Artist:Pantera
Song:Cowboys from Hell
Album:Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera
The hard rock band Pantera had success when they signed with a major label in the early 90s. They never had a hit single but they didn't need one as they already had a rabid following from their early days. All they really needed was better distribution. Pantera was formed in 1981 in Arlington, TX by guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and his drummer brother Vinnie Paul. At first they were called Gemini, then Eternity before settling on Pantera. The other original members were Donny Hart on lead vocals, Terry Glaze on rhythm guitar and Tommy D. Bradford on bass. After Hart left, Glaze took over as lead singer. Then Bradford was replaced by Rex Brown. They toured the south opening for other hard rock bands like Stryper and Dokken. Then they released the 1983 album Metal Magic released on their own label and produced by the Abbott brothers father Jerry Abbott. He owned a recording studio in Arlington. After three albums, it became clear that Pantera was going to have to abandon glam rock. Glaze was the wrong singer for that and after they tried out a couple of guys, 18 year old Phil Anselmo was hired. After the success of thrash metal bands like Metallica and Slayer, Pantera decided to go that route. Then they signed with Atco Records for the 1990 album Cowboys from Hell. Though there was no hit single, the album was certified 2XPlatinum. Pantera wrote all the songs. The album was recorded at Abbott's recording studio with recording engineer Terry Date brought in to help. The success continued with the 1992 album Vulgar Display of Power which was also certified 2XPlatinum. Sales started to decrease especially when Pantera was moved to Warner's East West label. I guess they spent less on promotion but Pantera was still touring a full schedule. They were still a great concert draw. Then Anselmo almost died from a 1996 heroin overdose. After Pantera's 2000 album Reinventing the Steel was released, it became clear to the Abbott brothers that the end was near and after a couple more tours, Pantera split up in 2003. They weren't getting along anyway. The Abbott brothers formed a new band Damageplan. After releasing a 2004 album on Elektra, Damageplan toured. And that's when on Dec. 8, 2004 in Columbus, OH, Nathan Gale walked on stage and shot and killed Darrell Abbott. It is not known why he did that. This 2CD budget comp cover Pantera's Atco recordings. Vinnie Paul died in 2018. Pantera has reformed in recent years to tour. They have not recorded new music. I guess they are now a nostalgia act. Here's the video for Cowboys from Hell by Pantera.
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