Heavy Metal For The New Millennium (Dimebag Memorial Write Off Part 4)
Written: Mar 22 '05 (Updated Oct 12 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Excellent guitar work, good musicianship, album's sound similar to CFH-era Pantera, very enjoyable overall.
Cons: Not much musical variety, not as diverse as previous Pantera albums.
The Bottom Line: Reinventing The Steel is an excellent and highly underrated metal album from metal pioneers Pantera that absolutely is worth listening to and owning.
head-driller's Full Review: Reinventing the Steel [PA] by Pantera (Metal)
Pantera. One of the most revered metal bands of the 1990s and deservedly so, as they have put out classic album after classic album and have always been rocking. Starting out in the 1980s as a glam rock band (!), the Texas group changed their musical style and sound to Southern metal with the release of 1990's Cowboys From Hell, and throughout the decade maintained a strong following, and it seemed just when metal was about to fade away, they were there to revive it. 1992's Vulgar Display Of Power was a sucker punch to metal fans everywhere when grunge rock was dominating the charts and radio stations everywhere, 1994's Far Beyond Driven hit #1 on the Billboard charts without any mainstream help whatsoever, and 1996's The Great Southern Trendkill was an all-out audio assault on the senses to metal fans in a year and age full of pop music. There four albums are all masterpieces and some of the finest metal has to offer, and the band went on to release their absolutely killer live album, 1997's Official Live: 101 Proof. It wouldn't be until 2000 the band would release their next studio album (and most likely their last as well due to Dimebag's tragic death which is still shocking the metal community), Reinventing The Steel.
The band's line-up continued to remain the same:
-Phil Anselmo (Vocals)
-"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (Guitar)
-Rex Brown (Bass)
-Vinnie Paul (Drums)
The band is in top-form here as always. Phil's vocals are very good on this album, with his trademark angry Southern-tinged growl, and while he's not quite as impressive here as on The Great Southern Trendkill, he's still superb. The late, great Dimebag Darrell is just amazing on here, with some fantastic riffs and solos that sound like they came straight from the band's Cowboys From Hell era, but adding a Y2K touch to it all to make it fit in with the new Millennium. Rex Brown's bass is as impressive as always and is quite dominant on here, and he's nearly as good as he was on Far Beyond Driven. Vinnie Paul still impresses with his superb drumming skills that add an extra degree of rage to the band's sound.
The album itself is excellent and very underrated. In 2000 metal was not exactly in top-shape, with nu-metal bands like Slipknot, Korn, Papa Roach, and Limp Bizkit dominating the scene, and so much rap and pop music that year being dominant. Once again, Pantera would prove all wrong that showing (or rather performing) that metal was alive and well and as hard as ever.
RTS has a very distinct overall sound, with musical work very similar to the band's work on Cowboys From Hell and with much of the music sounding a lot like old-school '80s thrash/speed metal, but with a Y2K touch so it fits in with the new Millennium. RTS is a metal album I like to call metal for the new Millennium, and while it definitely has that Y2K flair to it, it's definitely not nu-metal at all, just pure hardcore balls-to-the-wall metal with a Y2K touch (the only remotely nu-metal song would be Uplift, not in terms of music but songwriting, but even then that song manages to be one of the album's highlights).
RTS has pretty much no acoustic work at all and no ballads at all are to be found on here, it's just pure unadulterated heavy metal. While the band is not as diverse on here as on their previous albums (particularly CFH and GSTK), they still manage to make the album highly enjoyable from start to finish, it's never boring and one aspect that makes it such a fun album to listen to are it's musical work, which sound like they came straight from the mid-to-late 1980s when thrash/speed metal reigned supreme (and I'm not talking about glam rock either, but metal like Metallica's Master Of Puppets and Slayer's Reign In Blood). While the songwriting lacks the thoughtful and often emotional hook of previous albums (and the album doesn't really have a particular theme and it could be debated as to what certain songs are about), that doesn't drag it down, as with this record the band simply wanted to have fun and wanted their fans to have fun as well, and that they most definitely succeed in doing so. While it doesn't reinvent anything, it definitely helps to keep metal thriving and prove that metal is as strong as ever. Comparing RTS with Pantera's first four studio works is like comparing Metallica's Kill 'Em All with Ride The Lightning through the Black Album: lacking the diversity and thoughtful songwriting, but still immensely enjoyable and fun to listen to with incredible musical work.
Many Pantera and metal fans sadly do not hold this album in the same regard as the previous releases, which is a shame because it definitely ranks up there with the band's classic albums like CFH and FBD. I mean seriously, after an album like GSTK it would difficult to live up to the standards of that album and the three before it as well, and with RTS Pantera doesn't really try to outdo themselves or anything, they just simply rock on here and have fun doing it. There's many already classic Pantera tracks on here, like Hellbound, Godd*mn Electric, Death Rattle, and I'll Cast a Shadow, to name a few, Dimebag performs some of his most impressive guitar work to date, the album is highly energetic and engaging, and simply put, it shreds. Another aspect of the album that should be noted is that unlike VDOP through GSTK, this album has much more upbeat tone, and though still very rageful much of the time, much of the overall tone is quite upbeat, but fear not, the band still maintains their trademark angry Southern sound but at the same time fuse it with an upbeat tone. Another aspect that's so enjoyable about RTS is that the music is very CFH-era Pantera, with more a more diverse set of old-school thrashy and speedy guitar notes.
It should also be pointed out that producer Terry Date did not produce this album like the previous four studio releases; taking the production helm is Sterling Winfield, and while his production is not quite as smooth as Date's it's still very good, giving the album a clear sound but also quite raw, which helps to give it an edge.
Here's a rundown of RTS' ten tracks and how they fare:
1. Hellbound - RTS gets off to a great start with this track, which immediately became one of my favorite Pantera songs. It starts with a very very cool distorted guitar riff that sounds a lot like the classic opening riff to Cowboys From Hell, and then some quite heavy bass kicks in and Phil begins to sing. This is an awesome track overall and definitely a major highlight of the album, featuring some superb guitar and bass work and fine drumming, and Phil's raw vocals are also very good. I'm not quite sure as to what the song is about (I would think it's about a place that's deteriorating due to a plague and how the people who live there feel they are Hellbound, and the lyrics seem to compare falling to this deadly plague to descending to Hell), but the lyrics are pretty well-written and the song rocks hard and will definitely get your blood going. Great opener!
Rating: 5/5
2. Godd*mn Electric - This track was one of the album's most popular and rightfully so, as it's one of it's best. Featuring a grinding and speedy main riff and bluesy choruses, combined with some very good bass work and solid drumming, not to mention an amazing guitar solo pulled off in the middle (if I'm not mistaken Slayer's Kerry King did the solo, I know King appears on this track). Lyrically this song is pretty good, about musicians who become famous but often pretend to be something they aren't and use their famous image to pass themselves off. The highlight of this track for sure is the solo which is just awesome, and the bass that backs it is excellent too, giving the track an added punch. One of the album's finest.
Rating: 5/5
3. Yesterday Don't Mean S**t - This track (about the start of Y2K and the end of the 20th century) features a quite speedy and heavy main riff and a very cool guitar solo backed by a very strong bass line and Vinnie Paul's drumming again is very good. Phil's vocals are solid too and are both angry and humorous. Solid track overall and a highlight.
Rating: 5/5
4. You've Got To Belong To It - This underrated Pantera gem has a very cool set of guitar riffs and notes, particularly the grinding riff during the choruses and the screechy notes at the end of the choruses and throughout much of the track, and also boasting some spiral riffs during the main verses. Phil's vocals are pretty bizarre-sounding on here but impressive nonetheless, and the bass and drum work are pretty good too. The lyrics are about musicians who don't sell out to the masses and stick to their guns, something Pantera did throughout the 1990s and even did in the new Millennium. Good track overall.
Rating: 5/5
5. Revolution Is My Name - Another hit of this album and one of RTS' more diverse songs, featuring a nice set of riffs and tempos, with notes that are speedy and other notes that are slower, and the main riff in particular is quite good, speedy and mildly grinding. The bass and drumming are also in top-form, as are Phil's vocals, and the lyrics are actually quite thoughtful, unlike most of the album, about how countries and their basic political and civil systems are formed by wars and conflicts. This isn't really one of my favorite tracks here but it's definitely a crowd-pleaser.
Rating: 4/5
6. Death Rattle - This track is very bizarre but great nonetheless, with a fast and grinding main riff and some cool guitar tempos during the choruses, and Vinnie's drumming is a particular highlight, quite aggressive and speedy and making nice use of the bass drums. The solo is odd but very cool and the track overall is highly engaging and amongst my favorites on here. The lyrics are about Rattlesnakes and how lethal they can be. Odd a song subject as this may be, it manages to be fun.
Rating: 5/5
7. We'll Grind That Axe For a Long Time - This slower and heavier track is amongst the best on RTS, with it's very heavy and brutal main riff and top-notch bass work as well as good drumming, and Phil's vocals are in top-shape. This is perhaps the angriest-sounding track on RTS and it sounds very angry indeed, and more in-tone with the angry tone of the band's sound from their VDOP through GSTK era. The solo is also quite good, and the chorus is pretty memorable. I'm not certain as to what this track is about, but from the sound of it, it may be about how the band has managed to thrive and keep metal going despite the often-annoying competition (the track's title line is an indication of this). Excellent track all in all and a definite keeper.
Rating: 5/5
8. Uplift - One of RTS' best tracks boasts some superb music, with the drumming being a highlight as it is very heavy and aggressive throughout the track, and Dimebag churns out an excellent set of riffs, very heavy and grinding, and Rex's bass is very strong too. Phil's vocals are good on here, but the one weak aspect of this song is the writing which is almost like nu-metal (the typical "I hate the world and hate everybody who doesn't respect me" kind of writing), something the rest of the album otherwise isn't like at all. Not that I mind angry songwriting, on the contrary I like it a lot, but the writing on this particular track seems a little too, I don't know... immature at times. That aside, excellent track and one of the very best RTS has to offer.
Rating: 5/5
9. It Makes Them Disappear - This odd track starts with a Southern-tinged aquatic guitar note before switching to the grinding main riff and some steady drum rhythms. Phil's vocals on here are pretty catchy as is the chorus, and there's a neat little set of guitar riffs towards the end. The track also has a pretty heavy and angry tone to it. IMO it's the weakest track on here, as it lacks the energy of the album's other songs and isn't as engaging and is also a little overlong, but it's still a enjoyable listen. It should be noted however that even on the uncensored version of the album, one "F" word was bleeped out in one verse around the 4:00 mark (I know this because I have the uncensored version with the rest of the profanities intact and asked several other people who own the uncensored copy and they said the same thing). Perhaps this was a production or factory error.
Rating: 4/5
10. I'll Cast a Shadow - My favorite track on RTS, this track boasts an awesome main riff, very heavy and angry and with a nice steady rhythm to it, and the drums are also very good, maintaining a nice beat throughout. During the main verses the song slows a bit but gets heavier and speedier when it gets to the very memorable and catchy chorus, and around the middle it slows a bit (sounding sort of like the build-up at the beginning of Metallica's Enter Sandman), then after the hypnotic bass work in the slower middle, the song gets heavy again and a cool set of spiral guitar notes are played at the end. This is an excellent track and a definite strong point of RTS, with excellent musicianship from all involved, with Dimebag and Vinnie both in top-form and Rex's bass is very good too (particularly in the middle during the Enter Sandman-esque part), and Phil's vocals are solid too, and the songwriting, though hard to understand and interpret, is pretty cool. The best track on here and already one of my favorite Pantera songs. On a side note, at the end a brief bit from the album's recording session can be heard with the band goofing around after they finished recording this track and with some pretty funny remarks being made ("kiss my @$$ Dracula", don't ask me what that's about though because I have no idea).
Rating: 5/5
Overall, Reinventing The Steel is an excellent metal album and another gem from heavy metal pioneers Pantera. Fusing old-school '80s thrash/speed metal with a Y2K touch but not never reaching anything nu-metal-esque (aside from the songwriting on Uplift), it was the perfect album to bring metal into the new Millennium. It doesn't reinvent anything, isn't as diverse as the band's previous releases, and most of the songwriting isn't that thoughtful in comparison (aside from Revolution Is My Name), but it's an incredibly fun and energetic album to listen to and one that presents metal in all it's unadulterated headbanging glory. Give RTS a chance and enjoy it for what it is: a rocking metal album from one of the best bands in the genre.
This is also most likely going to be Pantera's final studio album due to the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell (not counting the greatest hits compilation released in 2003 and possible future compilations as well), but for a final album, it is a great one and the band has definitely gone out with style.
Track Listing in Best to Worst Order with Ratings:
1. I'll Cast a Shadow (5/5)
2. Hellbound (5/5)
3. Godd*mn Electric (5/5)
4. Uplift
5. We'll Grind That Axe For a Long Time (5/5)
6. Death Rattle (5/5)
7. Yesterday Don't Mean S**t (5/5)
8. You've Got To Belong To It (5/5)
9. Revolution Is My Name (4/5)
10. It Makes Them Disappear (4/5)
Listing of All Tracks with Their Listening Time:
1. Hellbound (2:40)
2. Godd*mn Electric (4:56)
3. Yesterday Don't Mean S**t (4:19)
4. You've Got To Belong To It (4:13)
5. Revolution Is My Name (5:15)
6. Death Rattle (3:17)
7. We'll Grind That Axe For a Long Time (3:44)
8. Uplift (3:45)
9. It Makes Them Disappear (6:21)
10. I'll Cast a Shadow (7:54)
Ounce for ounce, decibel for decibel, few bands can even approach the fury that is Pantera. For years they have been unleashing their anger in front o...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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