Pantera Essentials

Pantera are the kings of fusing extreme metal violence with greasy hard rock. In the early '90s, the ill-tempered Texans invented a new sound—dubbed groove metal—grounded in ruthless start-stop rhythms, barked taunts and thrash riffs slowed to a midtempo chug. As the 1990 classic “Cowboys from Hell” proves, Pantera also are brutally efficient: The late Dimebag Darrell's downtuned fretwork is all muscle, while the belligerent Phil Anselmo screams snugly in the pocket. Even their ballads, including the scornful “This Love”, are the sonic equivalent of a fistfight.