Pantera

Skipping clean over their time in the glam metal trenches during the '80s, the Original Album Series box set collects the five albums that make up the golden era of groove metal pioneers Pantera. Containing 1990's Cowboys from Hell, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power, 1994's Far Beyond Driven, 1996's The Great Southern Trendkill, and 2000's Reinventing the Steel, this collection easily highlights the band's most groundbreaking work with a collection of albums that earned five platinum and one gold record between them…

Pantera (/pænˈtɛrə/) was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed in 1981. The group's best-known lineup consisted of the Abbott brothers (drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell), along with vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown…

Cowboys from Hell is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on July 24, 1990 by Atco Records. It marked the band's major label debut and their first collaboration with producer Terry Date. It is considered one of the first ever groove metal albums. On September 14, 2010 a 20th anniversary edition was released with a remastered mix from the original analog recordings. The expanded edition features a bonus CD of previously unreleased live recordings and the Alive and Hostile EP. The deluxe edition features an additional third CD with the previously unreleased demo track "The Will to Survive" (parts of the song were later used in the song "This Love" from Vulgar Display of Power) along with demo versions of ten songs from the original album.

Pantera: Live at Dynamo Open Air 1998 catches Pantera at their ultimate height, touring their seminal ‘Great Southern Trendkill’ and ‘Live 101’ live album of the previous year. Their electric set includes Pantera classics ‘Walk’, ‘I’m Broken’, ‘This Love’ and new songs of the time ‘War Nerve’, ‘Suicide Note Pt. II’ and ’Sandblasted Skin’. Phil Anselmo’s brutal vocals over one of the tightest and fiercest musical backings in metal history of Vinnie Paul, Dimebag Darrell and Rex Brown…

The box set contains 3 CDs, and an 8 page colour biography of the band all presented in a cardboard box. Far Beyond Driven features the banned artwork and has a bonus track.

Thankfully, Pantera has stopped attempting to outdo each successive album in terms of start-to-finish intensity, but that doesn't mean they don't try in spots. The Great Southern Trendkill is burdened with passages in which Phil Anselmo's vocals cross the line into histrionics, making the band's trademark intensity sound dull, forced, and theatrical rather than sincere…

Thankfully, Pantera has stopped attempting to outdo each successive album in terms of start-to-finish intensity, but that doesn't mean they don't try in spots. The Great Southern Trendkill is burdened with passages in which Phil Anselmo's vocals cross the line into histrionics, making the band's trademark intensity sound dull, forced, and theatrical rather than sincere. The lyrics, which reached their apex with Vulgar Display of Power's focus on personal politics and integrity, have degenerated into half-baked rants against drugs and pop-culture media…

Official Live: 101 Proof hits most, but not quite all, of the high points of Pantera's career ("Psycho Holiday" and "Mouth for War" are two notable omissions), drawing most heavily from Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven. There are also two new studio tracks tacked on to the end to entice the more casual fan who might find a live album redundant; however, Pantera's devoted fans will pick it up anyway, and they won't be disappointed…