March 21, 2000 - Reinventing The Steel

A week after my last release and nearly four years since "The Great Southern Trendkill", Pantera released their "fifth" album "Reinventing The Steel" on March 21, 2000. Pantera continue to stay true to their groove metal style and they haven't lost a step despite the long gap between albums. This would also end up being Pantera's final album, so let's listen to our last dose of Pantera!

The album opens with "Hellbound" and Dimebag Darrell plays a catchy and distorted lead guitar riff with Rex Brown and Vinnie Paul filling in a solid rhythm section. Phil Anselmo sings a decent verse and goes pretty low a couple times, but he sounds awesome in the chorus holding a long, high "Hellllllllllllbound". After another round Dimebag picks up the pace with some nice faster guitar and after a short new riff they return for a final chorus to wrap up this short but pretty solid opener. Up next is "Goddamn Electric" and Dimebag plays some pretty cool lead guitar as you'd expect and Phil sounds good yelling overtop in this nice heavy main riff. It flows right into a similar chorus with some more nice distorted guitars and after another go through Dimebag delivers his first solo of the song and it's a pretty awesome one with some great fast parts to it. They jam out another chorus and then Dimebag takes off for solo #2, and while this one isn't as flashy or awesome as the first one it's still a pretty solid way to close things out. Track 3 is "Yesterday Don't Mean Shit" and Dimebag leads the way with a fast-paced and pretty catchy main riff and Phil comes in and out with some nice vocals in this solid verse. Dimebag plays some more great guitar in the chorus and things sound even heavier and my head is nicely banging. Dimebag's solo is really fast and unsurprisingly pretty awesome, but Brown's bass in the background is pretty awesome as well and is definitely underappreciated. A final chorus finishes it off and Pantera continue to show no chinks in their armour. The next track is "You've Got To Belong To It" and words don't do proper justice to the really cool and unique guitar sounds that Dimebag plays on this song. Paul plays some cool drums in the background as well and with Phil yelling nicely overtop this is a pretty wicked main riff! The chorus is nice and heavy and catchy as well and this is probably my favourite song so far. The middle section seems primed for a Dimebag solo, but it never really materializes in a definite missed opportunity. The rest of the song is so good though, it was just missing that cherry on top. Track 5 is the first single off the album "Revolution Is My Name" and Dimebag plays some super distorted guitar that sounds pretty crazy and almost Tom Morello-esque. After this trippy intro they move into a more standard Pantera riff with some cool guitar leading the way and Phil doing a nice job of singing and yelling. The chorus riff is pretty catchy and Dimebag segues beautifully from here into a short but sweet little solo! Then they hit reset and do it all again, but this time with a much longer guitar solo. Dimebag plays some groovy and pretty sweet stuff in this extended part and this whole song is pretty sweet, keep the jams coming guys! Up next is "Death Rattle" and it has a really fast pace with some great drums by Paul as Phil sings a solid verse overtop this speedy main riff. Dimebag's guitar is a little slower in the chorus but still nice and heavy and things sound pretty solid the whole way through. Dimebag's solo is super high pitched and pretty crazy sounding and he segues from the solo back to a final chorus very nicely. Track 7 is "We'll Grind That Axe For A Long Time" and Dimebag leads a slow but heavy and cool main riff and Phil holds some nice high, long notes in the verse as well as some low singing. Things flow right into a similarly solid chorus and this is a pretty smooth and groovy tune. Once again though, they miss the opportunity for a guitar solo and just keep sailing on the main drag. Dimebag is right there! I just don't get not having hik solo in the middle part, otherwise another solid song. The next track is "Uplift" and Dimebag plays yet another catchy and cool guitar riff to lead the way. The guitar falls away briefly and the rest of the band sounds solid, but when it returns it definitely spices things up. Dimebag's heavy and catchy guitar carries over into the chorus as well and after another round he delivers a pretty awesome short solo and then they break things down and Dimebag delivers an offbeat and very cool new solo. They segue nicely from here back to the chorus and this was a pretty awesome song all around. Track 9 is "It Makes Them Disappear" and it has a bit of a trippy intro before Paul plays some cool slow drums and they settle into a pretty slow but heavy and chugging main riff. Phil sings a nice verse overtop and Dimebag's low guitar sounds so good. It continues into the heavy, headbanging chorus and then they hit reset and do it all again. This is the longest song at almost six and a half minutes and then slowly jam out a new riff before devolving into trippiness to set up the solo. Brown's bass sounds great in the background and Dimebag delivers a pretty sweet guitar solo overtop that fits the slow mood perfectly. After a final chorus Phip holds a really long yell all the way to the end of the song and they fuckin' nailed this slow metal jam perfectly. The final song on the album is "I'll Cast A Shadow" and Dimebag leads a nice groovy main riff and chorus that go well together and Alone pretty solid. But after a couple quick rounds they break things down to a heavy new riff that sounds fantastic with lots of fast drums by Paul and some wonderfully heavy guitar by Dimebag. This leads nicely back into the chorus, and then they take off in another new direction with Brown playing some super distorted bass and Dimebag playing some catchy new guitar overtop. This takes us all the way to the end of the song, until we hear the band all talking at once to end the album, with the line "kiss my ass Dracula" standing out, a funny way to wrap things up.

That is the end of "Reinventing The Steel" and I thought it was another pretty sweet album by Pantera. They continue to not miss a beat and provide plenty of catchy and cool riffs spearheaded by some unsurprisingly sweet guitar by Dimebag Darrell. I've now said this for three albums in a row, but the fact that I think this is their worst album just shows what a high bar Pantera have set. Unfortunately Pantera would break up a couple years after this and a couple years after that Dimebag Darrell was tragically murdered while on stage with his new band Damage Plan, and thus this would be Pantera's final album. It's sad to see such a great band come to an end, but all five of their albums were pretty good, especially the first two. We'll miss you Pantera!

1. Vulgar Display Of Power
2. Cowboys From Hell
3. Far Beyond Driven
4. The Great Southern Trendkill
5. Reinventing The Steel