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from RIP magazine, January 1991 (Fresh Blood)
[I was the first national rock journalist to discover Pantera, and somewhere in a file, I have the ATCO check stub to prove it. See, the record company hired me to write the bio for their first major label album, Cowboys from Hell, so I was probably the first writer to get an advance (I believe the song titles were handwritten on the cover, actually). It turned out to be one of those records that I loved immediately, so as I did the bio interview, I made sure to snag a few prime quotes for a RIP Fresh Blood. Writing a bio and an article on a band was not seen as a conflict of interest in rock journalism except by the most staid of newspapers and oldschool, non-rock magazines — not back then, and I assume not now, either. Writing a bio meant you got to be the first writer to hear the music and get your pitches in to your magazines! My intro to Pantera turned out to be the beginning of a long, fruitful association. I loved the guys and their music, and they were pretty enthusiastic about me too. My biggest memory of my first interview with Phil Anselmo? He kept talking about his penis! Not only that, he talked about his dad's private parts too. (Apparently his father is even more well-hung than he is... I know, you probably didn't really want that bit of trivia, but there it is.) Luckily the interview was by phone, so Phil couldn't see my face, which was probably turning three shades of red. And honestly, he talked about his favorite (non-band) member in such a funny, outrageous way that it really wasn't offensive. Phil was just a wild Southern kid who was full of life, libido and love of loud music. How could I possibly not warm up to such exuberance?]
Listen to Pantera's ATCO opus, Cowboys from Hell, at your own risk. "A lot of it is pretty erratic, and it's not for everybody — like any music," singer Phil Anselmo advises. This is thrash metal, pure and not-so-simple. Sure, you have the buzzsaw riffs 'n' rhythms of tunes like "Shattered" and "Heresy," but songs like "Cemetery Gates" and "Message in Blood" slow it down with a sledgehammer pound. Then there's something called "Primal Concrete Sledge," about which Phil claims, "I can't even describe it!" Guess you'll just have to listen for yourself.
Pantera was formed in 1983 by guitarist Diamond Darrell, bassist Rex, drummer Vinnie Paul and another vocalist, when they were all in their early teens. The intrepid youngsters started their own record label, and the releases managed to win acclaim that went far beyond their home base of Dallas. But it wasn't until 1987, when Phil joined the group, that all the pieces began to fall into place.
The way the group got its ATCO deal should win them a spot in the annals of unusual showcases. Laughs Phil, "We were playing, believe it or not — we never do this! — but a chick paid for us to jam at her birthday party, and she threw it at this disco! She had the whole place rented out. And right before we go on, Vinnie goes, 'Hey, man, don't want to flip you-all out or anything, but this guy named Mark Ross — he's an A&R guy from ATCO Records — is comin' out.' And we all went, 'Tonight? Jesus!' To make things worse, me and Darrell were wasted, gettin' drunk, and then Vince tells us. This chick had this cake, so me and Darrell sneak up there, and we smash it in her face. There was no stage — we're playin' on this floor — and the cake got on the floor and, man, we were slippin' all over. I was goin', 'Ah, this sucks!' So we started jammin'. We're ragin' just as good as we can. It was like we were on ice! And this dude comes up to us after the show just in tears, man. Loved it, flipped out on us. Thought we were the best thing he'd seen in a while."
Like Phil says, Pantera is not for everybody — that is, unless you have a hankering for a good, raunchy, heavy, gut-slamming time.
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