Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. The group was formed in 1981 by the Abbott brothers - drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell - along with lead vocalist Terry Glaze. Bassist Rex Brown joined the band the following year, replacing Tommy D. Bradford, who was the unofficial original.
Anselmo's introduction (1986-1988)
1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums that would prove influential to Pantera's developing musical style. Among the most prominent of these were Metallica's Master of Puppets, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Anthrax's Among the Living and Megadeth's Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? Terrence Lee's glam approach did not fit the band's developing style and he and the other members parted ways, beginning a search for his replacement.  Pantera initially turned to Matt L'Amour, a David Coverdale lookalike. He sang a number of shows with Pantera in Los Angeles during the winter of 1986, but it became immediately apparent that L'Amour could not hit the high notes Glaze (or Anselmo) was capable of. Together with his lack of stage presence, this meant Pantera could only play cover songs so L'Amour departed. Pantera next auditioned El Paso native Rick Mythiasin, later to sing for Steel Prophet and Agent Steel; however, cultural and image differences - Mythiasin failed to adapt to the Southern culture of the other members - meant his tenure was even shorter than that of L'Amour. A former schoolmate of the Abbott brothers, David Peacock of the band Forced Entry (who had supported Warlock), joined the band as lead vocalist in the spring of 1986, but despite Pantera doing most of the work for their fourth album during the summer with Peacock, Rex and the Abbotts found Peacock's voice to be unsuited to the musical direction Pantera wished for. By the end of the year, Pantera even revisited original frontman Donny Hart, but Hart himself knew he was not the man Pantera were seeking and Jerry Abbott was to fire him.  During 1986, New Orleans native Phil Anselmo had always heard Pantera were looking for a singer. At the end of the year, they invited him to audition, and the nineteen-year old Anselmo immediately became a member of the band. Anselmo had previously been the vocalist for the bands Samhain (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig's band of the same name) and Razor White. Upon playing with Pantera, Anselmo immediately clicked with the other three members.  More than just the band's image was changing, however. In 1988, Pantera released its first album with Anselmo, titled Power Metal. Power Metal, like Pantera's previous three albums, was released on Metal Magic Records, but showcased a change in their sound. By far the band's heaviest album at this point, Power Metal was a mix of 1980s hard rock and thrash metal, sometimes blending both styles in a single song. Complementing the band's new sonic approach were Anselmo's harder-edged vocals compared to those of Terrence Lee. After the release of Power Metal, the band members decided to seriously reconsider their glam metal image and sound. Referring to the band's spandex appearance, Vinnie Paul remarked at a band meeting that "These magic clothes don't play music; we do. Let's just go out there and be comfortable -- jeans, t-shirt, whatever--and see where it goes." The band members would later ignore their independent releases, including Power Metal, as they sculpted a new, heavier image to accompany their later groove metal sound. Their four independent albums are not listed on the band's official website and have become hard-to-find collector's items.
what happened in 1986?
1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums
1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums