"There is no question that the most commercially successful metal album of the ’90s was Metallica’s “Black Album,” which at last count, is approaching 17 millions copies sold (in the US alone). But it could be argued that the best and most important metal album of the decade was Pantera’s 'Vulgar Display of Power'.
With an alarming number of metal bands suddenly shifting direction and approach after grunge’s great uprising in late 1991, Pantera opted instead to stand their ground, and if anything, get heavier. And it certainly didn’t hurt that they just happened to have the strongest set of tunes of their entire career, ready to rip — highlighting Phil Anselmo’s drill instructor-like vocals, guitarist Dimebag Darrell’s gonzo riffs and shred solos, and the mighty rhythm section of bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul, which sounded tighter than a mosquito’s behind...
[Bassist Rex Brown says,] “That record came so naturally to us in the studio. We had just gotten off the road and the ‘Walks’ were already written in soundchecks. That record just flowed naturally and seamlessly out of us, because as a band, we were so tight coming out of playing non-stop. I remember the ‘Cowboys’ tour; we only had 38 days off in a year of touring. And then coming directly back in the studio with that fire and that hunger. It’s just an evolution, a natural process, when that came out.”
...Hooking up once again with producer Date, 'Vulgar' kicks things off with one of the hardest-hitting tracks that Pantera ever offered, “Mouth for War.” And the intensity did not dip one drop — as evidenced by such subsequent headbanging classics as “A New Level,” “Walk,” (which featured one of Dime’s sturdiest riffs and solos), and “F*cking Hostile”. Heck, even when they dial down the intensity momentarily on such tracks as “This Love” and “Hollow,, they still find a way to slip in a heavy part or two.
Shortly after its release on February 25, 1992, Pantera hit the road — hard — and saw 'Vulgar' serve as their commercial breakthrough. Peaking at #44 on the Billboard 200, the album proved to be a steady seller (eventually being certified double platinum in the US), established the quartet as one of metal’s leading acts for the next decade, and also, proved to be their most-heralded recording. Case in point, what Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante had to say to Metal Insider in 2017:
“Vulgar Display still is my favorite Pantera album. I think on that record, side one especially, is just hit after hit. It has a great flow to it, the songs are awesome, the production is great — that’s another reason why I think that album works so well, the production side of things. It’s so brutal. Dime’s tone on it is just so f*cking heavy and in your face, the drums are very, very, very aggressive, the vocals are aggressive but melodic, I just think it’s their best album, to this day.”
And finally, one last example of the album’s importance — seemingly upon its release, the group’s “groove metal” sound began being replicated by other up-and-coming acts. So much so, that nowadays, it’s difficult to not detect at least a few unmistakable “Pantera elements” in a number of new metal acts. And this can all be traced back directly to Vulgar Display of Power, and its immense impact on metalheads worldwide." - Consequence of Sound (Heavy)
Tracklisting:
1. Mouth For War
2. A New Level
3. Walk
4. Fucking Hostile
5. This Love
6. Rise
7. No Good (Attack The Radical)
8. Live In A Hole
9. Regular People (Conceit)
10. By Demons Be Driven
11. Hollow
