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PANTERA: ‘Far Beyond Driven: 20th Anniversary Edition’ To Arrive In March

Manos Spanos
PANTERA reached a major milestone in 1994 when the legendary metal band's seventh studio album, "Far Beyond Driven", debuted at NO. 1 on The Billboard 200, becoming the fastest-selling album of the group's career and its second consecutive platinum release. Not only a commercial success, the album also earned positive reviews around the world for the beautiful brutality of its all-out sonic assault. This year marks the 20th anniversary of that landmark album and Rhino is celebrating with a special two-disc version that includes a newly remastered version of the album, along with a live performance from the 1994 Monsters Of Rock festival. "Far Beyond Driven: 20th Anniversary Edition" will be available on March 25 for a suggested list price of $18.98. A digital version will also be available. Following the breakthrough success of 1992's "Vulgar Display Of Power" — which has since been certified double platinum — singer Philip Anselmo, guitarist Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott, bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott returned in March 1994 with "Far Beyond Driven". Following its No. 1 debut, "Far Beyond Driven" remained on the Billboard album chart for seven more months and many still regard it as the heaviest album to ever top the chart. Its 12 tracks represented a continuation of the previous album's relentless musical onslaught with hard-hitting tracks like the first single "I'm Broken" as well as the mosh-pit classics "5 Minutes Alone" and "Slaughtered". Another standout track was the group's swirling acoustic cover of BLACK SABBATH's "Planet Caravan", which became a live favorite when PANTERA hit the road to support the album later that year. Fans already familiar with "Far Beyond Driven" are in for a treat with the second disc of the "20th Anniversary Edition". Dubbed "Far Beyond Bootleg - Live From Donington '94", the disc contains PANTERA full live set recorded at the Monsters Of Rock festival in Donington, England on June 4, 1994. The 40-minute show comprises nine tracks taken from the band's three most recent albums including: "Use My Third Arm" and "Strength Beyond Strength" from "Far Beyond Driven"; "Walk", "Mouth For War" and "This Love" off "Vulgar Display Of Power"; plus the title track from "Cowboys From Hell" as well as the live staple melding "Domination" and "Hollow". "Far Beyond Driven: 20th Anniversary Edition" track listing: Disc One - Original Album Remastered 01. Strength Beyond Strength 02. Becoming 03. 5 Minutes Alone 04. I'm Broken 05. Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills 06. Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks 07. Slaughtered 08. 25 Years 09. Shedding Skin 10. Use My Third Arm 11. Throes Of Rejection 12. Planet Caravan Disc Two – "Far Beyond Bootleg - Live From Donington '94" 01. Use My Third Arm 02. Walk 03. Strength Beyond Strength 04. Domination/Hollow 05. Slaughtered 06. Fucking Hostile 07. This Love 08. Mouth For War 09. Cowboys From Hell
03 min read

ANSELMO Says His Former PANTERA Bandmates Are ‘Greatest Musicians’ He Has Ever Played With

Manos Spanos
John Parks of Legendary Rock Interviews recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Legendary Rock Interviews: What surprised me about [your debut solo album] "Walk Through Exits Only" is that, with all due respect to DOWN and all of your other projects, this little blast of energy feels like the most out-and-out "fun" record you've been involved with since PANTERA's "Reinventing The Steel". Anselmo: Oh, thank you so much, brother; I really appreciate that. I appreciate that so fuckin' much. I wanted to show people a different side of the old sense of humor of me, in a way. There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic fucking things that I say on the record that could be taken one way or another. I think that sometimes when you listen to a band or a performer who's supposed to be very rebellious or anti-authority, sometimes it can be a bit of a letdown, so to have that shock value back in there. Take the songtitles, or the whole fuckin album title, "Walk Through Exits Only". I'm not the type of motherfucker that's gonna sit here and spoonfeed the fuckin listener. I'd rather have people take something and listen to it and make it their own, really. Sometimes I feel compelled just to write a line that could mean a hundred things to a hundred different people. Let me put it to you this way: I like to architect things lyrically and let people themselves finish the building I've begun, so to speak. Legendary Rock Interviews: I'm glad you mentioned the title track. That is just so fitting, and obviously, it could be interpreted as a classic "fuck you," but there's music history commentary and all sorts of other shit I'm reading into it as well. Anselmo: When you take the hook line from the verses, where I say, "It's ruined, everybody ruins music..." For me, it's, like, you're always gonna have your critics. You can name any band that puts out any record, it's gonna be loved and it's gonna be hated. Music's like food — you can love it or hate it or be indifferent to it or you grow to like it eventually. So I know that no matter what I did, I could have just fuckin' done a violin-and-spoon record with nothing but yodeling, and some people would have loved it and some people would have fuckin hated it. God knows we put a lot of effort into this record and all that, but still, at the end of the day, it's up to the people to make up their own minds as to how they take it. For me, it's like, fuck it. It's gonna be what it is and people are gonna feel they way they're gonna fuckin feel about it. What can I do about it? Nothing. Put one foot in front of the other and keep on fuckin truckin'; that's what I'm gonna do. Legendary Rock Interviews: You respect PANTERA's fanbase immensely. Do you ever feel like you are walking a line between understanding what it is they love about you and following your heart? Anselmo: Not at all, not at all, because honestly, for me, PANTERA is a sacred thing. It's a very sacred thing for fans and for myself, because the musicians that encompass that fuckin band are still, bar none, the greatest musicians I have ever played with, and I think that the approach to the songwriting is very, very different than anything I've ever done, especially because of that particular talent in PANTERA. So, it's a sacred thing and I've never, ever, ever gonna tried to take the place of a PANTERA and I never will.
05 min read

ZAKK WYLDE Says He’s Down For PANTERA Reunion With Him On Guitar (Video)

Manos Spanos
During a brand new interview with Artisan News, Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) was asked about the possibility of a hypothetical PANTERA reunion with him filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar. "It'd be up to [former PANTERA members] Vinnie [Paul Abbott, drums], Phil [Anselmo, vocals] and Rex [Brown, bass] — they're the guys that make everything happen," he said (see video below). "So if they were all gonna do it and honor Dimebag and [if they said to me], 'Zakk, would you wanna honor Dime and do Dime's parts?' Of course, I was a pallbearer for him — I laid him to rest — so, of course, I'd say, it would be a beautiful way to honor him and stuff like that. And to celebrate all things PANTERA and what they achieved. 'Cause they changed the game, as far as extreme metal goes. I mean, they're the kings of it. But it's up to the fellows. Then it would just be me woodsheddin' 25-8, learning all of Dime's parts, you know what I mean?! Yeah, but like I said, as far as I'm concerned, it would just be honoring Dime. Like with the Yankees, you honor… everybody's wearing Thurman Munson's '15' for that day, just because we're honoring Thurman's greatness. So it's the same thing, man." Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004. Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer. Speaking to Fuse News, Anselmo said about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Wylde filling in for Dimebag: "For me, really, I think it would mean a lot for [ex-PANTERA bassist] Rex [Brown] and [ex-PANTERA drummer] Vince [Paul Abbott] and myself to sit down and, I guess, bury the hatchet where we can be on more friendly terms. And, you know, I think it would mean a lot to the fans."
03 min read

PHILIP ANSELMO: ‘Without VINNIE PAUL, There’s Not Any PANTERA Reunion At All’

Manos Spanos
Fuse News recently spoke to former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo. You can watch the report below. Asked about the persistent Internet rumors about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar, Anselmo said: "For me, really, I think it would mean a lot for [ex-PANTERA bassist] Rex [Brown] and [ex-PANTERA drummer] Vince [Paul Abbott] and myself to sit down and, I guess, bury the hatchet where we can be on more friendly terms. And, you know, I think it would mean a lot to the fans." He added: "Without Vince, there's not any PANTERA reunion at all; it's useless. But he damn well knows my door's wide open. He needs to bust out the keys and unlock his, man. I'm waiting, but I'm not holding my breath."
01 min read

PHILIP ANSELMO Talks About 20th-Anniversary Edition Of PANTERA’s ‘Far Beyond Driven’

Manos Spanos
The 20th-anniversary edition of PANTERA's "Far Beyond Driven"album will be in made available sometime in 2014. The seventh LP by PANTERA, "Far Beyond Driven"was released on March 22, 1994 through East West Records. Upon its release, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it the first extreme metal album to top the chart. "Considering its contents, it is the heaviest record to come in at No. 1, and yes, there is a fucking goddamn re-release coming up," former PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo tells Artisan News (see video below). "I don't know anything, really, about it other than, yes, it's gonna re-released with live footage from said show, but I can't name the show yet, because I think it's a fight between two different shows. And you never know. I'm trying to think of specialties or whatnot [that will be included as well]." Asked what he thinks made "Far Beyond Driven" so special,Anselmosaid: "The chemistry within PANTERA… In the early days, they were very guarded about what I said here and there. And then, finally, by'Vulgar Display Of Power', it was, like, 'Just let me handle the lyrics.' And then by 'Far Beyond Driven', I was saying anything I fucking wanted to fucking really fucking sing about, man." PANTERA manager Kimberly Zide Davis, who joinedConcrete Managementin 1994, and served as vice president of artist management until the organization ceased operations in 2003, was interviewed for Guitar World's January 2010 issue, which paid tribute to late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. During the chat she stated, "I wish there was more [previously unreleased material], but that's one thing about PANTERA; they didn't do extra material. What they did is what everybody got. They didn't do throwaway songs."
02 min read

PHILIP ANSELMO: ‘I Feel Very Blessed To Have Had Such A Great, Insane Fanbase’

Manos Spanos
Steel For Brains recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN singer Philip Anselmo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Steel For Brains: From the moment you knew this was what you wanted to — where you knew music was a part of your heart and soul — what's that journey been like for you up to this point? Anselmo: You know, honestly, I think if you look at anybody's life, everybody's gonna have ups and downs, highs, lows, etc., and all of that. Believe me, it's well documented that I've been there, and that is absolutely the case. But, right now…at this juncture in my career, I gotta say, you know, aside from the obvious lows that have been, once again, well documented in the past and very well known, right now I'm at a very sturdy place. I'm in a very comfortable-in-my-skin place, and I feel very, very blessed to have had such a great, insane fanbase. No matter what fucking band it's been a part of. It's the fans really,
05 min read

PHILIP ANSELMO: How I Joined PANTERA

Manos Spanos
In a brand new interview with the Phoenix New Times, former PANTERAand current DOWN vocalist Philip Anselmo was asked what the biggest correct choices were that he made as a young adult that if he hadn't made, PANTERA as we know it today would've never been a band. "Well, honestly, a lot of hard work," Anselmo began. "I was in a band in New Orleans by the age of 13, and doing my first gigs. Eventually I got into a band with older guys . . . I was always the youngest guy, somehow. "I'll put it like this: I used to come home from school, and practice JUDAS
05 min read

PHILIP ANSELMO: If PANTERA Were To Reunite For One Show…

Manos Spanos
Natalie Perez of Natalie's World recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN singer Philip Anselmo. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. On where he would like the show to happen if PANTERA were to reunite for one night only: Anselmo: "Well, see, that's a complex question because, first of all, [latePANTERA guitarist] Dimebag is not alive anymore, and that fact is a gigantic thing. And really, there would have to be a lot of sitting down and going over a lot of very important elements between myself and the other members of PANTERA — choosing a guitar player [to play the gig] and whatnot. It's a completely hypothetical situation, really, [but] I guess, a knee-jerk reaction, or answer, to that question would be, why not where it all started? Why not play where everything began, really, which is Dallas, Texas. I don't see why any other city would make much sense. But still, once again, it's not fair to the East Coast or the West Coast, [because] PANTERA fans are everywhere. So that's a tough question for me to answer. But I guess… Hypothetically, I'd say Dallas, Texas." On whether fans can expect to hear more previously unreleased material from PANTERA in the future:
05 min read

VINNIE PAUL On How Close DIMEBAG Came To Joining MEGADETH (Audio)

Manos Spanos
Cindy Scull of the Dallas radio station 97.1 The Eagle recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current HELLYEAH drummerVinnie Paul Abbott. You can now listen to the chat below. On the differences between European and American heavy metal audiences: Vinnie Paul: "I would just say the main difference is that the people there still live and breathe the music; they really believe in the lifestyle of the music, and they wanna know everything about the bands. That's why some of these bands that have been around forever are still huge there, because [the fans] never forget, they're really into, whereas the U.S. is more 'here today, gone this afternoon' kind of thing. It's really hard to keep staying current here, because people just move on to the next thing so fast." On how MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine has been to tour with on this summer's Gigantour:
02 min read

VINNIE PAUL: ‘How Does PANTERA Get Back Together Without DIMEBAG? It’s Never Gonna Happen’

Manos Spanos
France's L'Enôrme TV conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott at this year's Hellfest, which was held June 21-23 in Clisson, France. You can now watch the chat below. On late SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman: Vinnie: "We all miss Jeff. Jeff was a great friend and we had some very good times with him. I just wish the SLAYER boys the best. And hopefullyJeff is in a better place." On whether any other previously unreleased recordings from his brother, late PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, will ever see the light of day:
01 min read