"Psycho Holiday" is a song by the 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 as the third and final single from their 1990 album ''

Cowboys from Hell ''Cowboys from Hell'' is the fifth studio album and major label debut by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on July 24, 1990, by Atco Records. It marked the first of many collaborations with producer Terry Date. This was also the alb ...

''. It is the third song on the album.

Background

"Psycho Holiday" is in the key of F#. Vocalist

Phil Anselmo Philip Hansen Anselmo (born June 30, 1968) is an American musician best known as the lead singer for groove metal band Pantera, southern metal supergroup Down (band), Down, and Hardcore punk, hardcore band Superjoint, amongst other musical proj ...

's voice ranges in pitch from G4 to F6.

Music video

A video was made for the song, released on the 1991 VHS '' Cowboys from Hell: The Videos''. It was later re-released on the 1999 DVD ''

3 Vulgar Videos from Hell ''3 Vulgar Videos from Hell'' is a DVD by American heavy metal band Pantera, released in 1999 and re-released in 2006. It combines all three of the band's previous home videos ('' Cowboys from Hell: The Videos'', ''Vulgar Video'', and '' 3 Wat ...

''. The video was directed by

Paul Rachman Paul Rachman (born September 13, 1962) is an American film director who directed the highly praised 2006 documentary on punk music '' American Hardcore'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. H ...

Reception

Malcolm Dome of ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' considered "Psycho Holiday" to be one of the ten best Pantera songs, writing that the band proved they could be melodic, nasty and musically simple but creative. Dom Lawson, also of ''Metal Hammer'', ranked it the 26th-best Pantera song, calling it an "unhinged classic".

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 ...

writer Eduardo Rivadavia considered "Psycho Holiday" to be one of the three highlights from the album.

Track listing

# "Psycho Holiday" – 5:19 # "

" (live) – 4:07 # "Heresy" (live) – 4:48

Personnel

– vocals * Diamond Darrell – guitar *

Rex Brown Rex Robert Brown (born July 27, 1964) is an American musician. He is the longtime bassist for heavy metal band Pantera, having joined the band in 1982. Following the band's reunion in 2022, Brown is the longest-serving member of the band. He i ...

– bass *

Vinnie Paul Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, ...

– drums

In popular culture

"Psycho Holiday" was mentioned in the Cherrie Lynn book ''Unleashed''. In the video game '' WWF WrestleMania 2000'', the menu theme seems to emulate the song.

References

{{Authority control 1990 songs Pantera songs Songs written by Dimebag Darrell Songs written by Vinnie Paul Songs written by Phil Anselmo Songs written by Rex Brown