PANTERA is one of the few bands to raise the bar consistently and continuously with each album. THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL is the most “everything” Pantera album. It’s easily the angriest, heaviest, darkest Pantera album EVER and is, most indubitably, the “kick in the jimmy” that the Metal world was in dire need of in the mid 90’s after grunge and alternative music effectively “declawed” Metal and turned it (for the most part) into some watered down, tame, “domesticated” shadow of its former self.
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Released May 7, 1996
Recorded Oct. 1995-Feb.1996 at Chasin’ Jason Studios, TX and Nothing Studios, LA
Produced by Terry Date
JOIN US as we celebrate the obnoxiously abrasive audacity that is Pantera’s 8th studio album and see if you don’t feel transcendentally relaxed & refreshed afterwards (trust us, you will).
THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL:
Now THAT is how you open a fucking album!! Pantera kept raising the bar on how incredibly kick ass an opening track could (and should) be, and this was no exception (although, to be fair, they would outdo themselves yet again on their next (and final) studio release). Pantera had progressively raised the level of aggro with each record, and with THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL, they raised it to an almost intolerable level. Okay, NOT intolerable, but it was almost like going far beyond a vulgar display of driven cowboy power…or y’know, however the hell that math works out. If debriding a wound with a belt sander were a song, this would be it…until it gets groovy again at the second half.
WAR NERVE:
“Truly…Fuck the World…”.
There’s an extreme level of justifiable, seething causticity within the lyrics (and the bone cracking heaviness of the music); aimed at the media and their undeniably vulgar ability to paint an undesirable (and often patently false) version of the truth with pointless, manipulative, word salad smear campaigns. Lesson learned. Keep your mouth shut to those who would manipulate YOUR truth for THEIR gain. Say little (especially to the media; print, broadcast or otherwise), Trust No One.
Trust. NO. One.
“Fuck you ALL…”
DRAG THE WATERS:
Boy, I think this one song could have (actually should have) been the theme song for 2020, given everything that transpired. Perhaps it was weirdly prophetic to some degree. Something about the lyrics on this record are extremely “visual” (and that’s not just the relaxers talking); this record had that visual vibe even 25 years ago, back in the day. If you think you’ve reached the point where you’ve actually uncovered The Truth, keep digging. And then dig some more. The Truth is usually found in the deepest and darkest places. And many already KNOW the Truth: that The Truth shall set you free. “Drag the waters some more…”
10’s:
Immediately this one has a completely different vibe to it. It’s heavy and slow, but in a different way. It has a very medicated quality to it (Let’s go with “Duh” for $500, Alex), much like the subject matter of the song. Looking back on this song through the lens of personal experience and perspective, everything about this song: the lyrics, the music, and the swaying heaviness of the groove, painted a very dark picture of the junkie squint induced, fuzzy existence of hard-core drug addiction and abuse.
“Colliding slow, like life itself…”
13 STEPS TO NOWHERE:
As we said before, this album has a very uncanny, “visual” feel to it (bolth musically & lyrically), and this song is no exception. Read. Those. Lyrics. ALL of them.
“…13,13,13,13,13,13 STEPS!”
SUICIDE NOTE PT. I:
For an acoustic number, this was a whole new level of creepy for that little old extreme groove metal band from Texas. Read those lyrics, kids.
“Would you look at me now?”
SUICIDE NOTE PT. II:
There’s really nothing more to say about this song other than it’s the audio equivalent of sheer unfathomable, seething, loathsome rage at self and world. Given the state of Metal and the music industry (and really, the world at large) at the time, I can’t blame Mr. Anselmo for his extremely coarse and caustic commentary…particularly given the deeper, more personal connotations of the song title (Remember, a Blesson is bolth a Blessing and a Lesson). This song could have also been called “Calgon” because whenever it’s played, it’s like Calgon for Metalheads…and all that stress just melts away with one, long, continuous, blood-curdling, wounded primal scream.
“Descending down…”
LIVING THROUGH ME (HELL’S WRATH):
There has never been a song that more perfectly depicted the maddeningly psychotic cycles of “sickness and wellness” that accompany heavy duty opiate addiction. Be sure to use headphones when listening.
“It keeps skipping…over and over…”
FLOODS:
Talk about visual…Noooo, that’s not code for “dude, these relaxers are like WAY strong, dude”, it’s just that the song just has this strange energy to it. It’s almost has the feel of “This Love” and “The Sleep”, but even darker and heavier than either/bolth of those tunes. And that guitar solo…it’s like this was the song on Trendkill that had everything: creepiness, crunchy ball riffs, melody, atmosphere, shred, texture, etc. I could keep going but you get the idea.
THE UNDERGROUND IN AMERICA:
Loads of crunchy ball riffs…ultra-tuned down crunchy ball riffs, at that. And GROOVE! This song embodies the same attitude originally expressed on the title track: no adherence to conformity for the sake of conformity and commercial mainstream acceptance and success.
“We thrive on what’s stronger than most of the world…”
(REPRISE) SANDBLASTED SKIN:
“The trend is DEAD…”
At a time when most Metal bands softened and began flirting with the grunge and alternative music scene of the mid-90’s, Pantera chose to go (as they usually did) in the exact opposite direction: becoming ever more caustic, abrasive, obnoxious, and ultra-violent in their musical and lyrical approach. Of Pantera’s entire catalog, there is absolutely no record that comes even close to the level of pure, unadulterated “FUCK THE WORLD” attitude as this album. They opened hard and they closed hard. Perfection.
Show Notes:
(00:00) – #arewerolling? #fuckyeah See also the #lastepisode #tomorrowwillbetoday #backwagon #jackwagon #backshadowing #timetravelling / Another pending #albumdive and some #EVH #trivia (#acdc #powerage) / ***What did YOU think when you first heard The Great Southern Trendkill?*** (#tooextreme #grower #allheatnoflavor) / A serious increase in darkness on this record compared to prior #PanterA releases / ***CALL METAL NERDERY NOW AT (980) 666 – 8182*** CALL NOW!!!*** #screamfortheballs and/or #screamfromtheballs / A #voicemail from a #metalnerderypodcast #listener (thank you for that!)
(06:13) - #albumnumbereight (5th with Philip H. Anselmo) / #shoutout to #analcunt for #returningthefavor and the #grindcore #documentary (Slave to the Grind, not to be confused with the #skidrow album of the same name) and also Seth Putnam #tangentionalalityismness / Still #groovemetal but also ultra-abrasive #hail to Terry Date / A note from Ron regarding a new favorite from #theriblounge
(09:43) – Released May 7, 1996 / Produced by Terry Date and recording dates (NOTE: vocals and music recorded separately. Lyrics recorded at #nothingstudios / #avulgardisplayofpantera was fucking KILLER!! #HAIL to #philiphanselmoandtheillegals / #bustthruthis / The Alex #ooooh of Creeped-out-ness (Nothing Studios is an 85 year old funeral home) and a #ridiculously #longreach for an #intentional #blackalbumreference that wasn’t even really that tangentionally related to #theblackalbum / The #decor of the #nothingstudios / #dontdenythepowerof #Dime / #criticalreception #startledturtle / The actual spoken part of “Living Through Me (Hell’s Wrath)” used to be on the interwebs and now it’s unfindable…if you find it CALL US AT 980-666-8182 and READ THOSE LYRICS and we’ll play your voicemail on a future episode!!!*** / #downunder / #waitwhat that was wrongly #pronunciationized
(17:00) – The process of purchasing music compact discs in the mid 1990’s and getting to the point of actually PLAYING the compact disc musics you purchased in the mid 1990’s / #youpullitout and then you #putitin and then…#welldone / The Great Southern Trendkill (still groovy, but definitely angry as all fuck! #badass #perfectsetup) / #PanterA sans #melody (and the memo to the #metal #world to pick up their game and #overcome their #limitations / #ftw War Nerve #truly #ftw #lookhere
(23:00) – This is definitely a #headphones #album / and now, a song that is #onehundredpercent #relevant #today Drag the Waters #leftturn (it’s the #waitwhat of #riffs #hahaha #hashtag #hashbags #tags and #bags) and the video directorial debut of #Dimebag #herewego #WWDDD (that’s “What would Dime do, Dude?”) / #magictentacles #almost / 10’s (#isntitobvious its about #drugabuse definitely #dark #metalnerderyASMR) and the explanations about some of the songs #recordscratch… 10’s isn’t so much a “slow” song as it is ultra fucking “creepy” / #fuckyourcancelculture #GFY #cancelculture #tipoftheslongue / Say ALL of that again…#dragonballz #doomy.
(32:08) – 13 Steps to Nowhere (#ultracreepy #notasoftintro #readthoselyrics) #Predator is on backing vocals / Very visual (#what?) / Suicide Note Pt. I (and the #classact that is #philiphanselmoandtheillegals #hail #leftturn) This is definitely NOT your typical #acoustic #ballad #wrongpedia / It’s like “Going to California” via Hell / and now for #evendarkerpart2 Suicide Note Pt. II #getyousome #blackdog.
(41:56) - #reinventingthemetal (that will never not be funny!) #keeper #tickler / Living Through Me (Hell’s Wrath) and the #energy of the #Trendkill album (Use those #headphones #overandover) / Floods (also very visual…based on true events as “reported”) and an #incredibly #ranked #guitarsolo #recordscratch #hilarious and an #actual #legitimate #blackalbumreference for the show #augusttwelfth #ohno Floods (con’t) and that #guitarsolo (Very tastefully done)
(55:09) – The Underground in America and #fuzz #readthoselyrics and tuned down an entire step with that low E string dropped another whole step (Standard D tuning with a Dropped G equals #somuchheavy) / (Reprise) Sandblasted Skin and endless layers of fuzz / #softoutro / No tracking changes needed / #softoutroreintro /#production #commentary #okayturnitoffnow