THE 50 GREATEST PANTERA SONGS EVER
By Demons Be Driven
(Vulgar Display Of Power, 1992)
Another gruesome exercise in grinding groove metal, Vulgar Display…’s darkest track is a swamp-dwelling blues metal death threat that left us in no doubt about Phil Anselmo’s troubled spirit. ‘Boiling my corpse in the blood
of his children…’ indeed.
Hollow
(Vulgar Display Of Power, 1992)
Often mashed into a mid-set medley with Domination, Hollow brought Vulgar Display… to a close with more of the grandiose audacity that had made Cemetery Gates such a standout song. Here, melodic subtleties are many but brutality remains an unerring threat.
Strength Beyond Strength
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
Metal’s hottest new band, Pantera became ever more extreme and uncompromising on Far Beyond Driven. The Number One album kicked off with this remorseless barrage of highvelocity thrash and lumbering sludge. ‘Stronger than all’? Yup.
Becoming
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
‘I’m born again with snake’s eyes/ Becoming godsize…’ has to rate as one of Pantera’s greatest-ever choruses. It also helps that Becoming is propelled along on a truly perverse and discordant riff that sounds like R2-D2 being fed through a tree-shredder.
5 Minutes alone
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
Accused of causing a fan to be beaten up after calling him out for flipping the band off at a show, Phil Anselmo turns the tables with venomous glee on 5 Minutes Alone, as
Dime serves up a ludicrously muscular and insistent riff. As usual.
I’m Broken
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
Notably the Pantera song that Phil Anselmo performed live in Texas with Rex and Zakk Wylde in 2014, this single from Far Beyond Driven marries an off-kilter time signature with a devastating chorus that, let’s face it, most of us can relate to on some level.
Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
A cautionary tale about painkiller abuse that would later seem somewhat ironic in light of Phil Anselmo’s drug problems, this monstrous, seven-minute howl of pain remains one of Pantera’s most emotionally gruelling songs.
Slaughtered
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
Sometimes, Pantera just went for the jugular. Slaughtered is brutish and bereft of light; a swivel-eyed, incensed dismantling of organised religion that drips with contempt and malicious intent. It’s also a kickass metal song, incidentally.
25 Years
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
The savage honesty of Phil’s lyrics has never been more apparent than on this gruelling cry of vengeance against his abusive father. ‘I’m shoving my life right down your throat!’ he screams, as wickedly wrong-sounding riffs fester and snarl. Bloody hell.
Shedding Skin
(Far Beyond Driven, 1994)
Written about the young Phil’s horror at the notion of settling for a mundane life, Shedding Skin pulls no punches. ‘You were sticking to me like a scab!’ Philip screams over evil riffs. Not intended for radio and all the better for it, it’s one of Pantera’s heaviest.