Do you consider Pantera an overrated band in the world of metal?

[SjundeInseglet]

For me they were not overrated. In fact, they were THE premier metal band of the 90's and one of the top metal bands of all time.

Compared to other metal bands at the time, Pantera were in another realm. They had the best combination of heavy, power, and groove. They carved their own niche. Other metal bands didn't have that or they didn't pull it off (heavy/groove) as well. In the 90's you had old school Priest, Maiden, Ozzy, etc. still doing their thing. The thrash bands from the 80's either started changing (Metallica, Megadeth) and went not so thrashy or didn't evolve much at all (Slayer, Anthrax, Testament). Metal began to expand with sub-genres too but Pantera stood out above the rest. It was infectious.

I saw them 4 times live. They usually took out good bands that would open for them (White Zombie, Machine Head, to name a couple) and Pantera was just that much better than them live. They basically headlined Ozzfest in 2000 and while I didn't go, many say that the venues would half-empty out after Pantera was done before Ozzy took the stage.

You had the character & incredible guitar playing of Dime, solid drumming of Vinnie Paul, and people don't realize how musical Rex Brown is on the bass. Listen to Pantera songs and concentrate on the bass lines. He's not just playing along with the riff. He plays around the riff.

Plus, their material and influence stands the test of time. It's not like Limp Bizkit where you hear the music and think "90's nu-metal." Metal fans still seem to hold Pantera in high regard.

This, so very much! You can't possibly have lived through the angst-ridden, alternative nineties like I did and say that Pantera are/were an overrated band. The band singlehandedly kept the metal flag alive during those trying times.

[wolfking]

DO I love Pantera?  Yes

Do I think they are overrated?  Possibly, but they were just the number one band keeping metal alive in the 90's.  I do think the wraps they get for some of their stuff might be a little much but I love everything from Cowboys up to Reinventing, especially Trendkill, that's probably my fav and such an amazing brutal metal album.  I'm gonna vote no though.

In terms of popularity, I'll definitely give you that. But let's be real- many of the best metal albums of the 90's came from a certain band run by a man named Chuck Schuldiner...

Control Denied?....

Good call, but I knew what he meant, even their first two albums were in the 80's I always think of them as a more 90's based metal band, even though that's not technically accurate.

[TAC]

I've never heard anything from Pantera that I even remotely enjoyed.

[DT2003]

Not personally a fan but they came at a moment where they were the answer to metal falling out of fashion or the giants of the genre failing for whatever reason to live up to their potential. They were the right band at the right time, an anchor for those who saw grunge taking everything over while Maiden and Priest and the likes were losing their singers and popularity. Also as noted above Dimebag was loved by everyone in the industry. I think they're rated just fine.

Dimebag is unmatched when it comes to coming up with incredible Metal Riffs. He was no slouch when it came to soloing either....but his metal riffs were/are incredible.

As far as Pantera being overrated....absolutely not. Sure there may have been other metal bands out there at the time but Pantera was THE metal band at the time that was at the top and driving that scene.

This is how I feel. I absolutely loved Pantera and am surprised to see so many saying their overrated in this thread.

[KevShmev]

I've never heard anything from Pantera that I even remotely enjoyed.

Same here.  I know how revered they are, but they have never appealed to me.

[Stadler]

Not personally a fan but they came at a moment where they were the answer to metal falling out of fashion or the giants of the genre failing for whatever reason to live up to their potential. They were the right band at the right time, an anchor for those who saw grunge taking everything over while Maiden and Priest and the likes were losing their singers and popularity. Also as noted above Dimebag was loved by everyone in the industry. I think they're rated just fine.

Dimebag is unmatched when it comes to coming up with incredible Metal Riffs. He was no slouch when it came to soloing either....but his metal riffs were/are incredible.

As far as Pantera being overrated....absolutely not. Sure there may have been other metal bands out there at the time but Pantera was THE metal band at the time that was at the top and driving that scene.

This is how I feel. I absolutely loved Pantera and am surprised to see so many saying their overrated in this thread.

Unmatched? I think... hang on, phone is ringing... guys, it's Tony Iommi.  He's having trouble logging in but he'd like a word...     

[Grappler]

I've never heard anything from Pantera that I even remotely enjoyed.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Not personally a fan but they came at a moment where they were the answer to metal falling out of fashion or the giants of the genre failing for whatever reason to live up to their potential. They were the right band at the right time, an anchor for those who saw grunge taking everything over while Maiden and Priest and the likes were losing their singers and popularity. Also as noted above Dimebag was loved by everyone in the industry. I think they're rated just fine.

Dimebag is unmatched when it comes to coming up with incredible Metal Riffs. He was no slouch when it came to soloing either....but his metal riffs were/are incredible.

As far as Pantera being overrated....absolutely not. Sure there may have been other metal bands out there at the time but Pantera was THE metal band at the time that was at the top and driving that scene.

This is how I feel. I absolutely loved Pantera and am surprised to see so many saying their overrated in this thread.

Unmatched? I think... hang on, phone is ringing... guys, it's Tony Iommi.  He's having trouble logging in but he'd like a word...     

Tony Iommi is the most overrated metal guitarist ever.

[TAC]

Count, I don't think so. Those riffs he created have stood the test of time and influenced at least two generations of guitarists. If you follow some hot shot who can outplay Iommi, then so be it, but to call him overrated is not correct. Tony Iommi is properly rated.

[The Walrus]

He's certainly at the top of my list of favorite guitarists missing their fingertips.

[MirrorMask]

Tony Iommi invented the heavy metal riffs FFS. And he did it without fingers.

[DT2003]

Not personally a fan but they came at a moment where they were the answer to metal falling out of fashion or the giants of the genre failing for whatever reason to live up to their potential. They were the right band at the right time, an anchor for those who saw grunge taking everything over while Maiden and Priest and the likes were losing their singers and popularity. Also as noted above Dimebag was loved by everyone in the industry. I think they're rated just fine.

Dimebag is unmatched when it comes to coming up with incredible Metal Riffs. He was no slouch when it came to soloing either....but his metal riffs were/are incredible.

As far as Pantera being overrated....absolutely not. Sure there may have been other metal bands out there at the time but Pantera was THE metal band at the time that was at the top and driving that scene.

This is how I feel. I absolutely loved Pantera and am surprised to see so many saying their overrated in this thread.

Unmatched? I think... hang on, phone is ringing... guys, it's Tony Iommi.  He's having trouble logging in but he'd like a word...     

I definitely enjoy Tony’s playing, I just think that Dimebag took heavy to a different level. Dimebag is one of my favorite metal guitarists so maybe I’m biased.

[gmillerdrake]

Not personally a fan but they came at a moment where they were the answer to metal falling out of fashion or the giants of the genre failing for whatever reason to live up to their potential. They were the right band at the right time, an anchor for those who saw grunge taking everything over while Maiden and Priest and the likes were losing their singers and popularity. Also as noted above Dimebag was loved by everyone in the industry. I think they're rated just fine.

Dimebag is unmatched when it comes to coming up with incredible Metal Riffs. He was no slouch when it came to soloing either....but his metal riffs were/are incredible.

As far as Pantera being overrated....absolutely not. Sure there may have been other metal bands out there at the time but Pantera was THE metal band at the time that was at the top and driving that scene.

This is how I feel. I absolutely loved Pantera and am surprised to see so many saying their overrated in this thread.

Unmatched? I think... hang on, phone is ringing... guys, it's Tony Iommi.  He's having trouble logging in but he'd like a word...     

I definitely enjoy Tony’s playing, I just think that Dimebag took heavy to a different level. Dimebag is one of my favorite metal guitarists so maybe I’m biased.

Yeah. Iommi certainly has the notoriety but for my taste when you lay their bodies of work next to each other Dime Bag outshines him. I agree he had a different level...

[Lax]

I'm gonna be like an E.T. here
I love Pantera and I think my next project could be around groove metal.

But I nearly never listened to vdop or cfh, except the big hits.

On the other hand it has been nearly 22 years that tgst runs at least once a month in the car or at home !
This album inspires me, has brutality and emotion, etc...

They are underrated to me, especially in my teen years in france, I remember trash was way more successfull then.

[Stadler]

Wow, deep respect for differing opinions - I'm a Kiss fan for God's sake - but I don't know how on ANY level other than "I just like his shit better" does Dime surpass Iommi.   I'm not saying that Iommi is Hendrix or Van Halen (shoot, I can play about 90% of the first four Sabbath albums, and I pretty much suck) but sometimes simple is better, and while "popularity" isn't really the only standard, some of those riffs have transcended generations and genres.