Pantera

Far Beyond Driven

The Greatest Album Of All Time

Review Score:

(10/10)
I may have reviewed this before but i'm sure it's not as good as the review I will now give it. To me, Pantera are the epitome of metal. They are everything that metal is and should be. From their first major label debut through RTS they have continued to show their roots and never have compromised their selves or their music. Although each pantera album is different than the last it still sounds the same in the fact that it's straight head balls to the wall heavy metal. Not many bands still do this type of metal and it's really cool that pantera still carry the banner.

Musically, it's just heavy, fat, guitar riffs over some heavy bass. Some of Pantera's best riffs are from this cd. It doesn't have much in the way of guitar solos so if you want to hear Dimebag kick out some cool solos then check out their first two cds, Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display Of Power. This cd here is just so brutal and unrelenting in it's heaviness that there is just no time for solos. They wanted to make a brutal album, even more so than VDOP,and they really hit it on the nail with this album.

All four members are in top form (like always) on this album and they each give it all they have like there will be no tomorrow. Vinnie Paul is my favorite drummer because he has such a unique style. So many metal drummers just pound the drums like they are beating someone to death but Vinnie brings in style. He only pounds when needed. He does technique over speed and it comes off as a winning formula.

Rex is a very underrated bass player but he is one of my favs(steve harris of iron maiden is my favorite) of all time. His bass is very heavy sounding and he is the back bone of this band. Pantera only have one guitar player so they depend on rex A LOT to keep the sound going, especially during a solo.

Dimebag Darrel is the man with a plan on guitar. He knows how to write a riff and how to play with the utmost attention and skill. He can make some odd noises with his guitar that are truly unique and awesome. His riffs are HUGE and some of them makes it feel as if your head is expanding when you hear them. He has a huge sabbath(i hate this band though) influence and a bluesy influence to his guitar yet he still retains his own sound and never sounds cheesy. The ultimate metal guitar player, folks.

Phil Anselmo has the best metal voice of all time. He has clean vocals but it isn't "nice" sounding like regular singing but he also doesn't have too brutal of a voice that you find in more extreme metal. It's the perfect metal voice.

I'm going to say something about each song which I usually don't do in reviews :)

Strength Beyond Strength - STRONGER THAN ALL! Those immortal words are in this song. A pretty fast song, close to thrash metal sounding. The riff that stars at 40 seconds into the song is AMAZING.

Becoming - Awesome song. The double bass on the song from vinnie will BLOW YOU AWAY. Some of the best double bass usuage I have ever heard.

5 Minutes Alone - Stars with a very cool riff and it has a cool little solo thingy with Rex shining on the bass. Some of his best bass notes are hidden in this song. One of my favorite pantera songs, if not my favorite.

I'm Broken - One of my favorite riffs of all time is the main riff to this song. I love the chorus as well.

Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills - Great song. Some weird noises being made by the guitar from dime. This song has a EXCELLENT bass line from ol' rex and some great double bass(again, eheehe) from vinnie. The chorus is school with Phil screaming like a madman and with him laughing over that. Very cool. ALso, the lyrics are CRAZY!

Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks - A very sludgy song with a that is a Haunting sounding. Has a good guitar solo with another great bass line by rex. Super good song.

Slaughtered - This song is pile driving and has a good force to it. The song nails you in with rex and vinnie once again providing some good bass. Phil's vocals are almost death metal in this song. One of my favorite pantera songs vocals. Riff wise, this is one of Dimebag's crowning achievments. Just listen to that double bass that starts at 3:30 in the song! Whoa, it's amazing!

25 Years - one of the longest on the cd yet it never get's boring. Another very heaving and sludgy song that picks up later on. The part where phils says, "we're fukking you back, fukking your back" is cool

Shedding Skin - Another One of my favorite pantera songs. This song alternates from a melodic sections with phil doing a deep whisper sing to a heavy section with phil screaming and these two parts working together and add a cool dimension to the song. I love the riff during the chorus. One of dimebag's best. This song has two guitar solos in it and they are good and Rex's bass lines during the solos are top notch

Use My Third Arm - Whoa! Now this is pantera doing some thrash! This one does not let up until it's over and it's very very energetic. The riffs at 33 seconds into the song, 2:37 into the song, are so amazing that it's worth the price of admission alone. The ending of the song is super super awesome with dimebag just making some whacked out noises and vinne pounding the drums and rex doing this higher pitched bass sound.

Throes Of Rejection - There is a part in here where dimebag is doing this cool riff and then everything stops and vinnie does this double bass thing and it sounds flawless. The solo in this song is great and the riffs after the solo are some of the best ever from dimebag.

Planet Caravan - Ah, this song is a great finish to the album. The whole first 11 tracks are heavy and brutal then this song comes up and finishes everything off with a cool tone. It's like a burn that starts out painful and hot then cools down. A great way to end an album. This has phil singing very melodic which is something he doesn't do very often with pantera and it's really good. Vinnie stops killing us with the drums and does some sort of bongo drum thing. Rex bass really shines on this song too. Then there is a solo by dimebag that is very blues sounding and goes with the the mood of the song. This a cover of a black sabbath song and pantera does it better here and blows ozzy and the gang away(i never liked sabbath or ozzy so I am a little biased on this song).

All in all, this, in my opinion, is the greatest album of all time. I love this cd so much and I listen to it all the time. It is perfect in every way and I highly suggest you check this out. If you don't like metal of any kind then I doubt you could enjoy this though. however, if you like metal then it is PERFECT for you. Pantera's best album and a crowning achievement in metal.

UP THE IRONS!!..

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