Cowboys From Hell
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''Cowboys from Hell'' is the fifth studio album and major label debut by American heavy metal band
Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...
, released on July 24, 1990, by
Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...
. It marked the first of many collaborations with producer Terry Date. This was also the album where Pantera fully abandoned the
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...
style of their previous albums in favor of a heavier sound. It has been recognized as one of the first ever groove metal albums.


Writing and recording

Writing sessions for ''Cowboys from Hell'' took place throughout 1988 and 1989. Seeking a record label to release their album, the group received firm contract offers from both Epic and Roadracer, who had expressed some interest in signing them. However, they were ultimately recommended to music producers with a "more commercial type" of approach, as explained by drummer Vinnie Paul. After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth", Atco Records representative Mark Ross was asked by his boss, Derek Shulman (who was interested in signing Pantera), to see the band perform after Hurricane Hugo stranded him in Texas. Ross was so impressed by the band's performance that he called his boss that night, suggesting that Pantera be signed to the label. Ross on the performance:
"By the end of the first song, my jaw was on the floor. The sonic power of it all — the attitude and the musicianship — blew me away. Basically, you had to be an idiot to not think they're amazing. I mean, how could you see these guys and not think, 'Holy shit!'?"
Atco Records accepted but the band had to wait a six month period before they commenced recording at Pantego Sound Studio in Pantego, Texas. Accounts vary as to how long the recording sessions of ''Cowboys from Hell'' lasted; bassist Rex Brown stated in a 2010 interview with '' Metal Hammer'' that the recording sessions took place from February to April 1990, however vocalist Phil Anselmo has also claimed that the album was recorded in 1989. Pantera's initial choice as the producer for ''Cowboys from Hell'' was Max Norman based on his work with
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
. Norman, who flew to Houston to watch the band perform, initially agreed to work on the album, but right before the recording sessions started, he was offered to produce Lynch Mob's debut album '' Wicked Sensation'' instead. Pantera then proposed Terry Date to produce the album on the strength of his work with
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...
,
Metal Church Metal Church is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1980. Originally based in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, they relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly called themselves Shrapnel. Led ...
and Overkill, the latter of whose latest album at the time '' The Years of Decay'' had influenced
Dimebag Darrell Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), known professionally as Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal music, heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founde ...
's guitar tone, as well as the band's transition away from glam/ traditional heavy metal to thrash/ groove metal. Pantera adopted a new sound and attitude, and the writing of what would become ''Cowboys from Hell'' saw the band exploring darker subject matters, while the guitar would be notably heavier. Influences and inspirations to the making of the album, as well as its musical direction, were
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
, Judas Priest,
ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
,
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, Slayer,
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
, Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, Faith No More, King's X, Soundgarden, Minor Threat, Mercyful Fate, Savatage, Voivod and then-upcoming band Exhorder. The band recorded a self-produced demo album in 1989 which featured 11 tracks, 10 of which would make the album cut. "The last tracks to be written were "Primal Concrete Sledge" and "Clash with Reality" whilst a song titled "The Will to Survive" was discarded early in the recording sessions." During recording sessions, the band chose an unorthodox method: Paul recorded the drum tracks first, then Darrell recorded the guitar, and Brown recorded the bass with the guitars only. This resulted in a tighter sound; slight inaccuracies were fixed by manually editing the tapes. The band were feeling confident about their material and themselves, finally feeling that they were making the kind of album they believed in. One key track to emerge during the writing was " Cemetery Gates", a seven-minute
power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...
that would be the first song to show both their diversity and Anselmo's vocal range; the acoustic intro was written last by Brown. Although they had already recorded four albums prior to ''Cowboys from Hell'', the members of Pantera have since acknowledged this as their official debut album, working with a professional producer and a major label for the first time and creating music that was not simply stealing from other similar bands in an attempt to attract attention.


Artwork

The cover art depicts the band in a quaint Western saloon. In reality, it is a 1910 photo of the "Cosmopolitan Saloon" in
Telluride, Colorado Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County, Colorado, San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River (Colorado), San M ...
, with the bandmembers pasted over it. Diamond Darrell is pictured in the center playing guitar, while Vinnie Paul is standing to his right counting money, Rex Brown is leaning against the counter top and Phil Anselmo is shown jumping in the air to Brown's left. Anselmo states that he jumped off a bar stool to get high up in the air and that it took him about ten takes until the cameramen got the shot of the desired style.


Release and reception

The album was released on July 24, 1990, and was available on tape, CD, vinyl and a limited edition version (same album but in a long box).


Commercial performance

Despite being the band's commercial breakthrough, ''Cowboys from Hell'' sold slowly and steadily for most of the 1990s, first charting on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' in 1992, two years after its release. The album did not receive platinum certification in the United States until July 1997. It has since gone on to attain a double platinum (2,000,000 units) certification in the U.S. as well as
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
status in the U.K. for sales of 100,000. As far as specific charting, ''Cowboys from Hell'' reached No. 27 on the ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers chart in 1992, and in March 1995, entered the Swedish Charts for one week at No. 46.


Critical reception

''Cowboys from Hell'' is widely considered one of Pantera's best albums, as well as one of the greatest metal albums of all time. It has been praised by most critics, as it would prove to be extremely influential in the development of groove metal in the 1990s. The album is also credited for reviving heavy metal music at a time when it was diminishing in relevance. ''Cowboys from Hell'' would inspire a generation of musicians, particularly guitarists.
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
named ''Cowboys from Hell'' the 19th-most-influential heavy metal album of all time. They said of the album:
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
said of the album:


Reissue

On September 14, 2010, a 20th anniversary edition was released with a remastered mix from the original analog recordings. The expanded edition features a bonus CD of previously unreleased live recordings and the ''Alive and Hostile EP''. The deluxe edition features an additional third CD with the previously unreleased demo track "The Will to Survive" (parts of the song were later used in the song " This Love" from '' Vulgar Display of Power'') along with demo versions of ten songs from the original album. The third disc of the deluxe set, ''Cowboys from Hell: The Demos'', was released as a separate limited edition vinyl LP at the same time. It was exclusively available at Metal Club record stores. The 2010 reissue of the album managed to reach No. 117 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 8 on Catalog Albums, selling 4,200.


Legacy

The album was ranked No. 11 on the October 2006 issue of '' Guitar World'' magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It was ranked the 85th-best heavy metal album of all time by Metal-Rules.com.
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
named ''Cowboys from Hell'' the 19th-most-influential heavy metal album of all time. It is also credited as "defining" groove metal. The album has also been praised by
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
, who in 2017 listed it among his ten favorite metal albums.


Touring

Pantera toured for nearly two years in support of ''Cowboys from Hell''. The band embarked on their first national tour in the summer of 1990, supporting Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies. In 1991, Rob Halford performed with the band onstage, which led Pantera (along with Annihilator) to open for Judas Priest on its first show in Europe. They also opened for bands like Skid Row, Sepultura, Fates Warning, Prong, Mind Over Four, Morbid Angel, White Zombie and
Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...
, and co-headlined a North American tour with Wrathchild America. The band eventually landed a billing for the Monsters of Rock festival with
AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
, Mötley Crüe,
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
and The Black Crowes in September 1991, where they played to a crowd of over 500,000 in celebration of the new freedom of performing Western music in the former Soviet Union shortly before its collapse three months later.


Track listing


Disc 2: Expanded Edition bonus CD


Disc 3: ''Cowboys from Hell: The Demos''

Only available on the 'Deluxe' and 'Ultimate' editions of the album.


''Cowboys from Hell: The Demos''

The demos were recorded in 1989 and re-released on Black Friday 2010. Copies were limited to 3,000 180-gram pressings, with the vinyl including the custom cover and demos of the original tracks, as well as the previously unreleased demo cut "The Will to Survive".Staples, Derek (November 26, 2010)
"Pantera reissue ''Cowboys from Hell: The Demos'' for Black Friday"
Consequence of Sound.


Track listing

Note *Demos of the album's tracks were also released in 2010, in the 20th anniversary edition of ''Cowboys from Hell'', but with a different track listing.


Personnel

Pantera * Phil Anselmo – vocals * Diamond Darrell – guitars, additional bass ("Cowboys from Hell", "Cemetery Gates") * Rex – bass, acoustic guitar and piano ("Cemetery Gates"), additional rhythm guitar ("Cowboys from Hell", "Cemetery Gates") * Vinnie Paul – drums Technical * Terry Date – producer, engineer, mixing *Pantera – co-producer, mixing *Matt Lane – assistant engineer *Matt Gililland – assistant engineer * Howie Weinberg – audio mastering


Charts


Certifications

, -


References


External links


Complete Guide to Pantera 'Cowboys From Hell'
at Ultimate-Guitar.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowboys from Hell 1990 albums Albums produced by Terry Date Atco Records albums Pantera albums