Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill [1996]

Genre: Thrash Metal, Groove Metal, Power Metal

MySpace: pantera

My opinion & thought: This is my favourite Pantera's album, yet the loudest & heaviest from them. When the media announced that the metal music age is over, they came up with this heavy shit that hits the scenes again. Bravo!

Stands out track(s): The Great Southern Trendkill, Drag The Water, Sandblasted Skin (Reprise)

The Great Southern Trendkill is the eighth studio album by Pantera. It was released in May, 1996 through East West Records.

Due to tension within the band, Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals alone at Trent Reznor's Nothing Studios in New Orleans; Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown and Vinnie Paul recorded the music at Chasin Jason Studios in Dallas, Texas. It reached #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

The Great Southern Trendkill notably features some of the fastest tempos and most down-tuned guitars that the band ever recorded. It also has a more experimental nature to its songs, such as the acoustic guitar and keyboard-laden "Suicide Note Pt. I".

Unlike Pantera's first three major label albums, the vocals are often double tracked and layered to create a more "demonic" effect. An example of this can be heard in the chorus of "13 Steps to Nowhere", when Phil Anselmo's singing voice is backed up by high pitched screaming, done by Seth Putnam of Anal Cunt fame.

The lyrics tackle topics such as Anselmo's hate for the media ("War Nerve"), suicide ("Suicide Note Pt. I"), drug abuse ("10's", "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)") and the end of the world ("Floods"), and Anselmo's view on trends ("The Great Southern Trendkill", "Sandblasted Skin").

'Drag The Waters' is a warning to the listener to always question other peoples motives. In fact, the music video starts off with a warning by an unknown male voice that says 'In everyday life, there is more than meets the eye. To reach the depths of truth, we must drag the waters'.

'Floods', the album's longest song, is about the end of mankind and contains a guitar solo considered by many to be Dimebag Darrell's finest. Indeed, Guitar World magazine voted it as the 15th greatest guitar solo of all-time.

'Suicide Note Pt 1' was later used many times as an intro song for the live shows around the world.

Professional reviews:

• Melody Maker (5/25/96, p.49) - "It makes my brain hurt, my eyes water and my genitalia retract like a startled turtle. I cannot think of higher recommendation, considering the kind of album it is. If it made me feel all warm and gooey or tearful and lovelorn, then it would be a pitiful failure by its own lights."

• Spin (7/96, p.96) - "...mature speedmetal and perfect summer fun: twisted power ballads, rap-style toasting, almost radio-worthy melodies, plus all the right jackhammer drum jolts, wrestler bellows, and guitar lurch..."

Tracklisting:

All songs were written by Pantera.

1. "The Great Southern Trendkill" – 3:46
2. "War Nerve" – 4:53
3. "Drag the Waters" – 4:55
4. "10's" – 4:49
5. "13 Steps to Nowhere" – 3:37
6. "Suicide Note, Pt. 1" – 4:44
7. "Suicide Note, Pt. 2" – 4:19
8. "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)" – 4:50
9. "Floods" – 6:59
10. "The Underground in America" – 4:33
11. "Sandblasted Skin (Reprise)" – 5:39

Credit:

• Phil Anselmo – Vocals
• Dimebag Darrell – Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Rex Brown – Bass, Backing Vocals
• Vinnie Paul – drums, Backing Vocals, Production, Engineering, Mixing
• Seth Putnam of Anal Cunt - Additional screams on tracks 1, 2, 5, and 7.
• Big Ross - Keyboards on track 6 and 8.

Seth appears courtesy of Earache Records. Big Ross appears courtesy of himself.