Pantera

Vulgar Display Of Power

Metal for a Punk Fan

Review Score:

(10/10)
Hey, I could care less about all this "who's really metal" stuff everyone is spewing. It's bad enough having to listen to punks whine about who's punk, gimme a break.

This is really a great, solid album. It's definitely Pantera's most accessible work, but don't let that make you think it's soft or made-for-radio. It basically means that the songs have more traditional structure than you might find in their other albums. Very listenable rather than random-sounding experimentation like you might find in other metal albums.

Now, I'm not a pure metal fan, but I do like Metallica, Napalm Death and Sepultura... also Motorhead is one of my all-time favorite bands. I don't know what you guys call "metal" but I also love AC/DC and Black Sabbath. I'm more of a punk guy, metal as a genre tends to get a bit grating but there are some gems out there... and I think this is one of them. Hopefully that puts my opinion in perspective.

I like music that's energetic and anthemic, and gets you moving. I also like a lot of talent in the band, and I think Diamond is a great guitarist... BEING A GUITARIST MYSELF, anyone who is saying he [is bad]is out of their mind. People who complain about Philip's screaming... it is very high quality screaming and he does hit notes... do the Fourier transform and see for yourself. Those people just want to hear Metallica sing a ballad. Pantera are also amazingly fast, just a great energetic band. The lyrics are fairly cool in places but can be a bit offensive, but that's more of a warning than anything... it takes a LOT to offend me and it doesn't bother me.

I have a couple Pantera albums and this is the best from among them, "Far Beyond Driven" is also good but not as "even" as this one.

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