Pantera
Pantera
Pantera, circa 2000
Pantera is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed by the Abbott brothers, “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott (guitar) and Vinnie Paul Abbott (drums) in 1981. Bassist Rex Brown would join in 1982 after the departure of original bassist Tommy Bradford. Followed with vocalist Terry Glaze. In 1987, Phil Anselmo would become the group’s lead vocalist, completing the band’s successful lineup until 2003. The group reformed in 2022 and now consists of Brown, and Anselmo with Zack Wylde on guitar and Charlie Benante on the drums.
The band became a key formulator of the post-thrash metal subgenre, groove metal. It would not be until nine years after forming that the band saw its first piece of commercial success in its 1990 major label debut, Cowboys from Hell. From there, Pantera became one of the most celebrated heavy metal bands of the 1990s. Despite the generally negative reception of the band’s first three albums from the 1980s, critics lauded Pantera’s style thereafter; Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic.com stated “there was no greater metal band during the early to mid-1990s than Pantera.” The band has received accolades such as ranking 45th on VH1’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” and fifth on MTV’s “Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All-Time.”
In 2003, the band disbanded successfully and closed a wonderful circle. After the break up, Anselmo, was immersed in several side-projects, chiefly Down and Superjoint Ritual. Superjoint Ritual was a continue of Pantera by 2002 until 2004. Any hope of the band members to reunite was lost on December 8, 2004, when Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed on stage, at the Alrosa Villa, in Columbus, Ohio, by gunman Nathan Gale, while performing with his and his brother’s new band, Damageplan.
would be reuniting for a worldwide tour with Zack Wylde and Charlie Benante filling in for the Abbott brothers respectively. The band would play their first concert in Hell & Heaven December 2nd in
Mexico.
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