Primal Concrete Sledge ~ Dimebag’s riff in the middle of the song saves this. Its not that the song is bad, but it doesn’t really do much musically. Its just that staccato-chugging that I really dislike with some simple power chords in a simple phrase. Anselmo’s vocals leave a lot to be desired. Then, Dimebag comes in with a great riff that makes this song shine. THREE stars.
Psycho Holiday ~ The proper way of chugging like a champion. The chug is decent, but everything else about this song is really weak. There’s a bit of a redemption late in the song with some nice tightness, but its not enough to bring it out of the depths. TWO stars.
Heresy ~ Did he just chug harmonics? Dimebag is incredible. This song is pretty simple chug-wise too, but there’s enough to break it up to make it worthwhile. The weird squeals during the solo session doesn’t do it any favors and Anselmo rocks the false-setto a bit too much, but the awesome riffage by Dimebag gives this one a thumbs up. THREE stars.
Cemetary Gates ~ The power ballad and its awesome! The song starts off with a beautiful clean riff from Dime. Anselmo’s vocals are very nice and the electric guitar accents really give this song depth. When the “power” part comes into play, the riff is sugary goodness. Dime can really rock those harmonics like a champion. The song isn’t perfect by any means, but the pros massively outweigh the cons. FOUR stars.
Domination ~ This is the “let’s just kick ass” song. Vinnie Paul makes this song worth listening to, but there’s nothing special about the song in general. There’s a good breakdown later in the song, but the noodling ruins it. The production is solid, but the song simply is not. TWO stars.
Shattered ~ The vocals SUCK. Holy crap, it feels like my ears are bleeding! The riff doesn’t do anything to save it either. Its just Anselmo doing his best impression of a tea kettle. The worst song on the album by a mile. ONE star.
Clash with Reality ~ Mediocre riff in the beginning mixed with odd street sounds. The riffs don’t get much better and Anselmo is doing his tea-kettle thing to boot. Nothing jumps out as all that good. TWO stars.
Medicine Man ~ I’m not sure what Dimebag is trying to say with this riff. He’s not really communicating anything. Anselmo doesn’t know what he’s doing with his vocals, either. They are all over the place. Whispers, shouts, and false-setto shrieks. This entire song lacks direction. Even Dimebag’s solo is sporadic. Weak all around. TWO stars.
Message in Blood ~ Some intriguing riffs from Dime in this one. There is some nice juxtaposition going on, but in doesn’t really lead anywhere. It comes off as they just didn’t know what to do so they put in some odd laughs randomly. Then the solo comes in and its just as odd sounding. The best part of this song are Dime’s harmonics during the riff. Very cool, but everything else is just boring. THREE stars.
The Sleep ~ Some nice clean arpeggiated runs to start followed by some original riffage. Vinnie Paul is really bringing the groove on this one. The clean intro riff returns to lay down a nice background for Dime’s solo. I have to say, this solo was my favorite of the entire album. Instead of just wailing, it really fit the song musically. I’m glad Anselmo didn’t overdo the vocals, but he underdid them a bit. THREE stars.
The Art of Shredding ~ Awesome riffing in the beginning. The intro is a prime example of why guitarist/drummer brothers can be so great. Dime and Vinnie really rocked that. Once it gets into the verse, the song starts falling apart. Its not Anselmo’s vocals (though they aren’t particularly good), but the structure of the song. I would’ve kept the intro riffage going. After about a minute, the song goes downhill. Its a shame the solo isn’t great considering the title of the song, but those who love odd squeals and Steve Vai-esque noises will love it. Not the album closer that they could’ve had. THREE stars.
Overall, Pantera’s Cowboys from Hell album is a good metal album. Its a solid 3 star album with equal parts amazing (title track) and terrible (Shattered). The rest of the songs are more good than bad so this one gets a thumbs up from me. I hope to hear some changes in Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven, mainly better vocals from Anselmo. The glam-metal false setto really brought down the album so I hope to hear more of an aggressive sound from him in following releases. Dimebag Darrell is the shining star of this band with his riffs and Vinnie Paul brings them to another level with his tight drumming.
THREE STARS
No comments:
Post a Comment