Published on Jan 10, 2005
If you ask fans of Pantera what the group’s first album was,
they’ll likely answer
Cowboys From Hell, their 1990 release.
Uh, no. Wrong. Despite what even the band apparently would like
people to think, Pantera put out four independent releases prior to
1990. The reason these are pushed aside seems to be because the
style of music Pantera was playing at the time was nothing like the
spine-crunching riffs that Phil Anselmo and crew would come up with
in their heyday. (Also, Anselmo didn’t join the band until their
fourth indie release,
Power Metal.)
For the first part of their recorded history, Pantera was
fronted by vocalist Terry Glaze, though the core of the group —
guitarist “Diamond” Darrell (as he was then known), bassist Rex and
drummer Vinnie Paul — remained the same. Their debut release,
Metal Magic, features ten songs written in a conventional
style of hard rock popular at the time, and while interesting to
listen to from a historic point of view, is often nothing
extraordinary. (For the record: I’m reviewing this from MP3 files,
as the original four indie releases are long out of print.)
Even in the early days, one can hear potential greatness in
“Diamond” Darrell’s guitar work, though his innovative style of
soloing was still developing. On tracks like “Rock Out” and “Metal
Magic,” you can hear the beginnings of the take-no-prisoners style
he would become known for.
In a sense, one really can’t complain about the style of metal
Pantera tackles on
Metal Magic. Yes, it’s conventional for the genre, but not
many bands were taking real chances at this time. Pantera’s style
on this tape is a mixture of Motley Crue and Dokken (in terms of
some of the slower numbers), in itself not an unpleasant
mixture.
Complaints? I have a few. First, while Glaze is not the greatest
vocalist in metal history, I’d have liked to have podded up his
vocals a bit more in the mix. Maybe it’s that I’m working from what
sound like ancient files, but often his singing doesn’t come
through as strongly as I’d like it to. Second, while there are many
moments to get genuinely excited about on this one, there are
equally as many formulatic numbers. Tracks like “Biggest Part Of
Me,” “Latest Lover” and “I’ll Be Alright” fail to stand out as
anything other than ordinary.
Yet
Metal Magic does rightfully suggest that bigger and better
things lay ahead for Pantera. Tracks like “Rock Out,” “Widowmaker”
and the title track definitely display promise, even for a first
effort and by 1983 standards, and are impressive.
Now, maybe listening to this after the events in Columbus, Ohio
clouds my judgment — after all, to say anything negative about
“Diamond” / “Dimebag” Darrell is akin to giving the Pope the
finger. But I’d like to think that I’d have said the same things
about
Metal Magic had I been handed the cassette in 1983 – or even
last year. The former members of Pantera may not want their fans to
remember their “glam” days, but
Metal Magic convinces me all the more that the indie albums
should be rediscovered.