PANTERA: Far Beyond Driven

Produced by Terry Date

Released: 1994

Pantera's previous album Vulgar Display of Power had lifted them to major league status around the world but it was Far Beyond Driven that was to make them into one of the biggest metal bands of all time. This album was so huge that it even hit #1 on the Australian chart, thus becoming only the second heavy metal album ever to do so. The irony of course is that it is probably the patchiest release in Pantera's catalogue.

Controversy over the artwork aside (the original cover art was banned almost immediately), it's clear that the band members' hedonistic lifestyles and a self-proclaimed desire to get heavier with every release was over-shadowing one of the main things that had made them such a great band in the first place: great songwriting.

Far Beyond Driven starts off on pretty much the right foot with four monster tracks in a row, all of which are plainly heavier extensions of the material found on the previous album. "Strength Beyond Strength" is a violent flurry that shows Pantera at their most hostile and it's clear that their days as a party band are long behind them. "Becoming" and "5 Minutes Alone" are no less antagonistic, the latter inspired by a threat from a fan's father against Phil Anselmo. Then comes the sludge-like "I'm Broken" with the album's catchiest riff and something more of anguish than pure anger about it. While there's a noticeable reduction in Dimebag Darrell's spectacular guitar solos, until now one of Pantera's defining aspects, so far the album is all going along pretty nicely.

Suddenly, however, it becomes evident that the speculation about substance abuse during the recording sessions may well be true. "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" is easily one of the worst pieces of garbage ever recorded and only a group of people under the influence of something brain-frying would think it worthy of inclusion on any kind of release. Almost anything would be an improvement after that. "Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks" seems to just groan on forever though and the next couple of tracks don't really stand out either. At last, "Shedding Skin" comes on and reminds us when the need is most apparent that Pantera can do something that's more than one-dimensional. This track not only restores the balance but easily eclipses everything else on the last two-thirds of the album, although "Use My Third Arm" is certainly far from a complete waste.

In the end, Pantera's focus on aggression for aggression's sake and a brazen need to be controversial resulted in Far Beyond Driven being far less consistent than the two albums that had made their name. While it definitely has its moments, any album with a stinker like "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" on it is hardly going to rate as one of the best of all time, Grammy nomination or not.

1. Strength Beyond Strenth


2. Becoming


3. 5 Minutes Alone


4. I'm Broken


5. Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills


6. Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks


7. Slaughtered


8. 25 Years


9. Shedding Skin


10. Use My Third Arm


11. Throes of Rejection


12. Planet Caravan

Rating: 68%