Cowboys From Hell: The Foundation of Pantera
Pantera’s major-label debut showed where they came from while setting the tone for their future.
Pantera’s formative career was spent in clubs. They dressed like the popular glam metal bands of the 1980s and featured a hard rock sound.
The group’s core consisted of brothers “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott on guitar and Vinnie Paul Abbott on drums along with bassist Rex Brown.
As they got older their tastes became heavier. The thrash metal movement spearheaded by the big four of Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer influenced them greatly.
In 1984, an 18-year-old Dimebag handled vocals on Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy,” while shredding all the guitar leads.
With their desire to move away from glam metal, Phil Anselmo joined the band as their frontman in 1987.
The group released Power Metal a year later. Judas Priest and Metallica are the prominent influences on this album and it was a step in the direction that the Anselmo-led lineup wanted to go in.
Cowboys From Hell
Pantera signed a major label deal and enlisted producer Terry Date to man the recording. The album leads off with the title track which is very much an…
