You were all probably under the impression that you’d heard the last from these kings of 90’s metal, but you’re all sadly mistaken. The wrecking ball that we know as Pantera has finally returned with a new studio album, four years after their last studio effort, The Great Southern Trendkill. It’s now 2000. Korn are metal-gods, Slipknot are quickly elevating to that status, and old-fashioned thrash metal hasn’t been heard from, well, since Pantera’s last release. The first true metal release of the new millennium is called Reinventing The Steel, and it has Pantera back in its raging glory with the head-rattling guitar solos and sickening riffs that any longtime fan will surely appreciate.
The album clocks in at around forty-four minutes, which means it was either cut short or it contained enough music in that span to fill any critic’s belly. Well, our bellies are bloated and churning. Reinventing The Steel is a metal purist’s album: no sappy ballads, no gimmicks, and only one guest appearance, by Kerry King of Slayer. It’s cut and dry, in your face, sheer brutality. The heaviness of Pantera was something we had taken for granted up until a couple of years ago when so many of us were wondering where our heroes had disappeared to. They had other things on their agenda, so we patiently awaited their return. And what a triumphant one it is. “Hellbound” starts the onslaught with classic riffage that instantly made me smile. The blast beats from drummer Vinny Paul were sadly missed by many, as was Phil’s hardcore vocal style, but it all came racing back in four short minutes. They groove right into “Goddamn Electric”, an ode to the things that make every metalhead smile: whiskey, weed, Sabbath, and Slayer. It’s Phil saying thanks to his metal gurus, with a Kerry King lead added to make it the perfect tribute from the legend himself. “Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit” and “Revolution Is My Name” are typical grinding up and down Pantera jams, with Phil’s vocal versatility being incorporated a little more throughout the album.
“Death Rattle” is the “Fucking Hostile” that every Pantera album needs, as Phil rants about how he’s completely fucked up his world through drug abuse and a flatline experience. He’s been hollowing himself out for a better part of his life, and his lyrics on Reinventing The Steel reflect the continual beating he has endured and survived. “We’ll Grind That Axe For A Long Time” and “Uplift” are the final chapters to Pantera’s turbulent ride through the dark side of life. “It Makes Them Disappear” is probably the darkest song on the album, as it trudges through a New Orleans type metal drawl that Phil’s buddies in Eyehategod made famous. “I’ll Cast A Shadow” closes the album with more twisted emotions from Phil’s tortured soul, and a barrage of noise from Rex, Vinny, and Dime that ensures the band’s heaviness in this new age of chaos. Of course, the boys still love a good time, but their self-destructive paths seem to have changed since the days of Vulgar Display Of Power and Far Beyond Driven. All that’s left is pure, unadulterated heavy metal.
Naturally I love it, and not because I’ve been a fan since 1992. It’s real metal for the first time in a long while. It brought me back to the time when Far Beyond Driven debuted at number one on Billboard and everyone loved to hate the monsters from the south. This album may never top the charts, especially with the boy bands around, but should we really give a shit? Pantera is not here to please the TRL masses or the mall-going freaks that live and die by what Carson Daly says is cool. So they’re old school now, just like Slayer, old Metallica, and even Black Sabbath. The only difference is they didn’t reinvent themselves for the sake of the people, they just remastered their sound, which was all that had to be done.
+ rick hinkson
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