Panther - A Tribute To Pantera
Eclipse Records, 2000
REVIEW BY: Paul Hanson
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 05/21/2000
"Does Pantera really deserve a tribute CD?" is a reasonable question. Bands like Led Zeppelin, KISS, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Van Halen, and AC/DC certainly do. Can Pantera be added to that list? After all, the band is only about 10 years past a little-known glam metal phase, which critics used as fodder to criticize vocalist Phil Anselmo's anti-Metallica tirades during their 1996 tour. Are they really that good?
Perhaps that question would be better answered in a review of their latest release Reinventing The Steel. For the CD we're talking about, Panther - A Tribute To Pantera, you get 12 fairly familiar names, none of them as popular or with as much success as Pantera in touring to sold-out arenas. The 12 bands here are signs of metal to come.
Pissing Razors, a Noise recording artist, kicks the CD off with a turbo-charged version of "Domination." Like their own releases, drummer Ed Garcia is a master of the double bass drums, combining aggressive chops with precision. Vocalist Joe Rodriquez bellows his part with conviction. Boiler follows with "Mouth For War" which demonstrates the band that made The New Professionals still have the fire that made that CD heavy.
Step Kings follow with "Good Friends & A Bottle of Pills" which falls short of the original. Drummer Mike Watt fakes the double bass part of this song. Murder 1 come next with "I'm Broken" which is then followed with Ill Nino's version of "Five Minutes Alone."
The CD comes to a screeching halt with A.C.'s version of "The Great Southern Trendkill." Those that might have thought "Picnic Of Love" was that band's swan song can rest assured that Seth and Josh are in fine form. Disarray, from the Volunteer State, and one of my personal favorite bands, kick out "Cowboys From Hell" with their trademark heaviness. Vocalist/guitarist Chuck Bonnett, drummer Shane Harmon and bassist Chris Looney have been slugging out the metal since 1996's classic "Widespread Human Disaster." FINALLY, they're with Eclipse Records and getting some attention.
Another band in Disarray's league of not previously getting their due recognition is Crush Efekt from Columbus, OH. Crush Efekt burst through "Use My Third Arm" with a ferocious intensity that made their Real release so brutal. NOK rounds out this release with the worst mixed track, "Fucking Hostile." Vocalist Jeremy Jenkins is shoved to the front of the mix, which covers the faking of the riff by guitarists Mike Marchand and Frank Busshaus. Drummer John Keane attempts to hold this chaos together, but isn't very successful with sloppy fills.
This is definitely a mixed bag. On one hand, you get rising stars like Pissing Razors, Boiler, Step Kings, Disarray, and Crush Efekt playing songs that Pantera has bashed out previously. On the other hand, though, you get A.C. screeching like a banshee, Hollow's decent (but not outstanding contribution) and the ugly rendition by NOK.