Pantera - Far Beyond Driven (CD)

All Music Guide

Far Beyond Driven may be Pantera's biggest selling album, but it's hardly their best. Though it shot straight to the number one spot on the ~Billboard sales chart in its first week (arguably the most extreme album ever to do so), this incredible feat doesn't so much reflect its own qualities as those of its predecessor, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power. A true landmark, Vulgar had seen the Texan quartet quite literally reinventing the wheel (in heavy metal terms) in a way not seen since Metallica's rise to fame in the late '80s. But when the time came to follow it up, the band members themselves seemed unsure as to how they could possibly top it. So they decided to try and out-heavy themselves, resulting in a less cohesive record which often sacrificed songwriting for outright aggression. Guitarist Dimebag Darrell (recently re-baptized from the far more glam Diamond Darrell) took it upon himself to conjure the heaviest riffs imaginable, turning up the volume and dissonance to sometimes p...ainful thresholds with his massive, grinding riffs. Songs like "Becoming," "Shedding Skin," and the vicious "Slaughtered" still stand head and shoulders above most of the competition, but only die-hard metalheads will be able to stand their systematic sensory bludgeoning long enough to get to the hooks hidden underneath. Worst of all is "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills," which wanders aimlessly in feedback and is topped with vocalist Phil Anselmo in stream-of-consciousness mode -- a sketchy proposition at the best of times. In fact, except for wisely chosen first single "I'm Broken," the rest of the album (and especially over-long tracks like "5 Minutes Alone" and "25 Years") simply lacks the iron-fisted discipline and controlled power captured on Vulgar. Finally, the band's insistence on justifying their cover version of Sabbath's gentle "Planet Caravan" in the LP's liner notes is further evidence of their embattled frame of mind at the time. Ultimately, Far Beyond Driven was a necessary evolutionary step for Pantera which, if nothing else, certainly did the business. - Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide Read more Less