor Phipps, Unearth
"When I first heard Pantera, I was incredibly excited. Coming from the metal world, I was waiting and waiting for something to come blasting through the doors, and that's what they did. When I first heard Cowboys From Hell I thought, 'God, this is just awesome. We really need this type of sound and this type of attitude to shake things up.' In the history of rock and roll there have been an enormous number of bands that have come and gone, and the movers and shakers are the ones that are still significant. Pantera is one of those." — Rob Halford, Judas Priest
"The best thing about Pantera is they can do anything in their music, from the simplest to the most complex thing, and still be Pantera. For 'Walk,' it's pretty much two-and-a-half notes — and for two-and-a-half notes to make one of the heaviest riffs in metal ever, it shows they can be as minimalist as they want, and still be completely bludgeoning. And then they do extremely technical crazy sh-- like 'Domination.' Also, Pantera did the breakdown thing that's in all heavy music today long before anyone else thought of it. And Dimebag did all this shreddy stuff with so much feeling, it was incredible." — Corey Beaulieu, Trivium
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"Pantera shouldn't be on the list" — is John from Brooklyn, New York, off his rocker or on to something? You tell us!
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