PANTERA - Reinventing The Steel LP (180gram)

Label: Elektra / WEA

Ounce for ounce, decibel for decibel, few bands can even approach the fury that is Pantera. For years they have been unleashing their anger in front of rabid crowds who have helped them sell millions of albums without MTV or heavy radio airplay, and now they are back with a new album of their most dynamic, fierce and unruly rock to date.

Where The Great Southern Trendkill experimented with slower, moodier pieces, Reinventing the Steel finds Pantera sticking to the pulverizing basics of their sound. Yet even if Pantera is firmly entrenched in a signature sound, it's a distinctive, highly effective signature sound that most of the band's fans don't want to hear changed; plus, Dimebag Darrell is still one of the most inventive guitar players in heavy metal. The bottom line is that the way you feel about Reinventing the Steel will likely depend on whether you object to more of the same; if not, then the lean focus of its attack -- the most concise, actually, since Vulgar Display -- will make it more than worthwhile.