eShop USA > Music > The Great Southern Trendkill
The Great Southern Trendkill
Customer Reviews
Rating:  - Not as good as "Driven" but a logical step.
I remember when Slayer's Reign in Blood came out and everyone said, "How will they ever outdo that one?".
They didn't.
South of Heaven came out and it was..........different.
Still the same band, but different.
This disc from Pantera reminds me a lot of Slayer in that respect.
How do you follow up something as ground breaking as Far Beyond Driven.
You don't.
I didn't like this disc when it first came out, but in hindsight it was really either go in this direction or go in a more extreme death metal direction.
Pantera, staying true to their roots, stayed with the thrash direction.
This disc is strong enough to stand on its own any day.
Great songs, I'm still not a big fan of Phil's "shrieking".
But still, a decent follow up to Driven.
The bands first three albums are essential, this one........... if you liked the first three then you'll like this one.
Recommended!!!
Rating:  - this is one f#cking under rated album
how this album has only 4/5 star rated is F$CKED UP , when it comes to best pantera albums people alway say cowboys from hell or vulgar display of power and far beyond driven , now those are awesome cds but this album doesnt get merely the cred it should get. this is one heavy album w/ not a single skip able track , the stand out songs are 10s drag threw the waters and one of panteras best songs floods , it's the best song on the cd and phil vocals are perfect but my favorite part of this song is at the end where dime plays this watered down guitar riff its a perfect way to end the song. anyway if you don't already own this cd then get it , I rate it a 10/10
Rating: - Of Scout Brawls and Trendkills
Back in the spring of 1992, I roamed the streets of the rough and tumble Fan District of Richmond, Virginia in a Vulgar Display of Power "Stronger Than All" t-shirt looking to fight anyone I could find. Ok, that's utterly preposterous. I've been in two fights in my life, both in 8th grade, a bizarrely combative year. First, I tangled with lanky Raymond Byrd who inexplicably stuffed a discarded cigarette butt in my mouth during a walk home from the bus stop, touching off an unlikely street brawl that culminated in Raymond running home to his mother and his trombone case lying discarded in the gutter. Then, a few months later during a two-week Boy Scout hike through the New Mexico wilderness, in a Lord of the Flies-like moment, I engaged in a bout of fisticuffs with a fellow scout who went by the terrifying sobriquet of Pee-Wee.
So, I'm really not a fighter, don't know why people resort to it. For me, listening to Pantera at high volumes is usually enough to sooth the savage beast within. At a time when the creative peaks of Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer were coming to an end, Pantera offered a new, angrier thrash sound for those of us who needed their metal ever heavier. Cowboys From Hell was a promising effort suggesting new metal giants had arrived, and Vulgar Display of Power subsequently delivered on that promise inspiring mayhem in moshpits across the country. I remember attempting to find a spot in the middle of the Roseland Ballroom in NYC before a concert during the Vulgar Display tour to avoid getting caught in a mosh, only to find that the entire ballroom became a violent moshpit with the first note. Ten seconds into the opener, `Mouth For War', I had traveled 100 feet involuntarily and lost my favorite hooded sweatshirt. Somehow Far Beyond Driven managed to be even heavier than Vulgar Display and by 1994 Pantera had solidified their status as the heaviest mainstream metal band in the world.
The summer of 1996 brought the release of the disturbingly heavy The Great Southern Trendkill, an album that commenced with Phil Anselmo emitting the sort of guttural bellow previously found only in the more underground world of death metal. At the time, the unthinkable happened and I suddenly began to regard Pantera as too difficult and pointlessly noisy. I gave up on The Great Southern Trendkill after just a few complicated listens. I listened to At the Gates and Entombed - I wasn't afraid of death metal, I just couldn't accept Pantera as death metal poseurs. The transition seemed forced to me (ironic since Pantera had ascended to fame by quietly transitioning from glam to thrash metal nearly a decade earlier). Over time, the The Great Southern Trendkill went missing from my music collection, and I barely noticed.
Years passed. I got into In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Opeth so you know I still enjoyed, in fact `needed', the heavy stuff. Then, a few years ago, I was clicking around on Amazon and came across The Great Southern Trendkill. The cool cover art suddenly made me hungry to re-evaluate it and when I saw that it could be had for cheap, I took the plunge and bought it. Listening to it for the first time in years, I was blown away by the heaviness. What seemed forced nearly a decade earlier, suddenly struck me as genuine. Darrell's dizzying array of riffs were as strong as on any Pantera album, Phil seemed angrier than ever, sometimes troublingly so. The opening title track is a riveting pledge to avoid following the nu-metal trend emerging at the time Trendkill was released. It is almost never a good idea to write a song about media coverage (if you need an example, I submit "Get in the Ring" by Gn'R for your consideration), yet "War Nerve" works, and works well at that. "Drag the Waters" is sinister and brutal, like being dredged through a gator-filled bayou hanging on by your fingernails from the back of a pilot boat. And the intensity continues at a consistently high level all the way through to the end, marked by the cheery "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin".
In summary, The Great Southern Trendkill is Pantera at their darkest and heaviest, a stunning combination, and an album that seems only to get better with time. Based on its Amazon reviews, Trendkill seems to receive less respect from fans than any other prime-era Pantera release, but if you haven't listened to it in a few years, it might be time to give it another chance. We all know Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven are classic metal albums, but ignore The Great Southern Trendkill at your own peril. Since I `rediscovered' it, Trendkill has been my favorite Pantera album. And I haven't been in any more fights since I purchased it either.
Rating: - good as they got
by far my fav from the cowboys from hell it was actually the first pantera cd i heard and to be truthfull it scared the s**t out of me the first time i heard it had to be a funny sight it was the first cd i had with screaming in it it was a little different at first took a little getting used to i was listening to bands like pearl jam and smashing pumkins at the time but it kept growing on me and eventually grew to be one of my all time favorites something about that cd never gets old my favorite songs on it are "living through me(hells wrath)(suicide note part 2)and(10s)but there all good so if you havent checked this cd out get it you will not be disappointed
p.s.the title track is the best song ever for a bad day those of you who have heard it know what im talking about
Rating: - Yes, it's underrated.....please read on.....
I made the mistake of not buying this album when it was released (bought it in '00), though I was there for the releases of their previous three albums (though not *technically* their first three). Please read my next statement carefully: This is *the* most consistent album from start to finish this side of CFH that this band produced....period. No, the production isn't as polished as FBD, etc., but that fact simply doesn't detract from anything. If you've ever told anyone that Pantera is anything other than Metal, you're simply wrong, and always will be. I don't worship Pantera, but credit must be given where it is due: Darrell came up with some of the best Metal riffs of all time, and there are many who hate Pantera that probably wouldn't have much of a problem with that statement. Yes, there are guys who are more technical than Darrell was, but I really can't think of anyone who combined feel with technicality as well as he did. Yes, I'm from Texas, but that really doesn't slant my opinion in this case. Anyway, enough of my banter...on with the review by song.
1. The Great Southern Trendkill 9/10 - Kicks off with the big Phil scream, and then kills it with a simple-but-great power groove riff. As everyone has said, the outro/solo section is classic Darrell.
2. War Nerve 7/10 - Though a good song, I've never been a huge fan of this one. The main riff through the verses is nothing special, but the band is always tight, and it's played with a good feel
3. Drag the Waters 8/10 - Yes, this one's also very simple, but has that great Southern sound for which Darrell is known, and yes, Phil is more singer/less screamer on this one.
4. 10's 7/10 - This is a good ballad with a relaxed feel and pace, but didn't move me very much. It's still a nice break in pace, and I personally like it this way.
5. 13 Steps to Nowhere 9/10 - The verse riff is one of Darrell's most underrated moments. Vinnie locks in with a nice triplet feel on the kit, and the song slams from start to finish.
6. Suicide Note Pt.I 8/10 - Another slow break, and a very nicely done one at that. As others have mentioned, the feel borders on Country, though it's never blatant. Phil's vocals are well done, here.
7. Suicide Note Pt.II 8/10 - This is a huge/great contrast from Part.I, and is pulled off extremely well. I'm a big Thrash fan, so breakneck tempos, when done well, are my thing, and though this isn't great, it's still very good.
8. Living Through Me 9/10 - The verse riff for this song is the very definition of "Great Simplicity", and the chorus section is classic power groove. The middle section, which is a breakdown, is an interesting (if not cool) section that's not the norm for these guys, but works nicely with this tune. The main riff alone makes this a Headbanger's classic in my book.
9. Floods 8/10 - There's not much to say here that hasn't been said already. It's a well done ballad with a signature Darrell solo...nuff said.
10. The Underground in America 10/10 - I can't emphasize this enough: This is, without any question, the most underrated Pantera song of all time, and it baffles me as to why this one isn't highly rated in most other reviews. The collection of *great* riffs in this song should be enough to send you on a banging frenzy. The opening riff has one of the more menacing feels of any riff I've heard, and only gets better once the crunch kicks in. The verse riffs are hard for me to explain (I'm a drummer, not a guitarist, so forgive my ignorance), but it seems as though one guitar track is keeping the root note, while the other is moving a half step between two other notes in the scale. I'll never forget first hearing the riff itself; it's played without vocals in the 3 video. I looked at my buddy and said, "What f**king song is that???!!!" (remember, I initially skipped buying this album). The next riff is, of course, the refrain riff used for Sandblasted Skin, and it's a great one. This type of bending riff was done first by Exhorder, and perfected by Darrell. (yes, Pantera definitely took a huge page out of Exhorder's book, but they're simply a better band as a whole, though Exhorder's collection of riffs is a fantastic one as well, and is HIGHLY recommend...see: Slaughter in the Vatican). The song then goes into another triplet feel section, which is yet another banger, and the support section for the solo. The solo isn't really a classic by any stretch, but, yet again, has that great southern/bluesy feel. From there, the song kicks back for a quick visit to the opening riff, and then builds tension beautifully for the payoff, which is.....
11. Sandblasted Skin 9/10 - Though the song itself is not even close to complex, its feel with the main riff sells it completely, and is a perfect finish to a great album.
If you're like me, and skipped buying a Pantera record after Far Beyond Driven, you owe it to yourself to go out and pick this one up. Reinventing the Steel *also* has some of Darrell's best riffage on it (see: "It Makes Them Disappear" and "Revolution is My Name"), so pick that one up if you haven't already. Let me sum it up for you this way: If I were offered a choice between two double-album packages; one which included Vulgar Display of Power & Far Beyond Driven, and another which included The Great Southern Trendkill & Reinventing the Steel, I'd have a *very* hard time deciding, though I lean slightly towards the latter. Yes, it's that good.
Cheers, and happy listening!
Featured Listmania!
| |
 |
![30 Days Of Night [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5180TuITERL._SL75_.jpg
)
