{"id":1057,"date":"2017-06-13T19:40:13","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T19:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.loudsoundepicenter.com\/?p=1057"},"modified":"2017-06-13T19:47:23","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T19:47:23","slug":"pantera-the-early-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/?p=1057","title":{"rendered":"PANTERA: THE EARLY YEARS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For most fans, <em>Cowboys From Hell<\/em> is the start in <strong>Pantera<\/strong>&#8216;s story of conquering the metal world.<\/p>\n<p>However there&#8217;s a forgotten era in their history that most would rather forget about.<\/p>\n<p>In the early 80s when <strong>Metallica<\/strong> and <strong>Slayer<\/strong> were making their debut, <strong>Pantera<\/strong> were doing the same but in a very different style. The group was jumping on the popular glam metal scene that was reaching its peak at the time.<\/p>\n<p>The members also changed their names to fit the persona. But despite the appearance of the band, the music was always their number one priority.<\/p>\n<p>Dimebag Darrell was bound to be a guitar hero as early as his teen years. The 80s were a time to live life to the fullest and Darrell dove into that world without shame. He played just as good on stage as a glam rocker than he did in the 90s. He could shred as young as 18 and it didn&#8217;t matter that he was wearing makeup while doing it.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dimebag Darrell guitar solo 1984 age 18 amazing\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NB_GGdXCVB0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>During this era, <strong>Pantera<\/strong> was heading towards a more melodic direction. Inspired by bands like <strong>KISS<\/strong> and <strong>Van Halen<\/strong> rather than <strong>Black Sabbath<\/strong> and <strong>Exhorder<\/strong>, there was less moshing and more ballads.<\/p>\n<p>It was a far cry from the tough guy, take no shit attitude that embodied the group&#8217;s tone and image less than a decade later.<\/p>\n<p><em>Metal Magic<\/em> was the sound of a band cutting their teeth. It marks the beginning of a long road ahead of <strong>Pantera<\/strong>. They would only grow from it and challenge themselves as they question the potential of their capabilities.<\/p>\n<p><em>Projects In The Jungle<\/em> showed the evolution of the group&#8217;s musical ambitions. Producing a heavier tone in comparison to <em>Metal Magic<\/em>, the future of <strong>Pantera<\/strong> was more apparent especially in songs such as <em>Out For Blood<\/em> and the title track.<\/p>\n<p>It also features a solo track from Darrell called\u00a0<em>Blue Lite Turnin&#8217; Red<\/em>, similar to <em>Eruption<\/em> and it puts a spotlight on the young guitarist as the inevitable prodigy in the making.<\/p>\n<p>The band was already developing thrash metal riffs and groove metal breakdowns that would become their trademark in the years to come.<\/p>\n<p><em>I Am The Night<\/em> blended the best qualities of <strong>Pantera<\/strong>&#8216;s first two albums together and created the ultimate 80s metal mix. Songs like <em>Down Below<\/em> and <em>Come-On Eyes<\/em> invited the aggressive headbangers and radio listeners to enjoy the same record.<\/p>\n<p>Once vocalist Phil Anselmo joined the group, a new game plan was set in motion. The release of <em>Power Metal<\/em> was the first step in the transformation of <strong>Pantera<\/strong>. It brought hostility to their sound and established new territory in the music.<\/p>\n<p>Soon enough, the band would eventually reinvent both their look on stage as well as their musical direction. The mid-80s opened their eyes to the thrash metal explosion that was sweeping up the American youth. Glam was already losing its mainstream audience and groups like <strong>Guns N Roses<\/strong> were rebelling against the trend of party rock.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Motley Crue<\/strong> and <strong>Poison<\/strong> ditched their spandex for jeans and leather jackets after the rise of <strong>GNR<\/strong>&#8216;s notoriety. <strong>Pantera<\/strong> would become the next major piece in metal&#8217;s transition into the 90s.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1091 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street-678x509.jpg 678w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street-326x245.jpg 326w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street-80x60.jpg 80w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GnR-Street.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1093 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Motley-COOL-1024x743.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"743\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Motley-COOL-1024x743.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Motley-COOL-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Motley-COOL-768x557.jpg 768w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Motley-COOL.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1092 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Poison-are-TUFF.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Poison-are-TUFF.jpg 800w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Poison-are-TUFF-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Poison-are-TUFF-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1105 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pantera11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pantera11.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pantera11-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pantera11-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pantera11-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pantera11-678x381.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Cowboys From Hell<\/em> was the start of a new chapter. After years of developing their sound, they finally reached their goal. It&#8217;s a completely different band altogether and they were still testing themselves, constantly working to outdo each album.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone has to start somewhere. <strong>Pantera<\/strong> had grown a life of its own and is still among heavy metal&#8217;s greatest acts.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1100 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/band2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"962\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/band2.jpg 962w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/band2-300x154.jpg 300w, https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/band2-768x395.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 962px) 100vw, 962px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>For most fans, Cowboys From Hell is the start in Pantera&#8216;s story of conquering the metal world. However there&#8217;s a forgotten era in their history <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/?p=1057\" title=\"PANTERA: THE EARLY YEARS\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[441,193,188,436,42,442,191,439,437,186,440,187,438,190,435,125,189],"class_list":["post-1057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-this-date","category-soundwave","tag-90s-groove-metal","tag-cowboys-from-hell","tag-dimebag-darrell","tag-exhorder","tag-glam-metal","tag-glamtera","tag-groove-metal","tag-i-am-the-night","tag-metal-magic","tag-pantera","tag-pantera-power-metal","tag-philip-anselmo","tag-projects-in-the-jungle","tag-rex-brown","tag-terry-glaze","tag-thrash-metal","tag-vinnie-paul"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Darrell013_jpg1060x817.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1057"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1106,"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057\/revisions\/1106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudsoundepicenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}