PANTERA — Metal Magic (review)

PANTERA — Metal Magic album cover Album · 1983 · Glam Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
martindavey87
I’m sure I’m not the only one who spent years believing ‘Cowboys From Hell’ was the bands first release, but alas, here we are, 1983’s ‘Metal Magic’, the true debut of glam metal/future groove metal legends Pantera.

Turns out, before becoming one of the biggest metal bands on the planet, Pantera had released four independent albums, although, unlike the heavy, gritty and downright dirty sound of their 90’s output, these were more on the glam side of things, so expect spandex, songs about partying, “Diamond Darrell”, and dare I say it… keyboards!

But despite being generally reviled by fans and even the band themselves, the truth is, these albums aren’t that bad. ‘Metal Magic’, while not exactly innovating new sounds or breaking down barriers, still has a couple of nice little rockers on it. ‘Tell Me If You Want It’, ‘Ride My Rocket’, ‘Widowmaker’ and ‘Biggest Part of Me’ are all pretty decent hair metal anthems, and considering how young the members were at this time (Dimebag was only 16!), it’s really hard to not be a little impressed.

Just a shame about the naff production.

Overall, this album won’t change your life, and my God, this is completely different from the Pantera which sold millions and millions of albums in the 90’s, so if that’s what you’re expecting then don’t bother. But ultimately this is an interesting listen to see how the band changed and evolved to become what they are, and you may even find yourself liking it.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Negative Music Hardcore Punk
HAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Every Sound Has A Color In The Valley Of Night Progressive Metal
NIGHT VERSES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Witches Burn Alive Stoner Metal
LOVE YOUR WITCH
Buy this album from MMA partners
I Doom Metal
KAPUTTH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Kingdom Of Guilt Metalcore
THE WARRING TRIAD
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

ScapeGoat Official Lyric Video
FIREFLAME
Bosh66· 1 day ago
FireFlame - The Last Ride (Official Video)
FIREFLAME
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Fervence - Hezekiah (Official Music Video)
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Fervence - The Silent Wall
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Fervence - Corrosion (Visualizer)
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed