Band tension and The Great Southern Trendkill (19941996)[edit]

According to the Abbott brothers, frontman Phil Anselmo began behaving strangely and
distanced himself from the band when they returned to the road in 1995. The rest of the
band members first thought that Pantera's perception of his fame had gotten to Anselmo,
but Anselmo cited back pain from years of intense performances as the reason for his
erratic behavior. Anselmo attempted to subdue his pain through alcohol, but this, as he
admits, was affecting his performances and "putting some worry into the band." [5] Doctors
predicted that with surgery, Anselmo's back problem could be corrected, but that the
recovery time could be a year or more. Not wanting to spend that much time away from the
band, Anselmo refused, and began using heroin as a painkiller.
Anselmo's on-stage remarks became notorious during this time. After stating at
a Montreal concert that "rap music advocates the killing of white people", Anselmo denied
accusations of racism, and later issued an apology,[14] stating that he was drunk and that his
remarks were a mistake.[4] In 1995, Down, one of Anselmo's many side projects, took off.
Down is a supergroupconsisting of Anselmo, three members of Crowbarguitarist Kirk
Windstein, bassist Todd Strange and drummer Jimmy Bower (also of Eyehategod)
and Corrosion of Conformity guitaristPepper Keenan. Down's 1995 debut, NOLA, was a
success, but shortly after the group members returned to their respective bands, leaving
Down inactive for several years.
"Drag The Waters"

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The prevailing track from

1996's The Great
Southern Trendkill.

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help.

Pantera's next album, The Great Southern Trendkill, was released on May 7, 1996,[15] and is
often considered Pantera's "overlooked" album.[7] Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals for this
release in Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor's studio in New Orleans while the rest of
the band members recorded in Dallas, evidence of the continued distancing between
Anselmo and the rest of the band. In comparison to the band's previous efforts, there was a
heavier emphasis on vocal overdubbing in a somewhat "demonic" fashion. Drug abuse is a
recurring theme in Trendkill, as exemplified by tracks such as "Suicide Note Pt. I", "Suicide
Note Pt. II" and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)". "Drag the Waters" became the album's
only music video, and likewise, the only track from the album to appear on the
band'scompilation album. Another Trendkill single, "Floods", achieved acclaim largely
because of Darrell's complex guitar solo in the song, which ranked No. 15 on Guitar
World magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" of all-time. [16]

Overdose, Official Live: 101 Proof, and side projects (19962000)[edit]

On July 13, 1996, Anselmo overdosed on heroin an hour after a Texas homecoming gig. [17]
[18]

After his heart stopped beating for almost five minutes, paramedics gave Anselmo a shot

of adrenaline (or possibly Narcan) and sent him to the hospital. After waking up in the
hospital, the nurse working in his room said "Welcome back to life, oh and you have
overdosed on heroin." Anselmo apologized to his bandmates the next night, and said he
would quit using drugs.[19] The revelation of heroin use came as a shock to Vinnie and
Darrell who were embarrassed by Anselmo's actions, according to Rita Haney, the
guitarist's girlfriend. Anselmo said after which, he relapsed twice and was overcome with
guilt.[5]
Some of the band's live performances were eventually compiled in its July 29, 1997
release, Official Live: 101 Proof, which included fourteen live tracks and two new studio
recordings: "Where You Come From" and "I Can't Hide". Two weeks before the live album's
release, Pantera received its first platinum album, for Cowboys from Hell. Just four months
later, both Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven went platinum as well.[20] The
band also received their second and third "Best Metal Performance" Grammy Nominations
for Trendkill's "Suicide Note (Pt. I)" and Cowboys' "Cemetery Gates" in 1997 and 1998,

respectively. The release of their video 3 Watch It Go earned them a 1997 Metal
Edge Readers' Choice Award, when it was voted Best Video Cassette. [21]
Also in 1997, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Black
Sabbath, Marilyn Manson, Type O Negative, Fear Factory, Machine Head, and Powerman
5000. Additionally, the band played on the 1998 UK Ozzfest tour alongside Black Sabbath,
Ozzy Osbourne, Foo Fighters, Slayer, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Therapy?, as well as
touring with Clutchand Neurosis.[22]
Around this time, Anselmo ventured into more side projects, such as playing guitars
on Necrophagia's 1999 release Holocausto de la Morte, where he went as the alias "Anton
Crowley", which combines the names of Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey and
occultist Aleister Crowley. He also temporarily joined the black metal supergroup Eibon and
contributed to that band's 2000 release. Another one of Anselmo's "Anton Crowley" projects
was black metal band Viking Crown. The Abbott brothers and Rex Brown began their
own country metal crossover project, Rebel Meets Rebel with David Allan Coe, around the
same time.
Fans of the NHL's Dallas Stars were treated to a raucous fight song penned by Pantera and
dedicated to their favorite hockey team during the Stars 1999 Stanley Cup Championship
run. Throughout the season members of the team befriended members of Pantera. During a
Stanley Cup party hosted by drummer Vinnie Paul, the Stanley Cup was damaged
when Guy Carbonneau attempted to throw the Cup from the roof of Vinnie Paul's house into
his pool. The Cup landed short on the concrete deck and had to be repaired by NHL
commissioned silversmiths.

Reinventing the Steel and break-up (20002003)[edit]

"Revolution Is My Name"

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The fifth track from

Pantera's last studio
album, Reinventing the
Steel, that garnered the
band its fourth "Best Metal
Performance" nomination
at the 2001 Grammys.

Problems playing this file? See media

help.

Pantera returned to the recording studio with Anselmo in 1999 and cut its last
album, Reinventing the Steel, which was released on March 21, 2000. Steel debuted at
No. 4 on the Billboard 200[1] and included "Revolution Is My Name" and "Goddamn Electric",
the latter of which featured a Kerry King outro solo recorded backstage in one take
during Ozzfest in Dallas. "Revolution Is My Name" became the band's fourth nomination
for Best Metal Performance in the 2001 Grammys. In 2000, Pantera played on the
mainstage of Ozzfest alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Godsmack, Static-X, Methods of
Mayhem, Incubus, P.O.D., Black Label Society, Queens of the Stone Age, and Apartment
26. In November the band cancelled their planned tour after Anselmo broke his ribs after
falling during his eighth annual House of Shockevent.[23]
The band once again returned to touring and visited the United States (where they were
guest musicians on the show SpongeBob SquarePants in the episode "Pre-Hibernation
Week," performing the song Death Rattle from Reinventing the Steel), Canada, South
Korea, Australia, and Europe. The tour in Europe was cut short, however, by the September
11, 2001 attackswhich left the band stranded in Dublin, Ireland for 6 days as a result of all
flights being cancelled. Pantera played their last show in Yokohama, Japan at the 'Beast
Feast' festival on August 28, 2001. This would be the last time the members of Pantera
performed together. Back home, the band planned to release its fourth home video in
Summer 2002 and record another studio album later that year, but neither came about. [24]
Anselmo again engaged in numerous side projects. In March 2002, Down released its
second studio album, Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, which featured Rex Brown
on bass followingTodd Strange's departure in 1999. Brown remained Down's full-time

bassist until 2011, having appeared on their subsequent release in 2007. Also, in May of
that year Anselmo's Superjoint Ritual released its debut, Use Once and Destroy. Vinnie
Paul claims that Anselmo told him he would take a year off following the events of
September 11, 2001, but Anselmo's touring and recording output for both Superjoint
Ritual and Down contradicted this. The Abbott brothers were frustrated, and held out for a
time, assuming Anselmo would return. However, according to Anselmo, taking a break from
Pantera was a "mutual thing" between each of the band members. [25]
The Abbott brothers officially broke up Pantera in 2003, also the year when their "Best Of"
compilation album was released (on September 23), when the Abbott brothers concluded
that Anselmo had abandoned Pantera and would not return. The break-up of the band was
not amicable and subsequently a war of words was waged between the former bandmates
via the heavy metal and musical press. The Abbott brothers and Pantera crew members
claimed that they tried numerous times to contact Anselmo over the phone to reorganize
Pantera, but Anselmo maintains that they never called him. Caught up in the torrent was
Rex Brown, who later said "It was a bunch of he said, she said nonsense that was going on,
and I wasn't going to get in the middle of it." [5] Anselmo's comment in a 2004 issue of Metal
Hammer magazine saying that "Dimebag deserves to be beaten severely" typified Pantera's
internal conflicts; Anselmo insists that this comment was tongue-in-cheek, and he was
angered his comment ended up on the cover of the "god damn" magazine. [5] This
explanation was soon dismissed by Vinnie Paul, who said shortly after the 2004 murder of
his brother that he had personally listened to the audio files of the interview and that
Anselmo had not been misquoted or misrepresented, but said the exact words which
appeared in the article.[5] In July 2004, Vulgar Display of Power went double-platinum,
and The Great Southern Trendkill went platinum the next month.[20]

Damageplan and the murder of Dimebag Darrell (2004) [edit]

After Pantera's breakup, Darrell and Vinnie formed a new band, Damageplan, with
vocalist Pat Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla. The group released their first album, New
Found Power, on February 10, 2004. The album was a commercial success; over 44,000
copies were sold in its first week alone and within a year over 100,000 copies were sold.
However, some fans felt that Damageplan's material did not measure up to that of Pantera. [5]

Tragedy struck on December 8, 2004. Damageplan was performing in support of their

album at a show at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio when, less than a minute into the first
song of their set, Nathan Gale, 25, went onstage and shot and killed Darrell. Gale also killed
fan Nathan Bray, 23, club employee Erin Halk, 29, and Pantera security official Jeff
"Mayhem" Thompson, 40, and injured longtime Pantera and Damageplan drum
technician John "Kat" Brooks and Damageplan tour manager Chris Paluska before being
shot dead by Columbus police officer James Niggemeyer.[26]
No motive has been given as to why Gale killed Dimebag Darrell, but early theories, which
were dismissed by police, suggested that Gale, who was reported to have suffered
fromschizophrenia, was angered over Pantera's breakup and resorted to violence. In a
number of interviews, some of Gale's friends suggested that he claimed that he had written
songs that were stolen by Pantera.[27][28]