Pantera - Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera (2003)^{Release ID: 2864}

‘Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera’ is a 2003 European compilation album by groove metal legends Pantera, who had been on hiatus at the time of its release, and would officially disband a year later, following the tragic killing of guitarist Dimebag Darrell.

Pantera have always been a bit of an odd one for me. Highly revered by the metal community, I’ve always struggled to see what all the fuss was about. While their hit singles have been absolute bangers, I find the bulk of their albums consist of filler material, and the band really not all that they’re hyped up to be.

But that’s where this compilation comes in, because it features literally all the hit singles. Every major highlight from each of their 90’s albums is here (ignoring their earlier 80’s hair metal material), leaving out all the filler and subpar tracks. With the likes of ‘Cowboys From Hell’, ‘Domination’, ‘Walk’, ‘Mouth For War’, ‘I’m Broken’, ‘Cemetary Gates’, ‘Revolution is My Name’, ‘This Love’ and ‘5 Minutes Alone’, this truly is a sonic tour-de-force of heavy metal brutality.

And each song truly represents the best the band has to offer. Dimebag Darrells crushing guitar riffs are complimented by Phil Anselmos monstrously aggressive voice, which on the albums at times become nothing more than incomprehensible grunts and shouting, yet here, with the right material, truly show how intense and powerful he could be.

I’ve never been the biggest Pantera fan, nor will I ever be, but this album pretty much has all the hits on it that I like. Plus, it comes with a DVD featuring all the bands promo videos! Outdated and unnecessary today, I know, but still a nice little touch, anyway. As blasphemous as it may sound to fans, I consider this, ‘Reinventing Hell’, the essential Pantera album.