Pantera
July 30th, 2006
I watched VH1’s Behind the Music the other day, it was on Pantera, usually it is about an older act and I don’t really think Pantera is on the VH1 playlist. They were around in the 80’s and had an album debut at number one in 1994 something I never would have guessed. I’ve never put a lot of faith in the Billboard charts and they were always an Owen or Thor band.
Anything I know about Pantera I learned by osmosis from friends. I remember where I was and who told me Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed. Although definitely not my type of music, I prefer music where people actually sing rather than scream or growl the lyrics, none the less, Dimebag has a well deserved reputation for playing guitar loud and fast.
He also used a very distinctive guitar, especially for a metal player, he used a Washburn and before and after that a Dean. He also used Krank Amplification and is still featured in their advertisements if you want to try and ape his sound.
So many guitars, so little money, I suppose I could try playing guitars in stores just for fun, but I’m really self-conscious about my playing as I’m largely self taught and I didn’t resume playing again until second year university, plus I only have played acoustics.
It is now many years later and Pantera is touring again but with Dimebag or Vinny Paul. I still haven’t bought an electric guitar, but I’d like to think my guitar playing has improved in the last eighteen years. If you have thoughts on Pantera or playing guitar you can leave a comment below.
This entry was originaly posted on , it was last edited on and is filed under: Rambles and tagged: Documentary, Guitar, Music.
First VH1 has a Pantera show now I’m watching “Heavy: the history of Metal“. It just shows that all the original metal heads and headbangers are getting old. They are talking about 1980 as being the greatest year in metal. That was twenty six years ago.
That is one of the great things about the blues, you are considered to be more authentic and to have greater status among your peers as you get older, but with the Rolling Stones still touring arenas being old and in rock is considered aceptable. Not like in the sixties when people talked about not trusting anyone over thirty or “hoping to die before they got old”.