During the course of his career, the late drummer Vinnie Paul sat behind the kit of a couple of different bands from Damageplan to the supergroup Hellyeah - but it was of course Pantera, which he co-founded alongside his brother Dimebag Darrell, that earned him a reputation as one of heavy metal's hardest-hitting timekeepers. Honor his memory with a look back at some of his best work with Pantera.
“Out for Blood” (1984)
If you’re going to tell the story of Vinnie Paul, then you’ve got to be willing to venture back to Pantera’s pre-major label days - back when his brother was still going by the name "Diamond Darrell"! This track from the band’s Projects in the Jungle album shows you Paul and his compatriots were rocking pretty damned hard even during their indie years.
“Power Metal” (1988)
“You say you want it loud? I’ll never turn it down!” Thus opens the title track from Pantera’s final album before making the jump to a major label, but it’s more than just a lyric, it’s pretty much the band’s entire ethos summed up in 11 words.
“Domination” (1990)
One of the hardest rocking songs in the Pantera catalog, it’s a strong performance on the band’s Cowboys from Hell album, but it tended to get even harder in their live shows.
“Primal Concrete Sledge” (1990)
With a title like this, what else do we really need to say except that it’s one of the songs by which you can judge much of the Pantera catalog? It’s as hard as they come.
“Mouth for War” (1992)
The first single from Vulgar Display of Power, this quickly became one of Pantera’s most popular songs, even going so far as to crack the U.K. Singles chart. Granted, it stalled at No. 73, but to make the chart at all was quite an accomplishment.
“Becoming” (1994)
The last of the four singles to be released from Far Beyond Driven, vocalist Phil Anselmo once told Rolling Stone that the song was “very tongue in cheek, very much me playing around with words, and throwing a bit of a curveball at the listener.” Whatever it was, it worked.
“Use My Third Arm” (1994)
With a riff that evolved out of a then-unreleased track from the Vulgar Display of Power sessions (“Piss”), Anselmo called it “a temper tantrum, really, put to music.” All singers should get things out of their system this way.
“13 Steps to Nowhere” (1996)
A sonic throwback to the band’s Vulgar Display of Power era, this number from The Great Southern Trendkill rocks hard, but it also has a bluesy groove that keeps the listener engaged from start to finish.
“Revolution is My Name” (2000)
This song holds a special place in Pantera history, as it’s their only band-penned single to chart in America while they were still together. Climbing to No. 28 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, it also scored a Grammy nod for Best Metal Performance.
Read More: Pantera's 'Steel' Reinvented on New Vinyl Version
“You’ve Got to Belong to It” (2000)
This track was never released as a single, but it’s got a hard-rocking – and catchy – groove that’s made it a fan favorite.
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