Vulgar Display Of Power
Pantera
1992
Album Summary
Vulgar Display of Power is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera. Released on February 25, 1992 through Atco Records, it was the band's second collaboration with producer Terry Date, after having previously worked with him on their breakthrough album Cowboys from Hell (1990). The album was well received by both critics and fans, and is Pantera's highest selling album to date and would eventually be certified double platinum. It is often considered one of the most influential heavy metal albums of the 1990s. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Vulgar Display of Power 10th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time'. Several of its tracks have become among the band's best known, such as "Mouth for War", "A New Level", "Walk", "Fucking Hostile", and "This Love".
WikipediaI was a teenage dirtbag. Not in the parlance of our current time, where a celebrity like Reese Witherspoon will post awkward photos from her teenage years where she had braces, then type “cringe” as a caption and #teenagedirtbag. I was a teenage dirtbag in the traditional sense: a weird, cigarette smoking metal head; a total societal misfit. To prove my dirtbag credentials: The first concert I went to of my own accord was a split bill of White Zombie and Pantera in 1996 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in NJ. (Now I’m not saying metal heads are dirtbags, but at that time, if you were 15 and listening to Pantera, chances are you weren’t one of “the cool kids”. ) A little known (at the time) band called Deftones opened the show. Being the hipster that I am, I had already known about them and owned Adrenaline. I must’ve been one of maybe 100 people in the arena who were excited to see them. It was rough going for them. Pantera fans were not interested in buying what the Deftones had to sell and made their disapproval known throughout the set. Still, Chino and company managed to coax a few mosh pits out of the crowd and it was going about as successfully as it could, given their mostly unknown status… Until Chino decided to go crowd surfing. Towards the end of their set, he jumped from the stage and into the crowd. He finished out the song, getting tossed around atop the crowd, occasionally screaming his lyrics into the mic. The song ended and he returned to stage, missing a shoe. “Who stole my fucking shoe?” He says. “Bunch of thieves in here tonight.” He argued with the crowd a little bit, gave them the finger and moved on to the next song. A minute or so later, about 50 feet from the stage, dead center, a sneaker flies through the air, hurtling towards Chino and hits him right upside the head, mid-song. The NY Giants or Jets should have drafted whoever threw that shoe to be their quarterback in ‘96. My man dropped a dime right on Chino’s head in a dark arena. It was an amazing toss and you could hear laughter and cheering throughout the crowd. Deftones finished up and White Zombie took the stage shortly after. Their show was a psychedelic horror trip with crazy video, pyrotechnics and lights. Highly entertaining. The crowd was weirdly subdued, but I guess tormenting the Deftones for 40 minutes drained them a little. Now, for the “relevant” part of this story: Pantera. I was never a huge Pantera fan. I liked Vulgar Display of Power back then, but that was about it: Cowboys from Hell was always cheesy to me and Far Beyond Driven had a few decent tracks, but was grating on the ears after a while. My friend who got the tickets was a fan, though, and at 15 you’re going to go to whatever concerts you can. They were touring “The Great Southern Trendkill” that year, which was a concept record about…the South rising again to kill all false metal (?). I’m projecting a little, but Pantera always kind of had a Lynyrd Skynyrd gone metal vibe to me. However, as we all know, that title actually belongs to Jackyl. A few weeks prior to this show, Phil Anselmo nearly died from a heroin overdose. Technically, he was dead for a few minutes, but was resuscitated. I know this because he made a point of telling the audience about it in between songs and then announced his invincibility, saying “Nothing can kill me!” That was the lesson he took away. Not “maybe I should stop doing heroin” or “man, I’m lucky to be alive”. Nope…”I’m invincible”. That left a bad taste in my mouth. Pantera fans loved it that night, though, and maybe it was all for show…faux bravado for a rabid fanbase. Whatever it was, I felt dumber just having been in the room. I know I took the scenic route to get here and this might be my longest “review” to date, so I’ll touch on Vulgar Display of Power quickly then see myself out. It’s one of the most aptly named albums ever. It’s heavy, aggressive, blunt and lacking sophistication. Is that a bad thing? I don’t know. Pantera isn’t for me at age 40. Phil Anselmo certainly isn’t, either - his antics have only gotten worse over the years. Dimebag was an amazing player and his death was beyond tragic, but that’s where my appreciation of this band starts and ends. This is probably the best Pantera album and it is genre defining, so I think its inclusion here is warranted, but it’s hard for me to reconcile the music with Phil Anselmo’s persona. After all, he’s the one that’s screaming at you for 40 minutes.
Essential album in the evolution of Thrash metal as it grew out of its 80's infancy and continued to spread in the 90's. Anselmo's vocal style over groovy grind riffs are also clear inspiration for Nu-Metal bands that sprang up in the late 90's/early 00's. It's a shame Dimebag was murdered by a whacko, and Phil Anselmo has turned into a real piece of human garbage since the band's dissolution. Big stain on the reputation of a hugely influential band.
first listen, nothing reached out and grabbed me -- TOO loud. Maybe next time. 2-3/5 (there were some pretty good rhythms that I heard, so I'll have to try it again. 3 for now)
Powerful album that takes me back to my "rebellious" youth. Listening to this album that my friend burned for me with "P-VDOP" written in sharpie in my Discman. Those were the days. Plus, these boys were local to me (DFW, TX area) and are legends here. 5 stars for sure.
What a fun listen. I mean, for fans of this stuff. It’s not my favorite Pantera album. That goes to Far Beyond Driven, but this one is a powerhouse in its own right. What a hard hitting, in your face, fuck you if you don’t like me collection of songs. One of the better ones on this list so far!!!
id never listened to entire metal albums before but this was super good. hollow was my favorite track i could listen to this any day
my uncle used to play metal every day and I hated it but this album made me start to love metal and I'm gonna listen to a ton of metal now. super insane made me wanna riot.
My favorite Pantera album, and easily one of my favorite albums as a teenager. Pantera solidified my love for metal music, this is like listening to history for me.
Solid hard core metal album. Walk is a classic that hits hard. The album has a good mix of hardcore lyrics and plenty of flowing guitar riffs. Always enjoyed when in the mood. 8.1/10
Why do they have to destroy interesting music with horrible vocals? The music is interesting enough to me but then you have some horrible vocals just take a massive dump over it. Screamy and annoying.
Had a terrible time getting this to play in Spotify, and finally got a couple individual songs to play on it. Hated both.
Not my thing at all. Gave it a fair chance and a full listen and it’s still not my thing. RIP to Laura’s heart rate.
Could barely bring myself to listen to more than 2 songs of this. This is not and never will be me: for that, I apologise. I will never be able to give an objective review of musicianship within this genre due to my pure distain for it. Resting heart rate 103bpm. Praying the next album will be less panic attack inducing.
oh no it’s metal oh my god are their vocal folds okay?? I’m literally on one volume right now they said SCRELTING I can’t with this it’s almost over I can make it
One of the reviews for this album called it “punishing.” Throw in “tedious” and you got my summary.
I love this record. It's a great power metal record. Is it power metal? idk I do know that it is one of the best
Erinnert mich daran wie wir in Stefans küche 3kg Hack zu Fleichküchle gemacht haben und Stefan dann mit nem Weizen auf der Plauze eingeschlafen ist. Das ist natürlich umgefallen und alles war versifft. Er wollte erst nicht glauben, dass er sich dieses Schlamassel selbst zuschreiben muss. Und Dimebag auf der Bühne erschossen worden: Mehr Meddl geht nicht
Alles klar, sprach ich gestern noch von weirdem Metal, so werde ich heute damit belohnt. Typisch schlecht gemischt, aber vielleicht macht das auch den Reiz aus. Funfact, nach diesem Album haben Pantera nie wieder Demo-Versionen aufgenommen, sondern oft improvisiert. Es tut mir weh, es tut mir gut. Pantera hat hierbei laut Wikipedia versucht, das härteste Album aller Zeiten aufzunehmen, weil das Black Album von Metallica für sie eine Enttäuschung war. Nun gut. "Walk" liebe ich. Stehe gerade auf der Rofatanze irgendwann um viertel nach vier und lasse mich davon treiben. Viel Bewegung ist nicht mehr, es sind nur noch die harten Metalboys da und lassen ihre Haare schwingen. Ich habe keine Haare und Leute, die ohne Haare bangen, sind für mich Abschaum. Also putze ich weiter die Tische und Bänke, um früher in den Feierabend zu kommen. Währenddessen singe ich leise mit und bewege das Zewatuch im Takt. Es ist perfekt. "This Love" ist auch eine fiese Möpp! Kommt so romantisch daher und bläst im Refrain das Trommelfell weg. Wo sind meine Mosherfriends? Hoch mit den Beinen, ich will Zähne fliegen sehen. Jemand den geilen Song "Piss" in der Remastered-Version von 2012 gehört? "Hollow" auch nicht mehr auf dem Schirm gehabt. Finde alles gut an diesem Album, vielleicht zu wenig gehört in meinem Leben. Werde es nun fester in meine Routine einbinden.
Ah Pantera, Vulgar Display of Power en Far Beyond Driven zijn mijn favoriete albums van deze band. Helaas in mijn jonge jaren te laat ontdekt maar wat een super band. Top 3 nummers: Broken, Walk en Fucking Hostile
Pantera played some of the best gigs I ever went to. As much as Anselmo is a total asshole, these guys rock so hard I can ignore that a while. Love the band, love the album, it makes me want to get up and get aggressive, or dance manically, or both. One of my favourite albums from my favourite time period for music.
Absolute classic! Banger through and through. Ranges from some very fast and "brutal" songs to some slower more relaxing but still groovy songs.
Stevige plaat, veel atypische ritmes, en een zeer goed album tout cours
A brutal assault of an album, Pantera’s vulgar display of Power was exactly that. Building on Cowboy’s heavy guitar tone their follow up took things to a whole new level. Quite simply Pantera sounded like nobody else and with this album they took the crown of the heaviest metal band on the planet. Phil Anselmo’s unmistakable growling vocals and Dimebag’s incredible, truly unique guitar sound compliment each other perfectly - supported brilliantly by the pummelling rhythm section of Rex and Vinnie Paul. Mouth for War, Walk, Fucking Hostile, This Love, By Demons be Driven, Hollow are just a few of the highlights on this incredible album.
Da werde dicke Bretter mit ordentlichen Stihl Kettensägen zu feinsten Mehl verarbeitet. Dabei ist das eingängige Knurren hier und da durch außergewöhnliche Spitzen pointiert. Da stakt nahezu filigranes Schnitzwerk aus Sägespänen hervor. Für das Genre einfach ein genial gebauter Maßstab; variabel, wiedererkennbar, robust. Ich meine, in knapp 30 Jahren keine Verschleißerscheinungen zu erkennen. Vulgäre 4.5
Hi- Mouth of War, A New Level, Walk, This Love, Regular People (Conceit) It's really easy to call it "SCREAMO" or "Cookie Monster Music" but those derogatory labels lack nuance, when Vulgar... is a masterpiece. The opening act with Mouth For War, A New Level, Walk, and *** Hostile all feature killer guitar riffs, but then you're hit with This Love, which is filled with melodic and masterful guitarwork. The rest of the album is more of the same but not really the same because each track is unique and executed with masterful precision in new ways. Hatebreed, Static-X, Mudvayne owe a lot to Pantera, as it's clear they've culled much of their sound from here.
Quite possibly the best metal album of the 90’s. Definitely Pantera’s best album
Now we're talkin'! This is an album that takes me right back to high school when I would listen to it constantly. One of the bands that first drew me into listening to heavy music. I spent endless hours trying to learn all of these riffs on guitar, and "Mouth for War" was the first drum track I transposed into MIDI for my drum machine, so this album taught me tons as an amateur musician. Over the years, the tone of the guitars and drums on this album have taken on a "ridiculous" sound in my ears, in that it's an extremely polished and over the top but dated sound, one that I don't think I'd enjoy on anyone else's material, but I just love it on these songs.
Pantera for me will always make for a good listen with their signature aggressive groove metal. Vulgar Display displays the band at full force in that field, making for quite the classic metal record. The first 5 tracks especially are some of my favorite metal songs in general. The second half falls a bit short, but it's overall an excellent time. Favorites: "A New Level", "Walk", "Fucking Hostile", "This Love", "Hollow"
It's funny to hear a music from Doom 1 in the wild (Mouth for war). I love metal so this was destined for a 5 ;)
Remembering the cringe of when I set my flip-phone’s ringtone to “FUCKING HOSTILE” in Middle School.
Hahahhah, YES. In my metally teens I was a little suspicious of groove metal, preferring thrash or industrial, or nwobhm. I owned this on CD, I'm pretty sure, but it was never one of my favorites. Revisiting it has been an absolute pleasure. I like Pantera going balls to the wall, for sure, but I also really appreciate their softer moments - my absolute fave track is their cover of "Planet Caravan" from "Far Beyond Drive" - wish they'd done a whole album of dreamy lushness like that! Fave tracks - "Walk" and "Fucking Hostile", naturally, and "This Love" for having splashes of that softness I like...
A classic metal album. Aggressive and groovy. Everything here from the vocals to the instruments are great. Highly influential and its eqsy to understand why. Obviously some people are going to be turned off by music like this, but I think it's certainly worthy of inclusion as it is just truly a great of the genre.
If you're growing tired of sappy, cheery Christmas music, I have the solution for you. "Vulgar Display of Power" is the sixth album from American heavy metal band Pantera. This was their second album moving away from glam and hard rock to more thrash and harder metal. The mission was successful. The album received mass critical acclaim especially for Diamond Darrel's Dimebag) guitar riffs. The overall bands performance is pretty relentless from start to finish too. Other band members include vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul. The album title comes from the 1973 film "The Exorcist:" when the Priest asks the little girl "If you the Devil, why not make the metal straps disappear?" And the girl responds "That's much too vulgar a display of power." How Heavy Metal. Dimebag's hard, heavy guitar riff begins "Mouth of War." The drums and bass kick in adding to the grind. Anselmo growls. Anselmo screams. A hard, fast song. Not the last. Overcoming the past and self-esteem and living for yourself. The second song "A New Level" is lyrically similar. The band speeds up the pace. Screeching guitar. A searing guitar solo. Another great Dimebag riff and groove drive "Walk," one of their bigger songs. The song is towards people who thought rock stardom got to Anselmo's head and telling them to take a walk. Let's up the ante and go total thrash and speed metal and they do that on "Fucking Hostile." Needless to say, Anselmo is even angrier, lashing out against the police, priests and parents. And belief it or not, we have a ballad in "This Love." Now this is how you do a eerie, haunting and rocking heavy metal ballad. Anselmo screaming "You take this love, love, love." About a past relationship. It sounds like not a good one either. The band kicks it hard on the next four songs and the album actually ends with another ballad "Hollow." It is apparently about a friend fatally injured in a car crash on life support and how seeing him was so hollow. At the start, the music sounds like "Ride-the-Lightning"-era Metallica. Anselmo is also singing (wow) and sounds like Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate. The song transforms midway through to more thrash. An appropriate way to end. Dimebag said they wanted to create the heaviest album of all time. They just might have done that. This has been consistently rated as one the best heavy metal albums of the 90's. I'd agree and say probably of any decade or time. A must listen for any one remotely interested in heavy metal. And if you're not, you suck....sorry, still listening to the album.
Genre: Thrash Metal Review: Used to listen to this album back in college, but listening to it again this time gave me a whole new level of appreciation for the quality of the track "Walk". Other tracks are pretty neat, too. Rating: 9/10
nice work, ya fuckin dimebag. sorry Columbus Ohio killed u fav track: hollow
Another classic. The raw Pantera energy is hard to match by bands even today, and the crunchy guitar tone is to die for.
Fat fkn riffs. The way they manipulate the tempo is sick. Walk, This Love and Live in a Hole are my highlights.
A lot of firsts on this list. this was my first full listen through of a Pantera album, and i gotta say, it was fucking good! some songs i've heard before, but i was damn well hooked by this album. the composition was well planned, music was great, and overall it was a great listen.
Absoluter BÄNGÄ. Geil Rotzige Riffs, dreckiger sound und schön sauer der Dude. Ich finds großartig. klingt bissi wie Metallica phasenweise. Insgesamt machts schon Bock zu hören, aber nichts was ich in meine Musiksammlung aufnehmen würde, like actually buy it . Aber weils ne erfrischende Abwechslung war 4*
Do I actually like metal now, or do we just keep getting really good metal albums? This is definitely closer to the thrash and death metal stuff that I'm not into, but there are some serious bangers on this album. Of course I know "Walk," but it might not even be my favorite track. The vocals are less clear than the other metal bands we've had (Sabbath, SOAD, Iron Maiden), but the instrumentals are very crisp. Some fantastic, heavy guitar work. I like this a lot. Favorite tracks: This Love, Walk, F*****g Hostile, By Demons Driven. Album art: Super DIY. The text blocks are great. Could work as a punk album cover too. This man's neck will never be the same. 4/5
This is a lot of fun, and probably my most enjoyed metal album so far on this list. Really great! Knocking a star off for being a little over long and homogenous
It’s like I’m a young headbanger again! I loved this. Couldn’t sit still.
Lets go! One of my favorite metal songs, Walk, graces this album as I am treated to all the other songs Pantera has to offer. Another case of, I'll listen to them eventually. The time is finally here and I am enjoying what I hear! I may have to give it a second listen to find some gems, but Rise is sticking out and F****** Hostile was wild. I wonder if they were the first to get an F on an album track. I wouldn't be surprised if Slipknot got some of their influences here with the singers lower voiced moments that shift to screams. This can especially be heard on No Good (which I am liking as well). Love the album cover, too. That is me when I was first introduced to metal music and my life was change forever.
Love the heavy riffs, and grungy vocals. This music digs through your outer layer and vibrates the marrow. Either exhilarating or horrific - I love it. Some great songs - especially “Mouth for War” and “Walk”. Also props for the quintessential Metal song title “Fucking Hostile”. Solid 4
Pusht anders beim pumpen. Richtig nice ist das besonders guter Metall? oder gibt's noch mehr davon?
So fun to hear this again! Definitely requires a certain mood, but the band is so tight and the songs are high-quality compared to the scream metal they inspired later.
Chunky groovy goodness, all great songs, but can get a little much to listen to near the end as a cohesive album
Great metal! Had only listened to “Walk” by them before this and I loved this album!