Pantera adopted a new sound and attitude, and the writing of what would become "Cowboys from Hell" saw the band exploring darker subject matters, while the guitar would be notably heavier, despite occasionally reverting to the hair metal formula. The band recorded a self-produced demo album in 1989 which featured 11 tracks, 10 of which would make the album cut. The last two tracks to be written were "Clash with Reality" and "Primal Concrete Sledge", while a song entitled "The Will to Survive" would be discarded early in the recording sessions.