Pantera
The Great Southern Trendkill

THE REVIEW

1996. One of the peak years of success for Pantera. Putting aside their self-produced discography, in a few short years, the Texan combo churned out three total masterpieces such as “Cowboys From Hell”, “Vulgar Display Of Power”, and “Far Beyond Driven”.

A source of inspiration for any future thrash, post-thrash, thrashcore, metalcore, but also nu-metal (yes, nu-metal) group, the band is tasked with continuing the positive streak of record releases. And here emerges “The Great Southern Trendkill.” Success or failure? It depends on personal taste. There are not a few who consider it the weak link in their production up to '96, making, in my opinion, a big mistake.

Yes, because aside from logical differences from the past (clearly Phil Anselmo’s voice is no longer what it once was, given the abuses of all kinds), you are dealing with the classic Pantera trademark, fresh, direct, compact, varied, but above all violent, catchy, with that damn groove that only they can create. But the new feature of this album compared to the others is that it is certainly more southern. You can tell already from the title, the sounds become more muddy, almost sludge and it's not outrageous to say that in a couple of songs the sound becomes almost doom. All this makes the work more varied and enjoyable from the first to the last note. Now, let's move on to the song-by-song report.

THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL The album starts with a frontal attack, with a devastating scream from Anselmo out of nowhere, which, if you are listening to the CD at full volume, is likely to make you jump out of your chair. The song is classic, a fantastic fast piece in pure Pantera style.

WAR NERVE The journey continues with “War Nerve”, now a classic, so much so that you can also find it in the live album released after the tour of “The Great Southern Trendkill”. It's slower than the previous one, yet it remains engaging thanks to the fantastic guitar work of the late Darrell.

DRAG THE WATERS Fantastic. Certainly one of the album’s highlights; comparable, albeit only partially, to “Walk”, as it is repetitive and hammering, in a positive sense, though even slower than the song from “Vulgar Display Of Power.” Beautiful is the sound of Vinnie Paul's drums, enriched by a “cowbell” that makes the whole thing more “southern oriented”.

10'S The first piece where differences from the other albums are noticeable. This song is calmer than the others, slower and more measured. The sludge influence is felt and the similarities with Crowbar’s doom, a group dearly loved by Phil Anselmo, can be heard. Really an excellent song. Anthological is Dimebag’s riff towards the end of the track.

13 STEPS TO NOWHERE A drum rhythm introduces the fifth song that returns to the more classic Pantera sound. There isn't much to say, a good track with an interesting doomy twist towards the end.

SUICIDE NOTE PT. 1 And here comes the beauty. A completely acoustic song. A magnificent guitar producing exceptionally relaxing and evocative riffs, accompanied by Anselmo's clean vocals inspired by some ideas presented the previous year with Down, showing he is comfortable even with slower pieces without extreme vocals. The most southern song on the album, especially thanks to the voice. It’s something never heard from Pantera before, but the track turns out perfect.

SUICIDE NOTE PT. 2 The “evil sister” of the previous one. Similar to the title track in power and violence, it is exactly the opposite of what was done in the first part. Very fast, this song will also be included in the ensuing live album. Again, Darrell’s splendid guitar work is noteworthy.

LIVING THROUGH ME (HELLS’ WRATH) Once more with the usual classic Pantera’s Sound in a great song that finds its strength in the refrain with the guitar sound in the foreground marked by precise drum rhythms.

FLOODS Another highlight. Very similar in sounds and structure to “10’S”, somewhat doomey and rather tranquil. But the strong point comes toward the end, where, after a dramatic slowdown, the song seems to end. Instead, a splendid evocative melody starts with the sound of pouring rain in the background. Truly exceptional.

THE UNDERGROUND IN AMERICA Linkable to the next song as it features the same riff. Very beautiful, classic, violently adequate, with a really fantastic, very varied, and well-structured ending. Again Darrell’s work is crazy.

(REPRISE) SANDBLASTED SKIN Anselmo’s scream “The Trend Is Dead!!!” (spot-on!) introduces the last song, also featured in the live album; the final slowdown after a marked dose of violence concludes the song and the album.

In short, a great work, great synergy, and, above all, a great band. Of which I still haven’t managed to decide which album is the best… The perfect evolution of Pantera’s sound, a huge sonic shift, the endpoint to which “Reinventing The Steel” will follow, an attempt to return to the origins that will eventually lead to their breakup. “The Great Southern Trendkill” is a risk, a real unknown that has turned out to be really positive in more or less clearly detaching from previous schemes. The four could have rested on the laurels brought by the past and perhaps rewritten the same album endlessly, selling copies upon copies… But no, the desire to push further, to do what they prefer, breaking the mold, sometimes pays off. As in this case.

Buy it, listen to it, enjoy every note because it’s really worth it! The trend is dead!!! Semenz