Althouse: "Pantera's Far Beyond Driven turns 25."

March 22, 2019

"Pantera's Far Beyond Driven turns 25."

My son John observes the occasion.

23 comments:

Nonapod said...: Wow. I actually saw Pantera on the Far Beyond Driven tour back in June of 1994 with Sepultura and Biohazard opening. Loudest thing I ever heard up to that point.

I also saw what would end up being Damage Plan's third to last show back in December of 2004, a few days before Dimebag (the guitar player for Pantera and Damage Plan) was tragically shot on stage.; 3/22/19, 9:13 AM
Charlie Currie said...: I thought this was about the car. I have no idea who the band is.; 3/22/19, 9:16 AM
Butkus51 said...: My last real concert was in 1999. Pantera and Black Sabbath. I didnt know it going in, but 3rd row.......smack dab in front of Ozzie. Pantera was the first band and I just knew of the name, didnt really know any songs. Watching the now deceased guitarist running around on stage, green goatee and all, I could appreciate their talent. But the singer. I have never seen a singer doing numerous farmers wipes as he did that day, or anyone ever. Grossed me out. The one song I do remember was "Walk"

After that concert my hearing was definitely messed up for a couple of days.; 3/22/19, 9:35 AM
Craig said...: A Pantera review on Althouse! Thanks Ann and John; you've made my Friday better.

Far Beyond Driven came out my senior year of high school, and it was the hardest f-ing album I'd ever heard.

Does anyone make (widely-known) music like this anymore?; 3/22/19, 9:37 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: I never heard of Pantera.

I never heard of "Far Beyond Driven".

Twenty-five years ago, I was 41 years old.; 3/22/19, 9:45 AM
Tom T. said...: Panera does sound good. Maybe I'll go there for lunch.; 3/22/19, 10:02 AM
Anthony said...: Yeah, I thought it was about the car, too.. But that's much older.

But I did know it was also a band, so at least I have a few props coming my way?; 3/22/19, 10:29 AM
Butkus51 said...: @Mike Sylwester I'm 59....you got to see the glory years of bands. You were listening to Cream and Hendrix while I had to deal with my sister playing Bread and England Dan and John Ford Cooley.

Theres a poster Ive seen of a place in Chicago (where I live) called the Kinetic Playground (maybe a mile or so from Wrigley field). They closed long ago, maybe 1973. In one day they had playing Vanilla Fudge, Led zeppelin and Jethro Tull.........all in one day. That week they also had the Grateful Dead, Jeff Beck, Buddy Rich, Savoy Brown, BB King, Paul Butterfield blues band, Bob Seger, John Mayall, Spirit.....all the same week. Just google..... Kinetic Playground concert chicago..... its the first link.; 3/22/19, 10:34 AM
Nonapod said...: But the singer. I have never seen a singer doing numerous farmers wipes as he did that day, or anyone ever.

Pantera's lead singer, Phil Anselmo, is a bit of a meathead and somewhat infamous in the heavy metal word for his antics. When he was in Pantera he shot herion (he claims) to deal with pain from a back injury, and of course became an addict. He passed out on stage and nearly died at one point.

A few years back he caused a minor firestorm when he was caught on video drunkenly throwing a "white power" Nazi salute during the annual "Dimebash" show (a show that ostensibly celebrates fallen guitarist Dimebag Darrel). After being admonished roundly throughout the metal community, he insisted it was just a bad joke, he was drunk on white wine, and that he was just responding to a heckler.; 3/22/19, 10:47 AM
madAsHell said...: It's got a good beat, and it's easy to dance too. I'll give it a 75.; 3/22/19, 11:01 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I saw Pantera in concert. The opening act was Type O Negative. I hated Type O Negative, but Pantera was great. I would never have chosen that concert myself, but that was back in the days when I drove teenagers to concerts and gamely listened to the music on offer.; 3/22/19, 11:01 AM
madAsHell said...: It's got a good beat, and it's easy to dance to. I'll give it a 75.; 3/22/19, 11:02 AM
Nichevo said...: But the singer. I have never seen a singer doing numerous farmers wipes as he did that day, or anyone ever.

Farmer's wipes? Is that like doing the farmer's walk exercise?; 3/22/19, 11:07 AM
madAsHell said...: Farmer's wipes?

I dunno. I was thinking of Walter Brennan in "The Real McCoy's".; 3/22/19, 11:11 AM
Butkus51 said...: Farmers wipe

When you don't have a handkerchief or a tissue, you place your thumb over one nostril and proceed to expel your snot out the other. I recently heard Ricky Gervais refer to it as a Scottish Wipe.

But I have a feeling you knew what I meant. And btw, he did it on the audience. Glad I was back far enough.

And yeah, Ive read a little bit about Phil before.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers going on stage just wearing socks on their Johnson. I could have dealt with that. I would have laughed my a$$ off in fact.; 3/22/19, 11:24 AM
Yancey Ward said...: I took a date to see them in Atlanta in the Summer of 1994 at Lakewood. At the time, they were touring with Prong, whose CD "Cleansing" I bought the day after the concert. I actually like Prong better that night. The date didn't like either band.

I didn't realize that both of the founding brothers of Pantera were dead- the one who was shot I did remember hearing about, but not the one who died of heart attack.; 3/22/19, 11:39 AM
fivewheels said...: Might have been 1996, that part I don't remember. But the Pantera concert I went to in Chicago with White Zombie opening was one I'll never forget. My date was a very attractive young blonde who for several weeks neglected to tell me that she was married (I found out from her sister). I wasn't observant enough to put together the obvious clues, or I didn't want to. We snuck around to the empty upper deck of the arena behind the stage. And ... some things happened during "5 Minutes Alone", appropriately. Woo.

Man, I had a much different life before I got old.; 3/22/19, 2:05 PM
Jake said...: I never cared for the lead guitarist. I just don't think the solos were in any kind of harmony with the underlying rhythm. Always sound like he was just trying to pick fast and use high notes without any thought for how they pieced together with the song. I contrast this Kirk Hammett from Metallica. His solos, to me anyway, really fit the song.; 3/22/19, 2:09 PM
JackWayne said...: I think Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power were better. Being from Dallas, they were in Houston quite a bit in their early days.; 3/22/19, 2:55 PM
walter said...: I've only heard:

Urban Dictionary: Polish Hankie
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Polish%20Hankie
Using your hand as a handkerchief when you blow snot into it and then promptly flick it off toward the ground.

Doing that to your audience below seems like a Vulgar Display of Power.; 3/22/19, 3:39 PM
JAORE said...: Well THAT woke up the dogs.; 3/22/19, 5:12 PM
Anonymous said...: I watched a few seconds of the video at the link. Did you forget to add the men in shorts tag?; 3/22/19, 8:14 PM
ken in tx said...: I thought Pantera was some kind of bread based restaurant.; 3/22/19, 9:24 PM