Reviews (page 7 of 9)
This album is nostalgic for me. It was the peak of my strange headbanger phase in high school. For all the screaming the songs are pretty melodic, reminds me of Metallica or late Ozzy. The rhythms are great too. I never feel this level of aggression so I don't think I'll be going back to this album much, but I still like it.
The Crow Soundtrack... now that was a good album. This, not so much.
If you've ever wondered how it would sound if literally every song on an album was screamed instead of sung, you now have the answer. Is it good? Not really.
too much shuting. not my taste
Vulgar Display of Power... an apt description for a heavy time. Pantera does more than mark their territory, they do so while refining and redefining varying aspects of metal that was becoming dogged in then-recent time. It is no surprise, upon listening, how much of a vaunted album this is for the metal genre. Vulgar power indeed. Favorites: A New Level, Walk, Fucking Hostle, This Love, Rise, No Good (Attack the Radical), By Demons Be Driven.
I want to start the next french revolution and kick my mother in the face. Solid album.
Dude it's exactly what it says it is. A vulgar display of power. Do you like metal. I do. 8/10
screamo. IDK I'm not wanting to listen to this. As always 1 star if I can't finish it. I think its 2 star i made it through!!
This is definitely a vulgar display of power. Idk if I'm really into music as heavy as this as I once was, but there some really good riffs in this album.
It's early 90's metal. It definitely made an impact, and was a contributor to the hair/glam-metal of the 80's becoming separated from the idea of "metal" music in exchange for what people think of more commonly now. With that in mind, while I'm typically one for "separating the art from the artist", the blatant racism (past and present) makes it hard to have anything good to say about his.
Top tier metal. Walk is a classic.
Meh. Kinda boring, really. The album sounds like it was made by a bunch of conservative small dick racist texas good ole boys, which is pretty close to accurate. The only reason to include it would be to illustrate how bad metal can be. 1/5
This album hits so hard, when my barber asked me if I like my haircut, I said no.
Head banging, heavy metal
Musically, it was fine. I don't mind really heavy three-chord music. But the least the guy could do was attempt to sing instead of posturing as a quasi-dark, wannabe drama queen. Even Lemmy made an attempt at singing. Why couldn't this guy?
Thrash metal indeed
No other decande than the 90s could have produced this. It's more about attitude rather than good songs. 2/5
No
Such awesome guitar work on this album. RIP dimebag. Incredible album!
Another classic. Awesome tone and sick riffs
Decent, classic, shit-kicking metal. Couldn’t get through the whole thing in one sitting bc it got long and monotonous, but it’s not bad.
I have not heard of this album but I have heard of Pantera being in the metal scene. The songs didn’t immediately grasp my interest but I might change my mind at another listen. The songs that did stand out to me were: Walk, This love, and Hollow. I will listen to this album again.
Pantera was one of the last artists I expected to see here. Metal isn’t exactly a very well represented genre on this list, which makes the few there are stand out. So I got excited to listen to this. Pantera was definitely a metal band I always wanted to check out. This album is fucking intense. I know, not saying much considering it’s metal. It has this incessant groove to it, which again isn’t saying much considering the genre is called groove metal. But every single song chugs along with these crushing riffs. And this groove is led entirely by Dimebag Darrell. Hailed as one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time, and rightfully so, he played the guitar with a power unlike any guitarist before him. Because all of the main guitar parts are very low, when he plays a solo, which is on almost every song, they are always very high and sharp, and they are glorious. Every other member is solid as well, especially Darrell’s brother Vinnie, who is a great drummer and matches his brother’s style perfectly. Anselmo is cool, but he does come off to me slightly as a bargain bin James Hetfield. And I’m sure Rex sounds great, but I can’t hear him in the mix. Like at all. If I can make out the bass on a Death record better than I can on this, that might be a problem. Just like the performances, the music itself is as solid as a brick wall. The sparing moments where it isn’t chugging along and is softer are nice, and still pretty intense, but I think this album is at its best when it’s going as hard as it can. Rating: 8/10
What a brilliant, strong album! Absolutely love this one!
Listened to the first two songs. Probably know the rest then.
Hart und direkt, sehr gut
Solid
Nan le metal c’est vraiment compliqué. J’ai attaqué l’album en me disant que je ne savais pas du tout ce que faisait Pantera et au bout de 20 secondes je me disais que je savais en fait exactement ce que faisait Pantera. Et ce son de guitare, ces riffs répétitifs, ce rythme spécifique metal qu’ils reprennent tous à l’identique me file des boutons. Les paroles n’arrangent rien avec une colère un peu ras des paquerettes, qui m’évoque celle d’un adolescent boutonneux qui ne supporte pas la nouvelle femme de son père et qui lui hurle “de tout façon t’es pas ma mère” en lui claquant au nez la porte de sa chambre. Ensuite il mettra le disque de ce groupe à fond pour énerver toute la maison et parce qu’il n’ y a qu’eux qui le comprennent et qui savent exprimer sa haine de ce monde de merde. Tout ça pour qu’au final le chanteur fasse un salut nazi en hurlant “white power” sur scène. Blaireaux.
I probably would have found this more appealing in High School when I was into heavy metal bands of the time (mid-2000s). It’s definitely an important album from the genre, but I’m at a point in my life and music tastes where it doesn’t really do anything for me.
Not my thing.
Not a thrash metal fan typically but this album has quite a few songs on it that I remember listing to growing up and they still hold up!
Greatly dislike the screaming vocals. Tried to listen to the entire album in full but had to skip through most tracks after bearing through about 40 seconds of each number.
Nope..
Pure rock
Great album to listen to while working out
not for me
Deeply and probably deliberately unpleasant. Get out of my ears!
Not a metal fan tbh, but I didn't hate this. I've heard a lot about Dimebag and this was my first time hearing the band. The shouted vocals drop it a star.
Beautiful. 6/5
Negative stars are needed to accurately rate an absolute steaming pile of dogshit like this.
heavy
No desire. We are too old to enjoy that screaming😫
Um.. no thanks. Never caught on to the incessant screaming at the top of ones lungs - maybe to drown out the lack of creativity?
Utter waste of time.
Vulgar Display of Power Went in with an open mind and started off quite enjoying it. I’m not a metal aficionado at all but there are some songs in the genre I like. I can sometimes see a world where I get into stuff like this, but then after 3 songs I don’t want to get into it and I want to go home please. This definitely started to drag by the middle and then get quite boring quite quickly after that. I was glad when it was over. Obviously It’s not for me, although I would assume for the genre it is good. A couple of things stood out. I liked the riff on Mouth for War, I liked Walk, that had a kind of groove and felt like a song. Hollow’s first part seemed like a superior version of a metal ballad with a decent tune, before evolving into more standard riffing. There is an earnestness to this type of music that gets quite tiring. If you are really into metal I would guess that you can see the subtleties and nuances in the music, but to me the lack of light and shade drives a sense of monotony and stasis that ends up being frustrating and ultimately very dull. Reluctant to to say 1, its obviously not for me, and I would never listen to it again, but if you are into metal it surely must be a very good album, so I’ll go: ⭐️⭐️
Wooooooo. Respect. Walk.
Self awareness is one of the greatest attributes of this album. If you’re in the mood for it, there’s hardly anything more suitable.
Oh, I know this one! There was a time when I thought this was scary, then I went through a metal phase and thought it was pretty good, and now I recognize Pantera as a band with a tragic history and a problematic singer and a sound that is very much of its era
Walk is by far my favorite song, the rest didn't really stand out.
Arrrå!
Thrash metal isn't my thing. Nothing good ro say about this album 1
Not a metal fan.
Dark dark dark. This is probably going to be the heaviest rock that we get on the 1001 albums list. Vinnie Paul shows here why he was considered among the best metal drummers to ever play. Clean on the fast parts. Massive on the slow parts. This brings a heat and rage that is not matched by any other genre. Unlike the storytelling you get with Iron Maiden or the confused existential soul-searching of Metallica, Pantera has an incessant raging emotional fire. Sonically crushing, creative, and astonishingly tight, this gives birth to some of the best metal to come after it: Gojira, Avenged Sevenfold, Lamb of God and Trivium among them. This album seems to have brought this sort of dark introspective hardcore more into the mainstream. Underground black and death metal existed at the time but it certainly wasn't as accessible as this or the early thrash of Metallica and Anthrax, etc. It's cool, though. A lot of newer genres rear their ugly heads: djent, prog, post-hardcore, melodic death metal, southern (think Mastodon or Baroness), and whatever it was that Alice in Chains was doing. Criticisms: can be same sounding, guttural screaming is a good effect when used sparingly but here Anselmo WANTS YOU TO HEAR HIM (fair enough given the subject matter), sometimes the subtlety sounds forced. Overall a good record with tons of intensity that I wish Pantera could have built on instead of started luxuriating in for most of the ret of their career.
dig it.
Definitely had to FF through this one. I would venture to guess based on most of the 5-star reviews that if you were not a teenager in high school (especially if you dabbled in substances) when this came out, you “missed the boat.” Not one thing I could grab onto, though I tried.
didn't think I would like it because it's not my music.. But it was pretty good
Metal is not my genre, though a few songs got my head bobbing. I'd imagine it would hit me different live, but it will not get me further exploring the band.
haven't listened yet
I'm not sure when one would listen to this kind of music except working out or some other hobby that being angry is a plus. It's not awful. I've actually seen them in concert in 1994 but I just don't see listening very often.
A classic heavy rock album, featuring a very popular metal song that no one remembers is Pantera, 'Walk' A staple flavor of the 1990s heavy rock genre
Walk is an all time great, the others follow the familiar pattern but never to the same heights.
Nope.
Fuck this neo-nazi adjacent shit. Everyone who likes this album is an asshole.
Pantera is not my favorite metal band. I love the groove, but not the southern pride crap. And while I respect their place in metal history, it's hard to overlook done if their bullshit. This is a good record however. Some really great host and vocal work.
Despite my love of metal, Pantera doesn't do anything for me. I don't hear that spark, they sound a little hollow. Sad, but maybe another listen in the future would change that.
#93. Pantera- it's like thrash, but with anger management issues. This shit is literally just teenage angst in music form. My initial though was to award it 15 stars, but I had to subtract 5 stars for the album cover not being as good as Metal Magic, and then subtract 5 more stars for Phil Anselmo being the way that he is. 5/5: I dunno, but it's hard to give any less than 5 stars to an album I've surely listened to a hundred times or more. *this is the eighth album i purchased from this list Song added to playlist: Walk I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link
Music to arc-weld by. I don’t really do that, so, not so much an album for me.
Loud. Yes, sometimes loud is good. Really, I have to be in the mood to listen to stuff like this. Generally, it isn't something I listen to anymore. But, if I am in the mood, this would definitely do the trick. Standout: Hollow (because it is mellow, and that I was in the mood for). 3/5
Wow, this is great stuff! I so rarely listen to metal and it's many subgenres, so it's good for me to broaden my horizons and pay attention to music outside my usual listening habits. I need to listen to albums like this only a few tracks at at time because some of the songs get super-thrashy and after a while, it's a bit much for me. That's due to my conditioning and habits, of course, and I know the music I can listen to for hours on end would create the same experience for some listeners that I have with this music. To me, this has absolutely nothing to do with how "good" the music is (and "good" is in quotes because I really don't apply goodness or badness to art; I just experience it and go from there). These musicians are incredibly talented, no doubt. To play at those speeds and tempos with such precision...wow.
Not my kind of metal. A little cheesy with its overt edginess. If I heard just one of these songs mixed into a THPS soundtrack, I'd probably love it. As an album it's too same-y for me. Amazing album cover though.
Det har metal-energien det kan ikke benægtes
Simply 👍
Aw, man. I wanted to hate this but it's really good for what it is. Not the biggest fan of the lyrics but the lyricism itself is pretty good. Most of all, though, the jams are just so on point. I can't give it full marks but I it's a very strong 4.
A metal/guitar classic.
Some things just aren't for me, and this was one of them. It was a harder listen to sit through.
I am very nostalgic about this album. When I was in high school we used to ride around just blasting it. It’s better than I remember.
Apparently I like Pantera more than I ever thought possible
I don’t enjoy heavy metal singing, but the guitar work this album is undeniably impressive. As a fan of Rage Against the Machine and Tom Morello I can hear how this inspired him.
Que álbum sensacional! Puro rock de qualidade!
Music to lose custody of your child to.
Music for adults that weren't loved enough as kids. Gourmet version of Five Finger Death Punch.
A classic, I guess?
I think this is a very solid trash metal record. The powerful guitar riffs compliment the growling vocals really well. The power ballad towards the end is also a beautiful summary of the entire project.
Yes!!! Never listened to this album in its entirety and glad I have now. This album is perfect for metal heads in the gym, needing a little extra growl to get through that last rep.
Loved the guitars. Not as much a fan of the vocals. Feel like my guy needs a losenge.
This is like if music was violent diarrhea, but in a good way. There was a song in here that sounded like Nirvana and another that sounded like Faith No More. My usual problem with this kind of metal is that all the songs usually blend together in the end, so I'm glad they avoided that. And "Walk"? God damn.
This record and the album before, Cowboys From Hell, were truly eyeopeners in metal. At the time, metal was supposed to be fast. Death metal was the main style. This record was a step back to Metallica's ...And Justice For All, which sounds very similar to me, and then a step in the other direction. More focus on a New York Hardcore punk style groove (Cro-Mags, Prong, Biohazard, etc.). That being said, I never really liked Pantera. Favorite song: A New Level.
Heavy but great.. I was surprised how much I like this one!
fucking...FffUCKING.....FUUUCKINGGGGG, FUCKING RIPS!!! 7/10
Some individual songs are fantastic, but as a whole album, it does blur together sometimes.
Decent metal album. Holds up for its genre, but not objectively. Lyric writing isn't strong.
Average I guess
4.7
Now this is a metal album! Reee-SPECT! FUCK YEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!! I love everything about it, top marks! RIP Dimebag, you were a guitar god and you deserved better.
Good rhythm. Cool vocals, but overall not really for me.
Just no
I'm not a huge thrash metal person, but I would say this album is overall decent. Had some really good moments and songs, but also some stinkers. Walk is the biggest song off this album, and I had only heard the main riff since it's pretty well known, but I found the overall song a little underwhelming. 7.5/10 Fav song - A New Level
I honestly thought Walk was by Metallica. This is going straight on the weightroom playlist
A super tight metal album with memorable songs (haven’t listened to it in over ten years and remembered just about everything).
The music is fantastic. Hard, of course, but surprisingly nuanced for metal. Slow bits and quiet bits make the hard bits harder. But I still can’t stand screamo vocals. I need to tune it out to get through the thing, which is not fair to the musicians present. Too bad.
This was very American small-town angst. Teenage boys trapped with their friends feeling the need to belong. Nothing particularly bad- in fact it's well written and produced but it coud be so much better. Take for example Nirvana? Now if you want to make a example and wake up the world there you go........
Malgré toutes les victoires que j'ai pu accumuler dans ma vie, être capable de résister à une heure de métal sans vomir ni me tailler les veines reste sans doute la chose qui me rend le plus fier aujourd'hui.
Tout comme mon camarade d'écoute robcannebière, je suis très fier de pouvoir écouter 1h de metal atroce d'une traite. Quelle force mentale nous avons développé !
Ohan tää tosi djent. Yks tähti on vaan pakko tiputtaa pateettisuudesta.
Some good stuff but ultimately bad music made by bad people. I can’t really get over Dimebag’s guitar tone. Top tracks: Mouth For War, Fucking Hostile
Fun elements, but really a drag. It feels like a transition between the metal bands I like to the bands I loathe
Not bad in the end. Thought it was gonna be all thrashy and growly and it was a bit, but there were also some decent guitar riffs and more variety in styles than I feared.
Nice
It’s a great metal album, the band sounds so tight and the instrumental bits are fantastic
An outstanding thrash metal album. Dark, gritty and powerful. A couple of songs try to go in a different direction stylistically ("This Love," "Hollow") and it doesn't quite work. But still overall a riveting listen. Fave Songs: A New Level, Walk, Regular People (Conceit), Hollow, Mouth for War, Live in a Hole
I can appreciate the tightness of the band and the skill of the musicians, but in the end I just don't really relate to this kind of aggression.
The glam metal thing didn't work out for them so they decided to get all hard instead? I mean I guess they succeeded, but at what cost? I'll tell you what cost: nu-metal.
Rather be listening to Slayer.
I know Dimebag is a guitar legend, so one extra star for that, but this music isn't really enjoyable at all.
Last record 'Dusty in Memphis', then this! But all good - Life's Rich Pageant (haven't had that yet). I knew of Pantera, but hadn't really listened to them before. This was one of those records which 'did what it said on the tin' - but did it well I think.
metal metal metal
Pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. Will definitely listen to it again at the gym. Favourite songs were "Walk" and "Hollow", despite its shitty soft rock start
Great Album, but I definitely wasn't in a metal mood at my desk. Which didn't allow me to fully appreciate it. Coming back to this one later
8/10 Absolute powerhouse of a record. Staple of metal and endless supply of great riffs. If you look up "stank face" on Google, Walk by Pantera shows up. Still think Cowboys from Hell is better, though.
Brani Preferiti: - "A New Level" - "Walk" - "This Love" - "Live In a Hole" - "Hollow" Note: Chi ama il genere sa che i Pantera sono un gruppo che ha rivoluzionato questa scena assieme a pochi altri. Potrà considerarsi mainstream ma come disco preferisco più "Cowboys...", ciò però non toglie quanto questo probabilmente è l'album che ha definito i Pantera come li conosco. È un album che si merita un 5? Secondo me non un 5 pieno. Perché do 5? Perché dopo un mese di attesa, finalmente è capitato il mio genere di musica preferito.
i like the idea of metal but in reality it almost always sucks
Not listened before but I actually thought this was a pretty enjoyable metal album. I think history has favoured Metallica who sound similar but had bigger hits. I thought the production/mixing was weird, the guitars seemed too loud in comparison with the drums when compared to other metal/rock/grunge from the early nineties but I’ll probably listen again when the mood takes me.
Ennen dissasin, mut kyllähän tää on ihan mainioo kamaa.
Unlike the Anthrax album I did make it all the way through this one. Don’t know why though. Awful.
Similar to Anthrax for me but better guitar and worse vocals. I did manage to finish the album though. The last song on here was the best and sounds the least like the rest of the album… at first then we come back to the thrashing I did not miss at all.
Snoeihard, goeiedagschotel zeg... Maar ik ga er eigenlijk verassend goed op? Ik vind dit minder herrie dan sommige van de meer punk albums die we gehad hebben. Dit doet me meer denken aan mijn eigen, zij het korte, metal periode. Had ik eigenlijk niet verwacht na mijn heerlijke jazz trip. Het is grappig, waar ik chagerijnig werd van het schreeuwen bij Linkin Park vind ik het hier beter klinken ofzo? Misschien ben ik vandaag gewoon meer in de stemming hiervoor, ik heb geen idee. Ik vind het instrumentaal gewoon heel sterk, en zelfs met de screamende zang kan ik prima overweg. Dit is gewoon een scheurend metal album zoals ik ze vroegah ook wel luisterde. Ik zit hier met duivelhoorntjes achter het bureau hoor! Is het gek dat ik last van mn keel krijg van te lang deze muziek luisteren? FAVO: A new level, Fucking Hostile, This love
Poeh, dat is even wakker worden na de smooth jazz van de dag ervoor. De rollende gitaarriffen zijn duidelijk toonaangevend geweest voor alle metal die hierna volgde. Helaas bloeden ze voor mij ook enorm in elkaar over. Wat uiteindelijk overblijft is een grote brij van schreeuwende gitaren, zonder echte hoogtepunten. Misschien als het album iets korter was geweest, maar nu kan ik er geen enkel nummer uit pikken Favorieten: -
2.1
1/10, not for me - too much screaming
Vulgar display of something
I enjoyed it as something a bit different. Walk was probably the highlight for me.
Some good music. I enjoyed the album especially the guitar solos Looked at some Other albums and liked songs on Spotify. Very iconic guitar intros to Walk,
Metal not really my thing, I thought the lyrics were pretty uninspired and the music pretty easy to write
Great guitar riffs - if Metallica and Children of Bodom had a lovechild
Not to my taste!
Not a metal fan but do admire the groove and proficiency.
As a headbanger raised in East Texas, I’ve heard a lot of Pantera. The guitar and rhythm sections are pretty decent, but repetitive. Unfortunately, the lyrics are really dumb and Anselmo’s vocals are trash. Which makes sense as Anselmo is a garbage human being.
Really had a lot of fun with this one. Pantera plays hopscotch with the line that separates my enjoyment and being too heavy for me, but the tracks that fell on the right side of that line were awesome. Favorite track: Hollow
Pretty solid. Got to respect the founders. Only about half the songs are something I would listen to again.
No okei, tykkäsin tästå enemmän kuin ehkä aattelin. Oli kyllä semmoista aika agressiota vapauttavaa tykitystä. Sopis lenkille. Huomas kanssa kyllä miten moni riffi kuullosti aika tutulta eli on kyllä influencannut muita bändeja. Walkin jälkeen muuttu paremmaksi ja Fucking Hostile oli (ehkä?) tuttu mutta helvetin kova
Can't stand it when vocalists sing like Cookie Monster. Music was a bit interesting, but the vocals kill it for me.
thin tinny yet catchy metal shredding with some somewhat cringe vocals. wish we had more of syncopated metal beats and less of those vocals. 2.5/5
Oh they wanna be a hardcore punk band sooooo bad! There's a lot of metal with better riffs, better lyrics and better vocals then this. Oh well, at least the title is accurate.
Good metal album...I think. Not a genre I'm super clued up on but I did enjoy this album, woke me up on a tired Friday morning, enjoyable listen.
objektiivisuus kadonnut täysin, niin paska striikki päällä että tämä kuulostaa hyvältä.. saapas jalka metallika. mahdollisesti paskinta kynänviekkatyöskentelyä mitä koskaan kuultu... paljon ykkösarvosteluja tykkäilty, ei millään ole niin huono, siinä vasta subjektiivisuttta konsanaan (EI TAIDE EI OLE SUBJEKTIVE, YKSI MAHDOLLINEN VASTAUS KAIKKEEN...) janiin I was a teenage dirtbag in the traditional sense: a weird, cigarette smoking metal head; a total societal misfit. HOLY FUCK THIS GUY... ROUGH CHILDHOOD... NOT FITTING IN... CRAZINESS SADNESS... hollow
Listened Before: Y Wow, Pantera! These dudes were so unique back in the day! Too heavy for me in high school, but a lot of my friends listened to them so I'm very familiar. This is one of their best albums with their sound being polished but the production not quite as overpolished as their later stuff. Dimebag was an amazing guitar player, and Phil still sounds great to this day. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: Walk
This is my favourite Pantera album and I like Pantera, so it's an instant 5-star review from me. I liked Cowboys from Hell, but this album feels more coherent, everyone at the top of the individual member's form, tight as it could possibly be. The songs are great and we even get Hollow at the end. Lovely production here as well, just overall a fantastic album. It's always a good sign when I open Spotify and half the tracks have green hearts already! I used to play this endlessly as background music when I was playing some video game (that I can't remember the name of now) back in the day and it never got annoying. Yes, this was a high point with many lows to follow, but I'm not going to knock off a point just because the lead singer turned into a douchebag.
RE.........SPECT.......WALK!
This Band and Album Rocks!!! A Perfect 5/5, ‘Nuff Said.
Vulgar Display of Power is the sixth album by American heavy metal band Pantera. Being their first album after their breakthrough album (Cowboys from Hell - previous album), Vulgar Display of Power was a massive success. It's the band's highest selling album, is certified double platinum in the US, and is considered one of the most influential heavy metal albums. Critics and fans loved the hard, aggressive riffs and lyrics on this album, making this a staple of the heavy metal genre - especially for the 90's. If head-banging, mosh-pitting, or fast-paced, angry guitar playing is your thing, then you will enjoy this album. The title suits it perfectly; Pantera can make some damn good metal music!
3.6 - Possibly the angriest record I've ever heard, and it expresses that rage exceptionally well. The thrashing guitar lines come on fast and relentless, supported by some amazing drumming. Unlike other metal vocalists, I can actually decipher the lyrics through Phil Anselmo's grunts and bellows. I like Dimebag's Darrell's screaming solos on songs like "A New Level." They also show a dynamic range on songs like "This Love" and "Hollow."
This album makes me feel like a redneck who feels he is a true metalhead because he listens to Pantera. A lot of the stuff on here was kinda wack. Maybe I'm bias but they just seem trashy to me. I will add an extra star for the pure instrumental talent. Great drumming and lead guitar playing.
forgettable genre
I used to hate this kind of thing. Now I can appreciate the skill but it’s still not what I’d listen to by choice. Could honestly be a 2 or a 4, depending if I’m feeling like judging objectively or subjectively. Let’s split the diff
Not my usual genre, but an ok listen.
This album is intense and in your face. Pantera barks at you. Pretty great record incorporating a lot of styles, excellent guitar work, excellent vocal work. Great band.
Not to my taste, but it’s fine for what it is.
Like a triple dose of Red Bull delivered intravenously
Listening to this album made me realise how good this is. And strangely how much it sometimes sounds like Alice In Chains. But you'll always recognise a Pantera song. Vinnie's drums are unique, Dimebags riffs are masterful and Anselmo's vocals give it just that needed edge. Was about to give it a 4* but re-listening to it again made me aware about how good this album was in its time. And that deserved that extra star, even if it drops off a bit near the end.
Not interested
conflicted because musically i think this album is closer to my genre than a lot of others i’ve listened to. however, phil anselmo makes me so angry and i couldn’t stop feeling uncomfortable while listening. i feel like nothing will be the right rating for this so i’ll just go for a middle one.
1 i hate metal. the guitar solos are the only redeemable thing about this album but even then they're just meh. the "singing" is so annoying though god if they'd just toned it down a lil on the screaming i could have added at least one extra star. fave songs: ://
Some good songs and man is it intense
Not at all
I just don’t enjoy this style of music.
This is just not for me.
Despite being better than sepultura and having a cool album cover, this was still very much not for me. I appreciated this slightly more than other metal based on the guitar work and varying of sounded but I still had a headache by the end and was wishing that it had ended about 20 minutes earlier.
Trash. Rippin. Heavy but like 90’s heavy.
greatest album ever made
Glorious metal. Great example of the genre. I don't care for the scream vocals but I still enjoyed the album.
I rule you fool
This sounded like Metallica with less good vocals.
Un excelente album de metal y un verdadero fundador de lo que posteriormente se pasaría a llamar “Groove Metal”. Probablemente el punto más alto de la carrera de Pantera.
I was expelled from school when I was 14 and this album was the soundtrack to that time. It was a pretty angry/strange/fucked up time in my life, and I can't honestly say if Pantera was a symptom of that, a coping mechanism, or just existed alongside it all. Nevertheless, I listened to Vulgar Display of Power non-stop in 1998. I was a manky teenage metalhead and in hindsight, a bit of a cliche. I wasn't very popular; being known for getting kicked out of another school in the area doesn't create mystique unless you're James Dean cool to start with. I was just a misfit. I was a decently smart kid but the only things I really cared about in 1998 were heavy metal and fantasy novels, haha. I hated school and I thought everyone else was a pack of cunts. Metal was in an interesting phase in early 1998. Thrash metal had been replaced by groove metal, and was in turn being replaced by nu-metal. It hadn't quite happened yet, though, and imo 1995-99 or so were the most creative few years metal had to offer. Sepultura, Machine Head, Fear Factory, White Zombie, Faith No More, Tool, Rammstein, Cannibal Corpse, etc etc. But none of those bands were as cool as Pantera. Even Sepultura, arguably my favourite band of all time, they weren't as utterly cool as Phil and Dimebag. Those two guys really were my idols at that point. And I guess as a weird kid who didn't fit in, I really did want somehow to *be* cool. This band and album imprinted on me bigtime. You know how sometimes music can do more than just remind you of a time? When I listen to Hollow, I can smell the mould and dank permanently-wet cement in the science block. I can feel the slimy green algae-type stuff that was in every gap in the cement. I was a ratty teenager; I rubbed my fingers on that shit all the time. I listened to Pantera instead of paying attention in class. I got into more and more trouble at my new school and drove my parents fucking insane. Dad threatened to smash my Pantera CDs at one point, haha. He stood in the backyard with them (Cowboys, Vulgar, Far Beyond Driven and Great Southern Trendkill) spread out on the lawn, ready to smack them with a sledgehammer. In hindsight, Phil and Dime would've thought that was pretty cool. I talked dad off the ledge somehow. 25 years later or so and I'm still not cool, and I haven't ever been cool in the meantime. I don't mind anymore. I really enjoyed listening to this album today. I am kinda stoned right now so this is a bit rambly, but I genuinely enjoyed this little trip down memory lane. I listen to Pantera every so often, but not usually this album. It was a pleasant little listen. It really still is that damn good. I might listen to a Machine Head album or two this weekend. 5/5.
Nice stuff especially walk, some tracks are a bit filler but not much so 4/5
Easily my favourite album fronted by a neo-nazi, solid 3 stars
Well, I'm relieved I put this album off. The short story is that I've been feeling a bit poorly. Upset stomach, pounding head, coughing, nose blowing, aches… The whole nine yards. It doesn't really take a stroke of genius to wonder why someone wouldn't want to listen to loud instruments, heavy, growling vocals, and pure aggression under such conditions. But something about choosing today, the day my body aches have slipped away and only the faintest frog in my throat, to listen, feels like a strange breath of fresh air. One could call it energising. This review isn't glowing - some of these tracks feel a bit too repetitive, and I would never point to this sort of vocal style as a favourite - but honestly, I get the appeal. I wish there were more tracks like This Love and Hollow, though. I really enjoy a switch between tender and growling vocals. Utilizing different vocal styles in music can elevate the emotion in a unique way!
This is getting a 3 because I had this on while playing Diablo 4 and it fit perfect with the game. Would listen again only while playing D4
I owned the first three Pantera albums. Listening to this brought almost no nostalgia. Groove metal maybe, but still just power chords distortion and throat screaming.
Raw, powerful. slips into some classic metal licks, but for the post part it stays ever pursuing and angry.
Groovy
Сам по себе инструментал кайф, слушабельно, но вокал...в целом группу эту не люблю, сколько не пыталась заслушать. 4/10
violent and agressive
4/5. A truly vulgar display of power. Honestly if this album was tighter and didn’t have a few songs for filler, it might be a perfect album. The aggression drives it so much I want scream with them. Best song: Walk, This Love
Pantera got the name of their album right at least. More about that in the conclusion of my review... I kinda appreciated the first two tracks, and honestly I can see why those two highlights were impressive for a lot of metal fans. When it comes to those sorts of dry guitar riffs, I'm much more of a Helmet fan myself, but the fact that I'm making this comparison here shows that I tried *very hard* to keep an open mind. And I can dig bands in the overall metal tag once in a while (Converge, Mastodon, Korn, Deftones--the latter also produced by Terry Date, by the way). So maybe it was time for me to properly reassess Pantera, decades after their heyday... But then, after those first two good cuts, came "Walk". Which, inexplicably, is Pantera's most played song on Spotify... 🤨 Er... What? Can someone explain to me how a so-called "groove-metal" band can have such a half-assed, lethargic rhythm section, one that's actually so devoid of said... *groove*? Worse, I feel like I have become dumber now that I have gone through Phil Anselmo's inept vocals and lyrics: "RE!!! SPECT!!!! ARE YOU TALKING TO ME???!!!" Er... I don't know... MAY!!! BE!!! PHIL!!!! The mere fact that "Walk" is Pantera's most popular song on a major streaming service shows that Pantera fans and I have nothing in common. What follows this (inexplicably popular) low point can be decent sometimes. There's the sort of Tool rip-off that "This Love" is (minus the interesting time patterns) ; or the nicely upfront and aggressive "Rise". But those decent cuts are mixed with stuff that's often as obnoxious as "Walk" is. See "Fucking Hostile", or, most especially, "Hollow", with its cheesy hair-metal-ballad lengthy intro. That song about a comatose friend ironically manages to be as brain-dead as its subject matter. I don't know if the lyrics of this song refer to real events, so I should probably err on the side of caution here. Yet I would be lying if I said I thought the *music* on it was any good. But there's worse, and that is the incredibly awkward "No Good (Attack The Radical)", right at the center of the tracklisting, and making this album lose a whole point all by itself. I'm not even attempting to describe how ridiculously bad the music is here (see what I wrote about "Walk"). The *real* problem is that Anselmo is unable to articulate any cohesive point about race relations in the US, a subject he wants to tackle here without having anything to say that's interesting or relevant on the matter. After all, no one *asked* him to sing about such a heavy topic in the first place. And reading those lyrics, what I mostly understand is that Anselmo actually had very muddled thoughts on this subject. Which may or may not explain how he sometimes had, well... *moments* on stage that still seem quite suspicious to me. Add the man's dumb public stances about rap music, which were equally suspicious, and you have quite an ugly picture here. Oh, and guitarist Dimebag Darrell was a George Bush enthusiast, I hear... No wonder a lot of listeners, reviewers and even fans felt some Lynyrd Skynyrd overtones in Pantera's music. Those were mostly conveyed through Anselmo's drawl, and I guess that's another aspect that worked in favor of the band, because it gave them a "distinct" identity. But let's face it, such identity didn't age very well, did it? Aaaaah, the South...It's a "different culture", if you take my meaning... About Anselmo and his problematic stances and words--onstage and elsewehere--go online to find out about all that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily saying that Anselmo is a full-blown racist. What I'm merely suggesting here is that he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, as they say. See also the debacle of his relations with the Abbott brothers towards the end of the band's career. That guy never learned to shut his mouth for his own good, that's for sure. Both brothers are dead today, may they rest in peace. One was awfully murdered onstage by a lunatic with a legally purchased gun--another sad layer of irony about the right-wing ideas that Pantera is often associated with. And what's also pretty disturbing about this situation is that Anselmo can now cynically use the Pantera brand to tour with the band's bass player and two other musicians--something that Dimebag Darrell and his brother were dead-set against when they were still alive. So does Anselmo have any shred of decency left in his bones? It's up to you to decide on this. All of this happened decades after *Vulgar Display Of Power* came out, I'll grant you that. But as I have pointed out earlier, what an apt name for this record! And dare I say, one that was also extremely prophetic, foretelling many sad events to come. Sorry, but I can't have any benevolent feelings about this band. There are too many things in their music and history that sound pretty bad. Or just sad. So next, please. Number of albums left to review: 555 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 216 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 104 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 129 (including this one - with a 1/5 grade for the purposes of this list, which means a 6/10 grade for more general purposes: 5 + 1)
My knee-jerk reaction when I saw Pantera crop up: "Ugh." But I had the same reaction when Megadeth's "Rust in Peace" appeared, only to be pleasantly surprised by it. Maybe this would be a similar experience. The first track on the album is "Mouth for War," and I was once again pleasantly surprised. Solid drums, great guitar ... maybe I'll like this after all. Aaaaand then Anselmo's vocals kicked in and my fleeting optimism was bashed into a thousand pieces. I just can't listen to this kind of stuff. It's just yelling. Or growling. Or both. But if you were to ask me what I thought incels, school shooters, and white supremacists listened to, this would be it. I'm not implying the band (or the majority of their fans) share those views, but this just sounds like toxic masculinity in musical form. I can't even think when shit like this is playing. It's way too aggro, which is a shame, because the instrumentals are solid. This gets 4 stars for the instrumentals and negative infinity for the vocals. HARD pass.
Loved listening to this album. I feel like I can always reset my mood when listening to classic metal.
Man, this one brings back memories. That crunchy guitar. Some of those tracks will be in my brain forever. Classic debut. Still sad we lost Dimebag and Vinnie Paul.
Pantera reminds me of that uncle who regularly visits the gym, shares cringy Facebook quotes about being "a street smart tough guy" or "an entrepreneur", and owns a huge-ass SUV with political stickers all over it. He is probably a bit racist/sexist and secretly calls himself "alpha male". But despite this, I think that uncle is a pretty cool metalhead chad that I would definitely smoke with (as long as we don't talk about politics of course). So yeah, this album is filled with so much groove and testosterone. Rarely can an album make me bang my head this much.
In den Neunzigern konnte ich nicht recht etwas mit ihnen anfangen, dieses Album hat mir beim hören ein Grinsen ins Gesicht gezaubert. Auf's Maul!
I made it through the whole album although this is really not my jam. I don’t hate it but it doesn’t appeal to me.
Inte bra!!
Man this shit rocks lol
Sucks... några bra grooves men de e så lame... känns som posturing
This was decent but not a huge fan of the vocals.
A solid heavy metal album that was great to listen to and really just get some head-banging in, to really feel the drums and guitars and just jump around (or as much as I wanted to whilst at work). Another classic metal band that still stands the test of time. Best: Walk Worst: This Love
Oooof, this was not good.
Hard as shit
Honnêtement un peu déçu, je m'attendais à ce que l'ensemble de l'album soit plus solide au lieu de juste les gros hits. Je veux pas enlever l'impact que le band a eu sur la scène grove, mais en général les riffs sont très standard. 7/10
It's pretty decent. Lots of metal.
After listening to Sepultura, this is slightly more melodic. There is more of an effort to find a driving riff or groove and then a couple of songs that slow the tempo down to ballad level.... with Hollow actually having something that is closer to singing. Energetic aggressive set. Seems good in doses but a bit exhausting by the end.
The riff isn't bad, then the lead yeller starts yelling. He obviously wants to be Hetfield, but he also has this dramatic thing going. Good metal drags you in to an experience. Cliched metal is intensely boring. This is next-level cliche.
Made me want to crush some monsters and punch holes in my doublewide. Awesome trailer park metal.
Really? Can’t think even the band would think this was what they were put on this earth to do.
Oh, lord. I try to be reasonably in-depth with these reviews, and to give each album a fair assessment on its own terms, but I also reserve the right to not over-analyse something too much if I just plain don’t enjoy it. And here we are with Pantera’s “Vulgar Display of Power”, an eminent entry in thrash metal. I’ve never been a fan of the genre and this one was never going to convert me. Hated the thin, compressed sound. Hated the unbearable bellowed vocals. Hated the lyrics. Hated the hatred. See the guy in this oh-so-profound album cover, with the fist in his face? I think Pantera want that to be all of their naysayers across the 51 minutes of this album. Confronted by their almighty rage! I just ended up bored, thinking ahead to reviewing Supertramp instead. If you like it, good for you. I just couldn’t. Could barely listen through, so was determined to make reviewing it as little a chore as possible.
I don't like it when they growl, and while the growling isn't the worst I ever heard here it can still get a bit much sometimes. Otherwise I would have given it 4 stars.
A great great genre album. And what in the past i dismissed as bad production - is actually genius sound engineering - bass on the guitar - and keep the kick drums on treble - and still a powerful metal album?? Phwooar. To me this is a quality metal album end to end.
I do like a few of the songs
HL: "Hollow", "Walk", "Regular People (Conceit)", "This Love" Hardest rate in a while- on one hand, it's an ugly sounding record (lots of bands/songs don't have to be pretty) with vocals I don't really care for, & the racism controversy centered on the vocalist doesn't help. On the other, the ugliness belies some socially conscious lyrics (including a song that's sort of anti-racist?) and head-bopping grooves. The ballads are pretty strong, meaning that Anselmo has a chance to show off more than one dimension. One of the better albums out of an era & genre of music that I don't appreciate all that much, aka late thrash/the tailspin into nu metal.
Now that's heavy! Man this was some of the cleanest but gnarliest metal I've heard in a while. These guys nailed it
Just no
So edgy, a little too edgy. Didnt quite come across as believable. At least the sound was ok
Soild 90s metal album, that should be in the list, clearly influenced a lot of the metal I listened to as a teenager, I am now a grown man so will not be adding this to my frequent rotation.
Mon chum m'a fait remarquer qu'il s'agissait de metal "lent", ce qui n'est pas courant, et ça m'a permis de comprendre ce qui les distinguait. C'est une musique lourde qui nous entoure et ne nous laisse pas nous échapper.
A fun listen and I could hear how many bands seem to have built their sound on these songs, such as incubus lol, but it wasn’t something I could listen to again.
Pas si horrible qu'on pourrait le penser (3.5) L'album aurait pu s'arrêter By Demons Be Driven, Hollow venant briser l'énergie assez unique et brutale de l'album
Connais peu ce style mais album varié et defouloir 😊
NON. En plus d'être un putain de nazi, le chanteur chante comme s'il était constamment constipé. En plus, le groupe n'est pas si bon et il n'y a qu'une chanson vraiment mémorable dans le lot. NULACHIER PREFS : Walk, This Love MOINS PREF : Hollow
Listened to a couple songs. Just never going to be my thing.
Peak Thrash Metal had been and gone. Sounds like parody Metallica. Something about the singer. 2/5
Very powerful, more so than it is vulgar! The foundation of much metal since; a clear influence on slipknot and a7x, and many other heavy & musically gifted bands.
Ok album, Pantera defined heavy metal in the late 80’s, early 90’s. Their fueled rage has never been my thing, as it’s lacked melody.
Definitely the best Pantera album. Walk still gets my engine going.
Tres heavy des classiques de ma jeunesse au travers, mais quand emem une ecoute difficile. Pour 50 min. 3.5
5/5
Com 15 ou 17 anos não teria condição de reconhecer os problemas das posições facistas do Phill. Mas continua a escutar porque musicalmente foi fundamental para minha formação com metal, especialmente pelos irmãos Vinnie Paul e Dimebag. Com a consciência política atual, talvez não começasse a escutar. De qualquer forma, a música em si não faz apologia fascista.
Awesome. Kick in the balls, throw you to the floor and beat you in a mosh pit. No punches pulled. A no frills metal album. Really enjoyed it.
Meh
Groove metal. Me ha gustado. Un 4.
Me niego a escuchar más. He llegado a Fucking Hostile. Vulgar todo, como el propio nombre del disco.
Accidentally listened to the wrong Pantera album first---Cowboys From Hell is better than this (2 stars for Cowboys). A lot of tough-guy asshole posers I knew in high school loved this album. It's not the worst album on the list but there's not much here to like; removing the vocals might get it another star.
Not really my stuff, but it served a very specific purpose. I mean, this is not interesting enough to be something that I listen to while focused only on the music. It is not pleasant and discreet enough to be listened to while I do some other mental work. But, oh boy, if I'm late and I have to bike, that's the solution. This morning I was really late for my first lesson, but I managed to get there on time and that's just because when I felt like I needed to slow down a bit, there was someone screaming "FUKKIN' HOSTILEEEEE" in my ears. Never been so fast in my life. Zoom zoom
Not for me. I had to listen to it one track at a time. I can appreciate a song at a time to a degree, but listening to the full album is incomprehensible to me.
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
"Roses are red," I wrote in my journal, "Pantera is loud but Doom is eternal" 4/5
Ooh! You're hard. I don't like heavy metal macho posturing. I don't like this. Next.
Refused to listen.
Wasn’t expecting to like this, but the riffing is excellent, catchy and pretty damn heavy. The singing isn’t my taste, but isn’t as awful as growling howling metallers are known for. Similar to Metallica from the same period without such clean melody lines and memorable tunes, nonetheless it’s actually ok to listen to.
Pretty amazingly varied for this type of album
Too hard for my personal taste, but I understand the music. I liked the "Metallica-like melody" track.
Although I’m not a fan, there’s something to be said for the classic metal feel of this. And I’d never realized how truly sad, isolated, and lonely the lyrics are.
Meh. Not my thing, but not terrible.
not for everyone i suppose, walk is a banger the rest of the album is surprisingly alright
It’s pretty good but it can get tedious.It’s weird that they’re racist when thy have this whole song about not being racist.I think?! The lyrics are confusing.The lyrics are kinda bad for most of this album actually.
Glad that's over. Not for Williams.
100% NOT my bag.
Walk is a good song. Rise got me going this morning. As heavy an album as any on the list, this is a foundation of modern metal. As only a passing metalhead, I can't say I felt it move me to a 5 star but I found it enjoyable enough for a 4.
If you entered "metal" into a stock music service, you'd get something like this back, which one doesn't consider a compliment. "Hollow" and "This Love" have very brief passages of something that might be vaguely redeemable, but well you know where it ends up .... in "Fucking Hostile" territory. In other words, it's the very essence of awful.
First thing, fuck that Nazi Anselmo. The album is still a classic, but definitely thinking twice about listening
Made it 30 seconds and no more. Just cannot abide that style of singing
Dnl
Goes hard and doesnt let up
voice sucks, the guitar tones i'm sure were great back then but they sound like shit today. 2.
Not my thing, but they do their thing well. 3-
Heavy metal is a tough genre for me to get into because even though I enjoy intense guitars and screaming instrumentals, I like a little melody in my vocals over just abrasive yelling. This record did the former well, but not so much the latter. It's certainly a vulgar display of power (and one out of place ballad), but not one that I was particularly excited about witnessing. Standout tracks were A New Level and Walk.
Phil sucks and I am unconvinced he's not racist.
Klinkt wel vet, begrijp de vooruitstrevendheid. Verder beetje eendimensionaal album.
Dette albumet har utvilsomt en egenverdi, til tross for at sjangeren normalt ikke treffer. «Walk» er jo sinnsykt fet.
A string of metal after a long absence has proved very enjoyable. Though a tad long, you can really see why this album is considered an influential touchstone for metal in the 90s. Phil Anselmo (a bellend by all accounts) delivers a vortex swallowing howl that offsets the general lyrical banalities that plague this genre. There’s a real working man’s approach to Pantera’s crunchy assault, but equally there’s nothing rudimentary about Dimebag Darrell’s fantastic guitar work. There’s a bit of glam, prog and arena rock underlying the thrash moniker - and this is as much to the record’s detriment as anything. It falls into indulgent pitfalls which totally lose my attention, especially on the longer form compositions. This is a shame because as its raucous best, this record delivers some truly colossal riffs. A solid 3.5/5 for me.
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.
I understand that Pantera is influential, but I was not impressed with this album. Its mix of thrash metal with some hardcore elements is not original. Its more straightforward moments felt like a Metallica cover band. I will say that was production was clean and the mix wasn’t muddy, however, it seems like the band is more interested in conveying an attitude rather than anything of substance.
Heavy thrash metal. Not my thing.
Nice and heavy, not sure about those lyrics, some dodgy thinking going on there.
Just a little too tough for my tastes.
A lot sounded the same
Thrash metal is too metal for me
Top 3 Songs: 1 - Walk (3) 2 - Fucking Hostile (4) 3 - Mouth for War (1)
Awful
Not my cuppa tea anymore but this is pretty damn good. Brought back lots of nostalgic memories too (mainly listening to this on my Creative Zen mp3 player on the way to college). Nowhere near as cliche as other metal albums that have made this list, and the riffs are something else. Rifftastic, if you will. I just wish 99% of Sunderland metal bands circa 2006 weren’t pale imitations of Pantera. Kinda cheapens it for me through no fault of the Pantera chaps.
Very fun, some rock club staples on here, walk in particular is a classic. Prefer Pantera to similar bands and would definitely listen to again in the right mood.
Really pleasantly surprised. I thought this would be lame, but it's very listenable. Great memories of 2006-2008 with Walk being on in most clubs, never knew it was Pantera. If you could distill the smell of a sweaty goth into a record, this is it. My olfactory bulb is tingling.
Finally some heavy metal! Pantera kind of passed me by in the 90s while I was in my Punk phase but I really enjoyed this. Some great riffs and a high level of anger/shouting throughout (what more could you need). The first 4 tracks are my highlights.
I know Pantera but never listened to an album before. Enjoyed it, good change of pace from a lot of albums we've had recently. Think "walk" and "fucking hostile" were the only songs I knew and are the best tracks imo. Tbf the whole first half of the album is really good. I remember quite vividly when Dimebag got shot, which is a bit strange given I wasn't a fan particularly.
I never learned to appreciate death metal death metal.
Nope - not for me.
Discazo cañero de thrash por los 4 costados, con una voz brutal y unos sonidos de bajos predominantes. Muy bestia y con algunas canciones muy buenas
Explosive awesomeness. Didn't expect to like this as much as I did. 4 stars.
I don't think anyone can deny Dimebag Darrell's chops. I kept going back and forth between a three and a four on this album. I don't like the production (so high, so much gain), and the lead singer is a notorious shithead, but it is a fantastic metal record. Favorite tracks: "Fucking Hostile", "Mouth For War", "By Demons Be Driven"
Killer riffs, tight grooves, just incredibly brutal sounding. Dimebag was a fucking wicked guitarist. Always liked how these guys had both groove and technical skill. Usually this style of vocal is tough for me to listen to for close to an hour, but the musicality keeps it interesting.
Not really my thing
Pain.
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.
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.
Listening to ‘Vulgar Display Of Power’ is like having someone using a pneumatic drill to bore into your skull, with a sound heavy enough to burst an eardrum. It’s balls to the floor all the way with nary a moment to catch your breath. Full of angry lyrics, frenetic guitar solos and furious drumming, from a technical point of view at least, it’s excellent. I would’ve liked a bit more subtlety and variation to proceedings, but obviously that’s not the point. Definitely does what it says on the tin though.
I am not a metal fan...it just seems to be all (angry) vibes to me with little redeeming quality. However...I felt there was just a little something on this album that peaked my interest enough to move it off the 1 line. 1.5/5
just couldn't
After an excellent major label debut, Pantera were just going from strength to strength in terms of albums, where they just got better and heavier each successive album. Vulgar Display of Power is an apt title, start to finish this album showcases the power of the band, with banger after banger of heavy ass metal.
Best Song: A New Level. I liked the rhythm of the riff best here. Worst Song: Live in a Hole. So sluggish and weighed down, with a solo that is comically at odds with the rest of the song. Overall: Pantera always seemed to me like a slowed-down version of some other, better metal band. I bet this sounds decent at 1.25x or 1.5x speed, but at its current pace it just meanders around these bloated, overly serious tracks. Boring metal is a sin, and this is as boring as it gets.
Pantera have always made me cringe. Don't get me wrong, I like some metal, but this is just a bit shit.
Fuck that was a slog. My throat hurts.
Not for me
I like loud, I liked this. Dimebag’s work on the guitar is fucking great, the drums are so tight. I appreciate what they’ve done here, aside from the ballad, I doubt I’ll return to it but the music deserves 4 stars
What a classic. First listen to this since high school. A lot of the tracks hold up but it also has its share of filler tracks that blend together. Still, this is teen rage in an album and definitely a must listen.
Very cool
Pretty good, I think there's not as much to latch onto today, but there's definitely significant cultural impacts that's taken into effect. I think the album got better as it went along. Good effort. 3.5/5
Oof. Mixed. I remember Walk from Jilly's Rockworld and Ritz Mondays, class. This Love is epic. No Good Attack the Radical is decent musically with problematic lyrics. People say it's "beyond racism" whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean. "You blame oppression and play the role of criminals". Yeah. Hmmm, nah, fuck off mate. Rise, is another cracker that seems to espouse free thinking but when they guy has done a Nazi salute and shouted 'white power' on stage, well, that does inspire some thoughts. By Demons... is decent. Hollow is sub-Nickelback shite until the metal part starts. Separating the politics out of it, some bangers, some I'm less fond of without even paying attention to the lyrics, so it's going to be a 3.
I wasn't expecting to like this album, and by and large even trying to listen with an open mind, I was right. The good bits: some of the guitar riffs are pretty catchy, and the drumming is fairly epic. The main bad bit that renders the whole thing somewhat unpleasant is the vocals. I guess I just don't get the appeal but I don't find screamed gravelly vocals particularly fun
What a banger. I really enjoyed this and am having trouble picking a favourite track. Walk is most familiar but so many other tracks are just great.
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...
I’ve heard the Cowboys From Hell album before and quite enjoyed that. I wouldn’t particularly consider myself to be a fan of Pantera, but I’m still interested enough to be happy to hear more. Songs I already knew: Walk Favourites: Walk, Hollow I think I might get a little hate for this, but I didn’t really like this album. Walk was fun, although I have to question if that’s just through familiarity and nostalgia and head banging at the metal club nights in my younger days. Hollow was a very good song, and the transition from ballad into metal within this track was fantastic, and gave it much more punch. However, is one good track with a dash of nostalgia enough to make it a good album? I’d unfortunately have to say no. However, thrash has never been a sub-genre of metal that I’ve particularly liked.