PANTERA — Far Beyond Driven (review)

Album · 1994 · Groove Metal

2/5 · 2015-07-30
Vim Fuego

This album is considered a minor classic. Can someone explain why?

The riffs are excellent, the drumming intense, the vocals brutal. Problem is, Pantera forgot to write any songs. Most of this album is just a few riffs thrown together at random, the odd sub-Death Metal growl over things, continue for four or five minutes, then do it again. Most of this album is "brutal for brutal's sake", and forget playing music.

Case in point, "Becoming". There is just no flow to the song whatsoever, sounding like someone with Attention Deficit Disorder put it together. Vinnie Paul has the strangest kickdrum sound this side of an old Dismember album. Dimebag's riffs do not run into each other. Phil Anselmo growls monotonously. Rex's bass is there somewhere, and it just gets frustrating, because it should be better.

Dimebag Darrell's guitars are the high point of the album, and also a disappointment. He's a one of a kind player, but seemed intent in showing off. The guitar sound has a killer, crunching tone to it, but almost every song featured a clipped, almost staccato riff in it somewhere. Phil Anselmo must be one of the worst singers in metal. He has the vocal range of a rutting stag. His vocals are one dimensional, and many of the lyrics incredibly juvenile. `Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills' has to be a contender for one of the worst songs to ever make it to record, so inane are the lyrics.

There are none of the classic headbangers on this album, like "Fucking Hostile" or "Primal Concrete Sledge" or "Domination". `Vulgar Display Of Power' suffered a little of the disjointed song writing too, yet the other albums either side of this pair are excellent.

Pantera seemed to be doing everything they could to distance themselves their early career "Glamtera" days by being as brutal as possible. They were also trying to distance themselves from the days when they were compared to Metallica. So they copied Exhorder's sound instead, note perfect but without the songs to back it up. Exhorder's albums sell second hand for many times the original price. "Far Beyond Driven" turns up in the bargain bin.

This is simply just not good music.

more than 2 years ago
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siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It hit the number 1 because people thought it was gonna be like the previous two. It fell off the charts rather quickly. One of those experimental dividers. Either it works for ya or it doesn't. For me i was indifferent upon first listen but as i said it grew on me

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This did debut at number 1 in the US charts, so as little as I think of it, a lot of people still bought it.

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I like this one too, but it is hard to get into at first.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This one is more of a grower. It initially didn't blow me away but as I got more into experimental and avant-garde music this one slowly but surely sounded better and better. I just recently got the 20th anniversary edition and hadn't heard this in years and I am now in awe of how magnificent this album is as it has taken on a whole new life whereas the previous two are excellent classics that remain the same

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I´ve heard the Exhorder comparison many times before, but I don´t hear it at all. There´s a slight similarity in the vocal department, but other than that, I think the two bands play very different styles.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

They definitely went in another direction on this one, and I personally prefer the two predecessors over this one, but on the other hand I appreciate the boldness of the experiement. In fact the experimental nature of the album makes it quite an achievement that it sold so well. This is as none Commercial as they come.