Warning: Long rant that follows. I recently attended a Pantera concert about 2 weeks ago. It was a good concert, as heavy metal concerts go, but one part of it particularly rubbed me the wrong way. Phil Anselmo, the lead singer and number one ******* in the band, gave a short little intro (as he is known to do) just before a song. I can't remember exactly what song it was...I think it was "I'll Cast a Shadow". At any rate, the gist of his intro speech was thus: Doing acid is good. You should get stoned any chance you get. Getting high on acid trips is a spiritual experience. If you have never gotten high on acid, YOU DON'T KNOW YOURSELF. I don't know about anyone else, but this pissed me off to a fair thee well. This ******* gets off telling me that I don't know myself because I have never spent a few hours in a stuperous funcor, depriving me of basic motor skills and generally convoluting my mind? Personally, I don't have a problem with simple drugs that cause little to no problems (eg. mar1juana). I don't understand why people do them, because I have no interest in depleting my body's ability to control itself completely. I had no problem with Phil telling everyone to do acid... the dude got off on it, he dug it, and he wanted to share the experience. Fine. But do not tell me that I don't know myself, and that you do, because I have never taken a fleeting acid trip. You mean to tell me, Phil, that you have reached some spiritual or mental enlightenment because you handicapped your logical throught processing for a little while? You hallucinated? You purged your body of wanted nutrients (or unwanted) by vomitting all over your floor? Did you see something that explained the universe in your vomit? Bull****. Utter bull****. I know who I am. I don't need some controlling drug to tell me. And I sure as hell don't need you to tell me. I don't think I will be much of a Pantera fan anymore. Or at least not a fan of Phil Anselmo... I apologize if I offended any drug users out there. It is your choice, I just don't choose it for me. And I don't want people telling me who I am or who I am not, because I choose to say no... ------------------ "Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian." Lee Simonson [This message has been edited by RunninRaven (edited April 07, 2001).]
Didn't he actually die once from an overdose and then the doctors managed to save him? (600th post asking about a junkie, one of these days i'm gonna hit a milestone actually talking about the Rockets) [This message has been edited by Band Geek Mobster (edited April 07, 2001).]
Hmmm, I never heard about that Band Geek Monster, but it would not surprise me in the slightest. The guy was boasting about how he is 32, and has gotten high every day of his life since he was 16... ------------------ "Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian." Lee Simonson
Just out of curiosity I thought I'd find the answer myself. It's true RaginRaven. Bingo! ------------- Philip Anselmo has literally died, more than once. A childhood illness nearly killed him at the age of four. Later in life, a tragic incident resulting from substance abuse again took him briefly to the other side. On July 13, 1996, this message was posted to the alt.music.pantera newsgroup: I, Philip A. Anselmo, immediately after a very successful show in Dallas injected a lethal dose of heroin into my arm, and died for four to five minutes. There was no lights, no beautiful music, just nothing. And then after 20 minutes (from what I heard later) my friends slapped me and poured water over my head all basically trying to revive me. The paramedics finally arrived and all I remember is waking up in the back of an ambulance. From that point on, I knew all I wanted was to be back on the tour bus, going to the next gig. Instead, I was going to the hospital where I was released very shortly. You see, I am not a heroin addict. But I am (was) an intravenous drug abuser. The lesson learned here is that every nightmare ever heard about O.D.'ing and or heroin is terribly true. And for my friends and family as well as myself and our fans, I since then have recovered completely, the Pantera tour uninterrupted. I intend to keep it that way! Special thanks to my family and friends who supported me, and the fans who pump me up to the hilt. One message to everyone in this ****ing world: I am not a weakling groping for sympathy. I WILL NOT DIE SO EASILY! I am here to piss off the music press for a long time to come. Very Sincerely, Philip Anselmo -------- After reading this, I realize that this dude is a pretty big loser. Some of those messages at the bottom of the page are pretty funny too! "Phil will never die. He will be a legend in my heart forever." I too like Pantera, not Reinventing The Steel though. "Cemetary Gates" is a classic. Aw man now I'm starting to sound like those groupies. ------------------ Early man walked away, as modern man took control, Their minds weren't all the same, to conquer was their goal, So he built his great empire, and he slaughtered his own kind, He died a confused man, killed himself with his own mind. [This message has been edited by Band Geek Mobster (edited April 07, 2001).]
I didn't think <u>Reinventing the Steel</u> was too bad, but the problem with most of their earlier stuff is that Phil has some strange debilitating throat disease that is slowly taking away his ability to sing (this is what I heard). It is why Pantera singing has gotten lower and lower with each album (sort of). Anselmo could never sing songs like Heresy anymore. And about the drug thing. If he claims he quit, then either that was a lie, or what he said at the recent show (about getting high everyday) was a lie. Either way, my respect for him has plummeted. At their recent concerts, they do this one thing where they start out playing Cemetery Gates. Of course the crowd goes nuts, it was and still is their most popular song (along with "Cowboys from Hell"). Just before the hard part of the song, they stop, Phil says, "You like that song? Well, f*ck that song.", and goes straight into "F*cking Hostile." I can understand not wanting to play this song if they are sick of it. It is similar to the Page and Plant reunion tour and subsequent <u>Walking into Clarksdale</u> tour. During this tour, they did not ever play "Stairway to Heaven." I don't think they were trying to piss off their fans, they just were tired of the song, and wanted to concentrate on other stuff that they didn't normally play when they were together as Led Zeppelin. But Pantera seems to be rubbing it in the face of their fans when they start out the song, and then refuse to play the rest of it. It is almost as if they are stating how much contempt they have for their fans, and that pisses me off. How quickly they forget who it is that makes them famous. ------------------ "Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian." Lee Simonson
Yeah I saw them open for Black Sabbath once and I was VERY dissapointed they didnt play "Cemetary Gates". They didn't do a tease like that though.
I experimented with LSD or acid in my younger days on more than one occassion. There was nothing spiritual about it and this guy sounds like a complete jackass similar to Jim Morrison. He will probably die soon as well. As Jim put it, "break on through to the other side". I don't see how this jackass can compare hallucinations(i.e. acid trips) to spirituality. I have hallucinated on acid...it was interesting watching the sun rise or sun set, watching the colors bleed, or being out in nature. The experience was anything but normal and it did not reveal anything about my inner self. Drugs will not help you find spirituality. If your going to do acid, do it because you want to hallucinate(recommend a Pink Floyd concert to go with it) and escape reality(although knowing what I know now I recommend not doing it). Don't do it if you expect to learn new things about yourself. That is the biggest bunch of bs I have ever heard. What an idiot! People that condone drug use obviously are disturbed and are on the wrong path. In the end, I learned that acid is a big waste of time and I'm glad that chapter of my life is closed. Surf ------------------
I actually knew those guys back in the 80's through mutual acquaintences. Phil is a complete nut. If I'm not mistaken, Diamond Darrell's father owns a HUGE studio in Dallas which is how they got started. Every label turned them down so they had to make their own records. One night, I was doing a gig and Pantera was in the audience and they stood in front of me all night screaming "bass solo!" (I played bass guitar). I had a footswitch in front of me as well and they kept punching the numbers during songs screwing up my settings. I finally had to move it. The craziest thing I ever heard about them, however, absolutely could not be repeated on this board because it is so graphically disgusting. If anybody really wants to know, drop me an email. Suffice it to say it rivals the Led Zepplin "Mudfish" incident. If you haven't heard of this, read "Hammer of the Gods." ------------------ And then, depression set in...
I saw Panterea at OZZFEST last year. He said about the same stuff and about how fu**ed up he was and all that. The crowd loved it. I think he's just a lost soul. Oh, SoulFly was much better anyhow. ------------------ Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.
Did they do the tibal drum sequence at this show? The last show I went to, here in Dallas, Soulfly was with them, but it wasn't Ozzfest. At this show, during one of SoulFly's songs, Vinny Paul (Pantera drummer) came out along with about 3 other people, each with there own little drum. They then played this Kodo-esk tribal drumming thing that kicked complete ass! I was getting into it (I love that kind of stuff). From what I heard, this is a tradition with SoulFly. Did they do it at Ozzfest? ------------------ "Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian." Lee Simonson
Man, Raven, I wouldn't let something some stoner metal-head says get to you so much. Most rock stars are losers, I accept that. They probably lead great lives, but they have no responsibilities, and their only worry is what chick they're going to nail on a given night. I accept that, and if I like their music, that's all that really matters to me. I lost interest in Pantera after the second album. Like you said, Phil's voice is just shot, and all their subsequent stuff seems to be just screaming, yelling, and cussing. If you want some great metal, though, pick up any of Anthrax's last 3 releases. Great, great stuff. John Bush is an awesome vocalist, and Anthrax just kicks ass.
I love anthrax. Sound of White Noise and Stomp 442 are always in my stereo. ------------------ Thoughts?
Freak, I have been getting into Anthrax lately. I don't understand why they aren't more popular. They opened up for Megadeth here in Dallas during their Risk tour, and no one gave a damn while they played, but it was a great set. I know I shouldn't have let what he said bother me. I knew beforehand that Phil was a moron, but for some reason his statements did get to me. If he had just left it at "Do drugs", I probably would have been ok, but he had to ask who all in the crowd had never done acid, and then pointed to one fan who raised his hand, and told him that he didn't know himself. What a jerk. ------------------ "Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian." Lee Simonson
if you guys like angry music check out the site im my signature and check the swong on that plays on the opening page. its a song by my buddy. he is Chris on my paintball team. he is the drummer, but its a pretty rockin song ------------------ Hanta-Force Paintball www.hanta-force.com
I love Pantera. I saw them at the Sabbath Reunion in Dallas. Phil talked about weed, but that ws about it. I remember hearing he was a former heroine abuser, but he made no mention of it that I recall. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
Oh yeah. Brazil flags and all that. Everyone loved it! I was very impressed! ------------------ Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.
Band Geek -- those are great albums. You really should check out "Volume 8: The Threat is Real". Outstanding album.
