Pantera 

Biography

• Thrashing the metal world since 1982, these iconic rockers have had an unbelievable journey filled with challenges, loss and resurgence, defying the odds over and over again. And now, in an incredible display of the power of their legacy, Pantera is back from the dead.

  Rex Brown started Pantera as a glam rock band 40 years ago along with original singer Terry Glaze and brothers Darrel and Vincent Abbott, otherwise known as legendary guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul.

  After three unsuccessful records, the band changed its sound to a heavier metal vibe in 1986 and replaced Glaze with Anselmo – who has been with the band ever since. What they came up with would not only shed their glam roots but prove a game changer for the entire metal genre.

  Pantera’s breakthrough 1990 album, Cowboys from Hell, defined the groove metal sound with powerhouse efforts like “Cemetery Gates.” Driving riffs and escalating vocals thrust them to release chartbusters like 1992’s Vulgar Display of Power and 1994’s Far Beyond Driven, which hit Billboard’s number one spot faster than any other Pantera release.

  As great as things were going, fissures started developing between Anselmo and the rest of the band. That would lead the singer to record his vocals separately from the band for their next album, 1996’s Great Southern Trendkill. While that record never hit #1, it did spend 16 weeks on the charts, peaking at #4.

  Band tensions would continue to boil over and eventually lead to disbanding in the early 2000s after its ninth studio album, Reinventing the Steel. While the album also made #4 on Billboard, the band broke up in 2003, just three short years later.

  The band members went their own ways and started other projects such as Brown and Anselmo’s metal supergroup Down and Vinnie and Dimebag’s band Damageplan. Unfortunately, several tragedies struck afterward.

  Dimebag’s life was cut short by a deranged fan who attacked him on stage in 2004. Vinnie would pass away from heart failure in 2018. Both losses rocked the world of metal fandom and seemed to remove any hope that Pantera’s journey might continue.

  But some forces are too powerful to fall, even in the face of such loss. Now refueled and reformed, and with over 20 million worldwide record sales behind them, Anselmo and Brown have recruited new members for the 2022-2023 Pantera reunion tour.

  Included in Pantera’s new lineup are longtime Ozzy Osbourne backup guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. Both headlining on their own and joining huge metal festivals like the Slipknot-led Knotfest. North and South American fans finally have another chance to headbang, slamdance, and mosh to Pantera’s signature sound, proving that you really can’t stop rock and roll.

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