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Power Metal (album)

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Power Metal
Studio album by
Pantera
ReleasedFebruary 1988 (1988-02)[1]
RecordedAugust 1987 (1987-08)
StudioPantego Sound (Pantego, Texas)[2]
Genre
Length38:10
LabelMetal Magic
Producer
Pantera chronology
I Am the Night
(1985) 		Power Metal
(1988) 		Cowboys from Hell
(1990)

Power Metal is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released in February 1988, through Metal Magic.[1]

About the album

[edit]

The album signals a shift in a heavier direction and has been described as a "bridge" between the band's original glam metal style[3][7][8] and the heavier groove metal sound of their subsequent work.[7][10][11]

Power Metal contains influences from glam ("Rock the World", "We’ll Meet Again", "Proud to be Loud", "Hard Ride", "Down Below"),[4][5][6][7][8] heavy ("Over and Out", "Death Trap", "P.S.T. 88"),[3][4] power ("Power Metal"),[3] speed ("Power Metal", "Burnnn!")[5] and thrash metal ("Power Metal", "Over and Out", "Down Below", "Death Trap", "Burnnn!", "P.S.T. 88"), while still retaining sound from the band's two previous releases.

The album's sound, particularly in Phil Anselmo's vocal performance, has been compared to that of Judas Priest.[12][11]

Guitarist Diamond Darrell performed lead vocals on "P*S*T*88".[2][6][7]

Writing

[edit]

"Proud to Be Loud" was written and produced by Keel guitarist Marc Ferrari and was originally intended to appear on their 1987 self-titled album;[9] however, Keel would not record their own version until Keel VI: Back in Action in 1998.

Pantera's version was used as the party song in the theatrical cut of the 2001 film Donnie Darko, credited to "The Dead Green Mummies".[13][14]

Glaze had originally written some of the band's lyrics. However, Anselmo changed most of them except "Down Below", with an earlier recording of the song appearing on Pantera's third album I Am the Night (1985) crediting Glaze.[2]

Promotion

[edit]

As the record was close to being finished with Anselmo on the vocals, the band was brought in with a contract with Gold Mountain Records, one of the distributors with MCA, primarily based on the band's relationship with Marc Ferrari of Keel.[7][1] The album was actually supposed to be released in September 1987.[1]

Gold Mountain Records executive Danny Goldberg felt that the record was "too heavy". Drummer Vinnie Paul stated that the label wanted to "change our style and make us sound like Bon Jovi" which the band refused.[15]

As a result, the band was forced to release the album through Metal Magic. As expected beyond limited promotion and the absence of a major label, the album did not chart.

Atco Records were considering re-issuing the album, "if we sell three million of [Cowboys from Hell]", Paul stated. Furthermore, right after its release, the group still kept their Power Metal album in circulation for their fans, but not on a major scale.[16]

In a Blabbermouth interview with Phil Anselmo in 2013, when asked about possibly reissuing the album, he replied:

"No, I've never thought about that. As far as catalogues or re-releases and whatnot, I'm not against it. I think it's an interesting thing to bring up. Matter of fact, I think you're the first guy to ever really ask if that was going to be a re-release, so thumbs up for you. Honestly, if people got past the image and whatnot of the bar-band hair bullshit that was going on in the late '80s, you would pretty much realize that it's a pretty solid metal record all around in the vein of Judas Priest ..."[17]

In a UK Eonmusic interview with Rex Brown in 2021, he stated that the band, including himself, was against reissuing the album, alongside the earlier albums with Glaze. Brown asserted that he did not "want to give any credit where it's fuckin' undue," referring to Glaze.[8]

The past four glam albums were not considered a part of their history,[8] and do not appear on any digital streaming service, except the song "Proud to be Loud", was only distributed by Universal Music Group, due to its presence on movie titles.[18][19]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarHalf star[3]
Metal Forces⭐️95[1]
Rock Hard8/10[20]
The Odyssey OnlineB-[6]
Ultimate Classic Rockno rating[7]
NightfallStarStarStarStar[21]
Loudwireno rating[11]
SputnikmusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[22]
Revolverno rating[23]
Asphyxium Zinefavourable[24]

In a retrospective review, Bradley Torreano at AllMusic awarded Power Metal 2.5 stars out of 5, noting it as being the culmination of the band's first four albums of hair metal.[3][8] He described it as "an interesting and transitional early effort from one of the most important metal bands of the '90s."[3] He criticized the lyrics, remarking that they are "the biggest problem, showing none of the gutter poetry that [Phil] Anselmo would develop through time and instead reflecting a bland interest in all things 'rock'". He went on to highlight Dimebag Darrell's guitar work, calling it "one of the more charming elements of the band's early sound" and that "he was obviously a very talented guitarist even then".[3]

Asking how Anselmo recalled the album's impressions, he said to Revolver:

To say I'm proud of it, no, I'm not. But to say that we as a band were still trying discover who the fuck we were and what we could do, that's very evident. I did the best I could, and I think the songs were heavier overall, more attacking.[23]

LA Weekly called it one of Pantera's best albums, "a solid album of 1980s speed metal".[5]

Track listing

[edit]

All credits adapted from the original LP.[2]

All tracks are written by Pantera, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rock the World" 3:34
2."Power Metal" 3:53
3."We'll Meet Again" 3:54
4."Over and Out" 5:06
5."Proud to be Loud"Marc Ferrari4:02
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Down Below"Darrell Lance, Terrence Lee, Vinnie Paul, Rex Rocker2:49
7."Death Trap" 4:07
8."Hard Ride" 4:16
9."Burnnn!" 3:35
10."P*S*T*88" (Lead vocals — Diamond "D")Lance, Paul, Rocker2:51
Total length:38:10

Personnel

[edit]

All credits adapted from the original LP.[2]

Pantera
Additional members
  • Marc Ferrari – lead guitar (fade of "We'll Meet Again"), rhythm guitar ("Proud to Be Loud"), backing vocals
  • Jerry "LD" Abbott – keyboards ("We'll Meet Again", "Hard Ride")
Technical personnel
  • Joe Giron – photography
  • LD – engineering, remixing, production (except "Proud to Be Loud")
  • Pantera – production (except "Proud to Be Loud")
  • Diamond D. – remixing
  • Vinnie Paul – engineering, remixing
  • Marc Ferrari – production ("Proud to Be Loud")
  • Tom Coyne – mastering engineer
  • Recorded and mixed at Pantego Sound, Pantego, Texas
  • Mastering at Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs, New York City

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "PHIL ANSELMO ERA". PANTERA ROCKS!. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e Power Metal (LP booklet). Pantera. Arlington, Texas: Metal Magic Records. 1988. MMR1988.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Torreano, Bradley. "Power Metal - Pantera | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d MacDonald, Les (July 8, 2010). The Day the Music Died. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4691-1356-2.
  5. ^ a b c d e Pell, Nicholas (February 27, 2016). "Unpopular Opinion: It's Time to Talk About How Terrible Pantera Are". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "Pantera Discography Reviews: Power Metal". The Odyssey Online. May 9, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Christopher, Michael (June 25, 2018). "When Pantera Took a Final Glam Bow on 'Power Metal'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Pantera's Early Catalogue Will Never Be Reissued, Says Rex Brown". Eonmusic. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Marc Ferrari, Keel, Cold Sweat, Pantera Power Metal". www.fullinbloommusic.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  10. ^ "PHILIP ANSELMO Is 'Not Against' Reissuing PANTERA's 'Power Metal' Album". Blabbermouth. September 16, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Wiederhorn, Jon (June 24, 2019). "31 Years Ago: Pantera Release 'Power Metal'". Loudwire. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  12. ^ DiVita, Joe (May 11, 2017). "10 Reasons Why Pantera's 'Power Metal' Is Better Than You Remember". Loudwire. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  13. ^ "Donnie Darko (2001) - Crazy Credits". IMDb. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "Proud To Be Loud (as heard in Donnie Darko)". YouTube. June 30, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  15. ^ Christopher, Michael (June 25, 2018). "When Pantera Took a Final Glam Bow on 'Power Metal'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Hell Bent For Texas". Metal Forces. No. 53. Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England: Rockzone Publications Ltd. August 1990. p. 20–22.
  17. ^ "PHILIP ANSELMO Is 'Not Against' Reissuing PANTERA's 'Power Metal' Album". Blabbermouth. September 16, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  18. ^ "Proud To Be Loud (As Heard in Donnie Darko)". Apple Music. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  19. ^ "Proud To Be Loud (as heard in Donnie Darko)". YouTube. June 30, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  20. ^ "PANTERA - Power Metal". Rock Hard (in German). June 24, 1988. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  21. ^ "PANTERA: POWER METAL (1988)". metal.nightfall.fr (in French). May 21, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  22. ^ "Pantera - Power Metal (album review) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. July 21, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Epstein, Dan (July 1, 2023). "PANTERA'S EARLY YEARS: The Humble, Hairsprayed Origins of a Metal Juggernaut". Revolver Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  24. ^ "Full Length Review: Pantera "Power Metal" (Metal Magic) by Daniel Ryan". Asphyxium Zine. February 10, 2025. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
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