Finally! Pantera is back motherfuckers! I had been waiting for this album for around two years, but then I stopped really caring because I found a lot of bands that kick equally as much ass, but this album made me realize why Pantera rules. Opening track "Hellbound" is an ass-kicker, with great precise riffing, groovy drumming, and a pounding bass that just makes you say "Pantera rules!" Then came the vocals. Phil Anselmo's style on this album is a little less harsh than the style he used on The Great Southern Trendkill, but it's very good. He gets more of a solid, beefed-up range on this album, that recalls his performance on Vulgar Display of Power mixed with Far Beyond Driven. I was first alarmed when the album only had 10 songs on it, but I'm glad it does, because there isn't really a bad tune on here. Some are better than the others, like "Yesterday Don't Mean Shit," "Goddamn Electric," and "Revolution is My Name," but all the other pretty decent too. If you like pounding, good old fashion REAL HEAVY METAL, then you seriously cannot go wrong with this album. Although Pantera's other albums might seem better than this one, let it grow on you. I have, and it's definitely one of my top picks of the year.

This review is credited to:
MetPanMatt

Ok so Pantera's latest is upon us at last. Metal fanatics (myself included) have been waiting for this in a long, long time since the "101" live album and last studio outing "The Great Southern Trendkill". So what does Pantera have to offer us this time?! Well, first of all, it has been open for a while that Phil Anselmo is very much into black metal. He even had an alias (Anton Crowley) and has been collaborating with Fenriz on Eibon and has also released another black metal project with Viking Crown. So I was expecting even a little black metal elements in the music this time around, but to my surprise, there was none. This just means that Pantera truly is Pantera, nothing more and nothing less. From the "Cowboys from Hell" period, they have retained that same groove-laden, scathing heaviness all through out their future releases...and this is no exception. Produced by the Darrell brothers, what they have created is an ultimate in metal production: sleek, bass heavy, loud, fierce, thick and powerful. Man, this album is so fuckin' hard that I even consider it outrageously heavy!! Lyrically, Phil's words are still about exorcising his inner demons. The lyrics are all about personal subjects and messages. He's talking about his birth, telling the kidz to wake up and love life, weed, revolution, classic bands, the basics of life plus more personal topics. There are no ballads this time around, just full on attack. However, there is this somewhat fake slow song. Kerry King of Slayer is also featured on the track "Goddamn Electric" where he contributed some of his trademark whammy noise effects and dives near the end of the song. Fuckin' awesome. But there is one important thing that I feel should be stated here. During the past albums, you can get a certain feeling of wholeness in them, like a common concept or certain mood, but here it just seems like a bunch of ten songs crammed together to make an album. All of the stuff here feels like individual songs and do not support each other. Plus, I am absolutely baffled by the album cover. It features the usual Pantera logo (made of steel) which is burning. The title of the album isn't there. And then you have this strange looking man wearing red checkered boxers. He also appears to be holding a whiskey bottle (must be Jack Daniel's) and is also on fire. It seems that he is attempting to make the devil sign on his right hand. Of course you can tell that the flames are just computer generated. There is no information on the cd as to who the man is or who shot the photo. I guess they just goofed around with one of their roadies. This is one you and I have to research on. A good surprise is when you lift the cd from its case, you will see the band all smiley faced and ecstatic. Well, it sure seems that they're satisfied with the outcome of the album. Due to that minor setback, overall, this is a solid and very enjoyable album and is one of their best releases. The riffs are great and Pantera has not lost its touch. Let's hope they never will. It's pretty brave and gutsy to call your album "Reinventing the Steel" because it's very open to ridicule in the metal world due to the arrogant and serious connotation. One theory I have is that because of the underground's dislikeness for them, they had some serious things to prove...and this is their testament.

This review is credited to:
DEATHCRAYON