Pantera
The Great Southern Trendkill (East West)
by Paul Lee
In days past, the South was known for groovy, chicken-fried rock ‘n’ roll like Lynyrd Skynyrd. In 1996, Southern rock ‘n’ roll mutated in two directions, the flaccid stuff of Hootie and the Blowfish and the extreme, testosterone ‘n’ rage overload of Pantera. You might think that a band that’s garnered as much popularity as Pantera would finally ease up their intensity. Forget it, the boys of Dixie are still discharging hate-filled, malevolent and pulverizing rock ‘n’ roll.
Being a major Pantera fan who discovered them with their first major release, Cowboys From Hell, you’d think I would have been going wild with excitement upon first hearing of The Great Southern Trendkill. To be honest, my first reaction was feigned disinterest. Yeah, yeah, Phil Anselmo is still the angriest fucker in metal and Dimebag can still whip up viciously tasty riffs. “Big deal,” I thought, “nothing new here.” Well, it’s true Pantera hasn’t taken any new strides on this one but damn it, TGSTK had to go and grow on me! No matter how many of my critical friends hate ’em, for me, Pantera are still great at what they do. They’re not ashamed to admit to being a true metal band in an age where metal’s popularity is supposedly flagging.
Kicking their show into high gear with the title tune “The Great Southern Trend Kill” (just like with “Stronger Than All” off Far Beyond Driven), Pantera blasts with a firestorm of rage. As you proceed further into their little cacophonic hell, you encounter the brutal “War Nerve” and the groovy thunder of “Drag The Waters” (the first single that resembles “I’m Broken” also from Far Beyond). The song “10’s” has a definite “Cemetery Gates” touch, only chunkier and less Judas Priestie.
No shocks so far, but then you get a few tracks down to the incredibly somber and mellow “Suicide Note Pt. 1.” By far, this has to be Pantera’s most sublime tune. It isn’t cheesy or commercial in the least. In fact, it’s beautifully depressing with Dimebag’s melodic twelve-string work and Phil singing as clearly and beautifully as he ever has. To counterbalance this effect, Pantera drives our faces into the ground and stomps on us with “Suicide Note Pt. 2” juxtaposed perfectly next to “Part 1.” This is painful bliss! And TGSTK continues on with the pure Pantera histrionics we all know and love (or detest with all our being). Once again, Pantera offer up true thrash with their distinctive southern-fired hardcore metal edge.
I have to admit that there was no song to equal the screwed-up vibe and melody of “Good Friend and a Bottle of Pills” from Far Beyond Driven. It would have been cool if Pantera had taken at least one stylistic detour on this one to prove that they are willing to take more risks. As you may have guessed, lyrically TGSTK sticks to Phil’s literate yet mostly irrational style. I still think he has a good command of the language (and not just the four-letter kind either). He’s not playing a disturbed individual, he is one.
Undoubtedly, Pantera have crafted a style and sound for themselves that won’t be mistaken for anyone else’s and has influenced numerous new bands. The trick will be, can they expand and grow? They’re damn good at what they do, but what does the future hold? Screw the detractors of metal anyway, with the power of TGSTK and other metal releases like Sepultura’s astounding Roots and Slayer’s hardcore fest Undisputed Attitude it looks as though metal’s here to stay for a damn long time no matter how it metamorphisizes.
