May 7, 1996 - The Great Southern Trendkill

Two weeks after my last release and two years since "Far Beyond Driven", Pantera released their "fourth" album "The Great Southern Trendkill" on May 7, 1996. Pantera continue to have great success playing their groove metal style, and while this album has some lighter moments, for the most part it's fast-paced and heavy, even for Pantera! That sounds great to me! Let's dive in to the latest from Pantera!

The album kicks off with the title track, "The Great Southern Trendkill" and it's led by a great fast metal riff and Phil Anselmo sounds great screaming his heart out! Dimebag Darrell cues up a groovy new riff that sounds pretty sweet and it sets the stage for a similarly sweet solo that takes us all the way to the end of the song. They're coming out firing on this album! Up next is "War Nerve" and it's a little slower, but still plenty heavy and Phil continues to belt things out full force and I think he sounds awesome. Vinnie Paul plays some cool drums on this one as well and it sure seems like the heaviness is in full force so far. Track 3 was the big hit single "Drag The Waters" and it has a heavy but also really catchy main riff that is groovy and dirty and very metal. They speed things up nicely mid-chorus, and it makes the slow main riff sound even better when they return. The solo isn't Dimebag's flashiest, but it fits the mood perfectly. It's quite good for a single and they did a great job if making it catchy but still plenty heavy. The next song is "10's" and it's way, way slower than everything else so far on the album. Phil sings rather than yells/screams and he sounds solid, but it's definitely a lighter vibe. Dimebag mixes in some slow, heavier guitar in the chorus and his solo sounds cool even though it's also pretty slow. That this is the least good song so far shows how high a bar Pantera are still playing at. Track 5 is "13 Steps To Nowhere" and Vinnie starts things off with a fast and cool drum beat that continues throughout the song. Dimebag has some cool guitar as usual and Phil is back to yelling and sounding great. There is a ton of cool stuff in this song and words don't do proper justice. Another pretty sweet tune! Up next is "Suicide Note, Pt. I" and it has a long, trippy opening before Dimebag plays some acoustic guitar to drive another lighter song. Phil sings in a low voice and he sounds pretty sombre and emotional as he sings pretty well overtop this very un-Pantera song. They do it very well though and while it's certainly not the Pantera I normally want to hear, it's still a solid song. Track 7 is "Suicide Note, Pt. II" and it's the exact opposite of Pt. I: very very fast and very very heavy. They come out firing right from the start and Dimebag plays some great guitar throughout this song. Phil sounds great screaming full force overtop and Dimebag delivers a typically cool guitar solo. What really makes this one stabd out for me is the awesome breakdown to end the song. It sounds pretty sweet and heavy at first, but then they break things down even slower and it's that chugging heaviness that I love. Probably my favourite song on the album! The next track is "Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)" and it has a pretty catchy and groovy verse riff as well as in the chorus. Both riffs sound nice and heavy and Dimebag is always playing some pretty sweet-sounding guitar. Midway through the song the modd shifts to dark and gloomy and Phil talks quietly overtop in a fairly dull spot for Pantera. Out of nowhere they emerge back into the main riff and things sound good once again. Aside from the bland middle section, another nice jam. Track 9 is the seven minute "Floods" and it's a pretty slow song with Dimebag playing acoustic guitar for the first several minutes. Things do eventually get heavier and this sets the stage for a lengthy guitar solo that is unsurprisingly pretty cool. Dimebag plays out the song with another riff that is quiet but solid. The penultimate track is "The Underground In America" and it's a pretty typical Pantera song, in that it has some catchy and cool guitar leading the way and Phil sounding pretty good yelling/singing. Rex Brown's bass is pretty sweet on this one as well and it makes for a heavy headbanger of a chorus riff. Phil nicely screams "the trend is dead!" at the end of the song and it carries right over into the final track on the album "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin". It feels like one long song and it sounds pretty good! They play a couple minutes of standard Pantera goodness and then things fade out after about three and a half minutes. After a minute and a half of silence the song fades back in, and it seems like the band were still playing the same riff for that whole time! An interesting way to close things out.

That is the end of "The Great Southern Trendkill" and I thought it was another pretty sweet album by Pantera. This album had a few softer moments, which is a little unlike them and not my favourite, but most of it was the same groovy Pantera goodness we've come to love and the heavy parts certainly weren't lacking in their heaviness! "Suicide Note, Pt. II" is an easy favourite, but (and I said this when their last album came out as well) the fact that I think this is Pantera's least good album yet just shows what a high bar these guys play at, because this was still a great album, just not as great as their others. Keep it coming Pantera!