December 2020  ·  R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell Abbott — December 8, 2004

Black tooth grins and pre-drunken tangentionally related rambling. December 8th — the Swiss Army knife of metal. How could you have a second guitarist when you've got Dime? Metal Nerdery's Memorable Moments in Metal with Dime: Domination and #rocksoldiers. Van Tera and Thrash Halen. The Dime Contest. The evolution of Dime's riffs and chops over time — "finding one's creative voice" — from Metal Magic through Power Metal through Cowboys from Hell through the classic era. The Fucking Hostile solo: "one of the most #fuckyou guitar solos ever." Drag the Waters (#cowbellfromhell). 13 Steps to Nowhere. Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath) — headphones, mandatory. Floods. Hellbound (#killeropener). Revolution Is My Name. It Makes Them Disappear (#holyshitballs). The Great Southern Trendkill and the reputation of Pantera's album opening tracks. Show memory from the Pantera and Slayer show at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. "Dime: The Yosemite Sam of Metal." #DIME #thatmanisablessin

2025  ·  Metal Magic (1983) through Power Metal (1988)

There's a reason the First Four aren't really talked about — the stylistic difference between Pantera's early glam and power metal days and the heavier, grittier era when they truly became the Cowboys from Hell. "Remember those awkward Olan Mills pictures you used to take with the family? That's kinda what the First Four albums were like." Metal Magic (1983): "I am the night" — #POWERMETAL — the Big Budget Intro and Sexy Magic Panther. Projects in the Jungle (1984). I Am the Night (1985). Power Metal (1988): three years after I Am the Night, no more Glaze — enter Phil Anselmo at age 18. "Phil started when he was 13 — what were we doing at 13?" "Dokken is better than KISS." Always remember to pill up before PT. "Concubine is a much cooler term than girlfriend."

2019  ·  Released July 24, 1990  ·  Metal Nerdery Episode 3

Episode THREE of the Metal Nerdery Podcast — which tells you everything you need to know about Pantera's place in this universe. Cowboys from Hell: the album that changed everything, where Pantera shed the glam metal skin and emerged as the most ferocious, heavy, groove-driven band in metal. Terry Date producing — his resume at the time already included Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, and Overkill. Cemetery Gates: "brilliant maybe? The longest Pantera song ever — lets all us tough guys let our inner pretty ballad selfs out for a few minutes and not be ashamed of it because it still brought the heavy." Domination: "probably my favorite song on the album" — same riff played four different ways, Rex's bass tone behind the solo is spot on. The Art of Shredding. Shattered. Heresy. Medicine Man. Cowboys from Hell.

2019  ·  Released February 25, 1992  ·  The Master of Puppets of the 90s

February 25, 1992: A New Level of Awesomeness. Vulgar Display of Power is the Master of Puppets of the 90s — and that is not hyperbole. Vinnie Paul's drum production and the interplay between him and Dime. Go watch Pantera Live in Moscow (Domination and Primal Concrete Sledge). The album cover: "the band wanted something vulgar like a dude getting punched" — the legend of someone getting paid $10 a punch, 31 times (though Brad Guice says Sean Cross was never actually hit). Mouth for War. A New Level. Walk. Fucking Hostile — "There's something to a very clearly articulated message, thank you for that, Phil." This Love. Rise! — Celtic Frosting at its finest. No Good (Attack the Radical). Live in a Hole. Regular People (Conceit) and Rex's Big Beefy Bassy Bottom End. "Metal Nerdery gives many gracious thanks to Pantera for coming to Atlanta so many times back in the 90s." #DontBeAnAsshole

2021  ·  Released March 22, 1994  ·  #1 on Billboard  ·  Fastest selling album ever

Far Beyond Driven went to #1 on Billboard — the fastest selling album ever at the time of its release. Blends the intensity and groove of Vulgar with the aggression and brutality of Trendkill. You should have seen the ORIGINAL album cover. The PMRC's blundering move of metal marketing GENIUS. Go watch the video for Planet Caravan (Sabbath cover). Go watch Metal Grasshopper. The best name for a Pantera tribute band ever. Becoming (#cantbeloudenough) — the gloriousness that is Dime. Five Minutes Alone and the story behind the song (#DontBeAnAsshole — read those lyrics). I'm Broken — those riffs!!! Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills: "Wait, WTF?" Dark and fun and definitely NOT like the first four songs. Use My Third Arm (built around the riff from the unreleased "Piss"). "How does Pantera keep outdoing themselves?"

2020  ·  Released May 7, 1996  ·  "The most 'everything' Pantera album"

The angriest, heaviest, darkest Pantera album ever — "the kick in the jimmy that the metal world was in dire need of in the mid-90s after grunge effectively declawed metal." If debriding a wound with a belt sander were a song, the title track would be it. Recorded under difficult circumstances with Phil Anselmo recording his vocals separately in New Orleans. Drag the Waters — the Dimebag directorial debut music video and the left turn riff (#cowbellfromhell). 10's: not so much a slow song as ultra creepy. 13 Steps to Nowhere: Predator is on backing vocals. Suicide Note Pt. I: "like Going to California via Hell" — definitely NOT your typical acoustic ballad. Suicide Note Pt. II: the Whammy pedal. "The Trend is DEAD." Sandblasted Skin. "What did YOU think when you first heard The Great Southern Trendkill?"

February 2022  ·  Released March 21, 2000  ·  The perfect coda

The 9th and final Pantera studio album — the perfect coda to the band's storied career. Combines the essence and energy of every prior album into one final masterwork. Hellbound: the killer opener — and a great reminder of the Pantera and Slayer show at The Tabernacle in Atlanta on Friday March 30, 2001. Goddamn Electric: #cantbeloudenough — "hard" — with Kerry King on backing vocals (#SlayerTangentionalalityCore). Yesterday Don't Mean Shit — the subtle stoner vibe to Dime's riffs. You've Got to Belong to It: "my favorite riff in my life." Revolution Is My Name — go check out the video, there's an artist who collaborated with The Beach Boys who has a tangentional connection to DOWN. Check out the 20th anniversary new mix by Terry Date. "Forty-five minutes of nothing and now we're getting back to Reinventing the Metal." #sunvomit

August 2022  ·  Released September 23, 1997

Spans the era of the catalog from Cowboys to Trendkill with a generous helping of between-song stage banter that's some of the best in the business — plus two previously unreleased newly recorded studio tracks. Becoming — go check out 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell for maximum entertainment. Five Minutes Alone: #nastysexytone — "that's where the flavor is." Sandblasted Skin — "The Trend is DEAD." DoomTera: the ultimate doom metal Pantera tribute band. Incredible Petah impression. Phil stage banter: "you won't need that anymore — it's on sale at your fucking dollar store!" Phil stage banter: "this next song is our hit." Suicide Note Pt. II — the magic of the Whammy pedal. Cowboys from Hell — "how many remember the very first time they saw Pantera live?" Cemetery Gates: #shutuppetah. The killer closer and easily the best Phil stage banter ever: "What do you wanna fuckin' hear?" FUCKING HOSTILE. "Exhausting, off-putting, and completely irresponsible." #tubetits

September 14, 2023  ·  Fired up and ready

The Pre-Game episode recorded ahead of the September 12, 2023 Legacy Tour stop at Ameris Amphitheater in Alpharetta, GA — with King Parrot and Lamb of God opening. Bigly tremendous thanks and utmost respect to Charlie Benante and Zakk Wylde for joining Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown in the global crusade of preserving the memory and highlighting the timeless legacy of the Brothers Abbott. Setlist predictions. Reflecting on Pantera shows back in the 90s — with White Zombie at the International Ballroom, and the Pantera and Slayer show at The Tabernacle. "They took Metallica and made it better?" "It's the best Metallica album that Metallica never released." Iommi, Hetfield, Dime: the Riff Trinity. P.S.T.'88 from Power Metal — the vocals are Dimebag and the guitar solo is EPIC. "They don't have deep cuts really." Primal Concrete Sledge ("And to think this was their Paranoid…"). Goddamn Electric — "still never gets old. EVER." #BiglyTremendous. "We are as old as our balls."

September 28, 2023  ·  Tuesday, September 12, 2023  ·  Ameris Bank Amphitheater, Alpharetta GA

King Parrot, Lamb of God, and Pantera at Ameris Amphitheater — "one of the finest and certainly one of the HEAVIEST heavy metal shows to EVER bless that stage." A family reunion for metal. "We were 40 thick." Ticket prices: seating vs lawn. The structure of the show including Pantera home video footage on the screens. "That was the first show I've been to in a minute with pyro." Predominantly the Vulgar and Driven albums in the setlist — "some of the more surprising song choices." "I lost my shit on that one." "I got a little teary when that came on." Rex Brown on bass: "every time they showed Rex…" #AirheadsStuntDouble. A barefooted Phil Anselmo. The Whammy pedal. The SGV — the Devil V. "It was a family reunion — these were OUR people." Post-show Waffle House: "that waffle is always amazing every time." "The only thing that would have made that show better would have been The Abbott Brothers." "I rode that high for a few days." "We need two of those a year."