Album 365: Day 29 - Pantera - Far Beyond Driven

Pantera
Far Beyond Driven
1994

Favorite tracks: Strength Beyond Strength, 5 Minutes Alone, Slaughtered
Sleeper tracks: Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills, Planet Caravan

Bought this album the early part of summer, 1994. It may have been one of the first CDs I bought after moving out of my parents house.

I was slow to get on the Pantera bandwagon.  My friends and I always used to make fun of Dimebag.  He would write the dumbest shit in "Guitar Player" magazine.  We thought his playing was horrible and the music sucked.  We became un-lame that summer and gorged on Pantera for about 5 straight months.  I think it was one of many moments growing up where we pushed one another in the direction of a certain band.  I'm fond of those moments and wouldn't be as big a Pantera fan if the positive peer pressure never happened.

The album debuted at number 1 on Billboard.  I always thought that was cool.  The album is damn heavy.  I loved the rhythm section of the band.  Vinnie became on of my favorite drummers and I came to really appreciate the coolness of Dime's playing.  I'm not a lyrics guy when it comes to this band but Phil put a lot of energy into his records.

This isn't my favorite Pantera album but it's the one I go to just because of the cool songs and grooves on it.