Biography PANTERA band

Biography PANTERA band

Pantera was an American groove metal band from Arlington, Texas. They were formed in 1981 by the Abbott brothers – Vinnie Paul (drums) and Dimebag Darrell (guitar) – along with vocalist Terry Glaze. Bassist Rex Brown joined the band the next year. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera replaced Glaze in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as the new vocalist. Starting as a glam metal band, Pantera released four albums during the 1980s. For their fifth album, Cowboys from Hell, released in 1990, Pantera introduced a heavier groove metal sound. Their sixth album Vulgar Display of Power, released in 1992, revealed a heavier sound than Cowboys from Hell and their 1994 release of Far Beyond Driven debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200.
Tensions began to surface amongst the band members when Phil Anselmo became addicted to heroin in 1995. This resulted in the recording sessions for The Great Southern Trendkill, released in 1996, to be held separately. The ongoing tension lasted for another seven years, in which only one studio album, Reinventing the Steel, released in 2000, was recorded. Pantera went on hiatus in 2001, but was disbanded by the Abbott brothers in 2003 after concluding Anselmo would not return to the band. The Abbott brothers went on and subsequently formed Damageplan, while Anselmo began work on several side projects, including Down in which Rex Brown joined as well. Any hopes of a reunion were lost on December 8, 2004, when Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed onstage by a deranged fan during a Damageplan concert in Columbus, Ohio.