Philip Anselmo Reflects on Pantera’s ‘Vulgar Display of Power’ on Its 25th Anniversary
One of the most important albums in metal history, Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power, turns 25 this weekend and Loudwire has just posted our three-part Loudwire Legacy documentary on the history of the album. We spoke with many metal luminaries about the disc, and got firsthand insight from all three surviving Pantera members along with producer Terry Date and album art photographer Brad Guice. While you can see the full Loudwire Legacy documentary below, we've also pulled out individual interviews and in this post you can watch Philip Anselmo discussing Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power in the player above.
"We had just come off of what I would consider a wake-up call," says Anselmo. "We got our first U.S. tour with Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus and we were obviously the opening band and all of a sudden we were this tiny fish in this massive ocean called the rest of the world out there outside of Texas and Louisiana."
Though they were just starting to carve out their place in the metal scene, Anselmo says it was Vinnie Paul who gave them the pep talk that really turned things around. "Vince Paul, the drummer for Pantera, he was the one who said, 'It doesn't matter. Our job is to go out there and I don't give a f--k if it's two people, seven people or ten people, our job is to go out there and kick their f--cking ass every single night and word will spread,'" recalls Anselmo.
The singer says that gave the band a collective chip on their shoulders that was undeniable by the time they recorded Vulgar Display of Power. "We knew the material needed to be more abrasive than Cowboys From Hell," says the singer. "To me that really signified our first true album of what was to come."
Between the music and the live shows, things started to turn for Pantera, who went from a band "loathed in Europe" to one that was smoking other bands on a nightly basis. "Vulgar Display of Power was the most important record of our career in my opinion," concludes the singer.
See more of Philip Anselmo, Vinnie Paul and Rex Brown, as well as some of their peers, in our three-part Loudwire Legacy documentary on Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power below.
Watch the Loudwire Legacy Documentary on Pantera's 'Vulgar Display of Power'