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The Great Southern Trendkill

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The Great Southern Trendkill
Studio album by
Pantera
ReleasedMay 7, 1996 (1996-05-07)[1]
RecordedOctober 1995 – February 1996[2]
Studio
GenreGroove metal
Length53:05
Label
Producer
Pantera chronology
Far Beyond Driven
(1994) 		The Great Southern Trendkill
(1996) 		The Singles 1991–1996
(1996)
Pantera studio album chronology
Far Beyond Driven
(1994) 		The Great Southern Trendkill
(1996) 		Reinventing the Steel
(2000)
Singles from The Great Southern Trendkill
  1. "Drag the Waters"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Suicide Note"
    Released: 1996

The Great Southern Trendkill is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on May 7, 1996, through Elektra Records and East West Records. It reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed on the chart for 16 weeks. During the album's production, Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals alone at Trent Reznor's Nothing Studios in New Orleans,[3] while Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown, and Vinnie Paul recorded the music at Chasin Jason Studios in Dalworthington Gardens. This would be Pantera's last studio album to be produced by Terry Date, who had worked with the band since Cowboys from Hell (1990).

Content

[edit]

"Floods", the album's longest song, contains a guitar solo considered by many to be Dimebag Darrell's finest. Guitar World magazine voted it as the 32nd greatest guitar solo of all-time,[4] Darrell's highest ranking of three solos to make the list (the other two being his solos from "Cemetery Gates", ranked 35th, and "Walk", ranked 57th).

"10's" appears in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan.

The album is available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band, with the exception of "Suicide Note Pt. I".

Music and lyrics

[edit]

Considered Pantera's most aggressive album, the album features elements of thrash metal[5][6] and death metal,[7] but is mostly considered a groove metal album overall.[5][8] The Great Southern Trendkill is known for featuring much screaming,[5][9] most notably on "Suicide Note Pt. II" and "The Great Southern Trendkill" while also featuring some of the fastest tempos and most down-tuned guitars: "The Underground in America" and "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin", in particular, were played in A=425 Hz standard D tuning, with the 6th string tuned to a low G.[10] It also has a more experimental nature, such as the acoustic guitars[8] and ballads.[11]

Unlike Pantera's first three major label albums, the vocals are often double-tracked and layered to create a more "demonic" effect.[citation needed] An example of this can be heard in the chorus of "13 Steps to Nowhere", when Phil Anselmo's singing voice is backed up by high-pitched screaming, done by Seth Putnam of the band Anal Cunt.[12] Screams done by Anselmo on the song "The Great Southern Trendkill" were compared to Putnam.[7]

The lyrical themes on The Great Southern Trendkill include drugs, a flood that ends mankind, finding deeper meaning, anger, and the media.[8][11][13][14][15][16]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Artistdirect[8]
BBC Musicfavorable[6]
Chronicles of Chaos9/10[7]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[17]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[18]
Los Angeles Times[19]
Rolling Stone[16]
Pitchfork7.7/10[20]

The Great Southern Trendkill received mixed to positive reviews from music critics upon release and was more polarizing than Pantera's previous albums. Steve Huey of AllMusic gave it a score of 3 out of 5 stars and stated, "Longtime Pantera fans will find plenty to enjoy here, and the band's expanding range bodes well, but overall, Trendkill is an inconsistent outing."[11]

In retrospective analysis, the album has often been looked on more favorably, being noted as their heaviest and most aggressive work. In a retrospective review for Pitchfork, Saby Reyes-Kulkarni awarded it a score of 7.7/10 and summarized their review by saying "Intended as a rallying cry against shifting trends, Pantera's most abrasive album comes off more like a cry for help that reveals the turmoil eating the band from within. It's also thrilling."[21] In 2024, Jon Wiederhorn of Loudwire stated "The Great Southern Trendkill writhes and rails with desperation and self-loathing and roars with a new reservoir of aggression and intensity, making it the heaviest album Pantera ever released."[22] In 2019, Kerrang! ranked it as the best Pantera album.[23]

Reissue

[edit]

On August 12, 2016, Pantera announced the release of a 20th anniversary edition of The Great Southern Trendkill for October 21.[24] The reissue features two discs, including a remastered version of the original album as well as 12 unreleased tracks (these include instrumentals, as well as alternative mixes and live recordings from the Dynamo Festival in 1998).[25] In addition, a separate LP named The Great Southern Outtakes was released. It consists of songs also released on disc 2 of Trendkill's reissue except for the intro and early mix of "Suicide Note Part l".[26]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Pantera

No.TitleLength
1."The Great Southern Trendkill"3:47
2."War Nerve"4:53
3."Drag the Waters"4:55
4."10's"4:49
5."13 Steps to Nowhere"3:37
6."Suicide Note Pt. I"4:44
7."Suicide Note Pt. II"4:19
8."Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)"4:50
9."Floods"6:59
10."The Underground in America"4:33
11."(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin"5:39
Total length:53:05
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Walk" (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, CA, June 27, 1992)5:29
Total length:59:07
Disc 2 (from The Great Southern Trendkill: 20th Anniversary Edition[26])
No.TitleLength
1."The Great Southern Trendkill" (2016 Mix)4:07
2."War Nerve" (Live at Dynamo Festival, 1998)5:21
3."Drag the Waters" (Alternative Early Mix)5:00
4."10's" (Alternative Early Mix)4:53
5."13 Steps to Nowhere" (Instrumental Version)3:40
6."Suicide Note Pt. I" (Intro)1:13
7."Suicide Note Pt. I" (Alternative Early Mix)3:53
8."Suicide Note Pt. II" (Live at Dynamo Festival, 1998)4:48
9."Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)" (Instrumental Version)4:54
10."Floods" (Alternative Early Mix)7:19
11."The Underground in America" (Alternative Early Mix)3:56
12."(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin" (Live at Dynamo Festival, 1998)4:34
Total length:53:38

Personnel

[edit]

Pantera

Additional personnel

  • Seth Putnam – additional vocals on "The Great Southern Trendkill", "War Nerve", "13 Steps to Nowhere", and "Suicide Note Pt. II"
  • Ross Karpelman – keyboards on "Suicide Note Pt. I" and "Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)"

Technical personnel

  • Terry Date – production, recording, mixing
  • Vinnie Paul – production, recording, mixing
  • Pantera – co-production
  • Ulrich Wild – recording

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[28] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29] 22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] 19
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[31] 35
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[32] 14
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] 61
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 29
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[36] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[37] 43
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[38] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[39] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[40] 61
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 17
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[44] 3
US Billboard 200[45] 4

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[46] Gold 35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[48] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[50] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Great Southern Trendkill 1996 – Pantera". pantera.com.
  2. ^ "The Great Southern Trendkill 1996 – Pantera". pantera.com.
  3. ^ "Pantera. "It's a long way to the top, if you wanna rock and roll, you know, the AC/DC song? And that's the fuckin' truth". - Rex Brown". Eon Music. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  4. ^ "The 50 greatest guitar solos of all time". Guitar World. February 25, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "CD Gallery - Pantera". No Life 'til Metal.
  6. ^ a b Deller, Alex (July 27, 2012). "Review of Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill". BBC Online. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Bromley, Adrian (June 9, 1996). "Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d Florino, Rick (July 30, 2012). "Retrospective: Pantera "The Great Southern Trendkill" Review — 5 out of 5 stars". Artistdirect. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  9. ^ "Pantera offers up easy-access disc ". The Spectator - Hamilton, Ont. Krewen, Nick. June 20, 1996 Page: 4
  10. ^ Lawson, Dom (February 4, 2019). "The 50 best Pantera Songs ever". Louder Sound. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Huey, Steve. "The Great Southern Trendkill - Pantera". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  12. ^ Kaye, Don (2003). "The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!". Warner Music Group.
  13. ^ "Floods by Pantera". Songfacts.
  14. ^ "Drag The Waters by Pantera". Songfacts.
  15. ^ Strauss, Neil. "2 Bands, 2 Kinds Of Anger". The New York Times. (August 27, 1996)
  16. ^ a b Masuo, Sandy (June 13, 1996). "Pantera: The Great Southern Trendkill : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  17. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 335. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  18. ^ Jackson, Devon (May 10, 1996). "The Great Southern Trendkill Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 9, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  19. ^ Appleford, Steve (June 2, 1996). "The Great Southern Trendkill". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Reyes-Kulkarni, Savy (December 22, 2016). "The Great Southern Trendkill Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  21. ^ Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby. "Pantera: The Great Southern Trendkill". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  22. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (May 7, 2023). "28 Years Ago: Pantera Release 'The Great Southern Trendkill'". Loudwire. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  23. ^ "Every Pantera Album Ranked From Worst To Best". Kerrang!. December 6, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  24. ^ "Pantera - We know you have been waiting (not so) patiently... - Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022.
  25. ^ "PANTERA's 'The Great Southern Trendkill: 20th Anniversary Edition' To Include Previously Unreleased Recordings". August 12, 2016.
  26. ^ a b "Pantera's 'The Great Southern Trendkill' Gets 20th Anniversary Edition". Loudwire.
  27. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  28. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  31. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2998". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  32. ^ "Listen - Danmarks Officielle Hitliste - Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark - Uge 19". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. May 12, 1996.
  33. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  34. ^ "Pantera: The Great Southern Trendkill" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  36. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1996. 21. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  37. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  38. ^ "Charts.nz – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  39. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  40. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  41. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  42. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  43. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  44. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  45. ^ "Pantera Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  46. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  47. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  48. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  49. ^ "British album certifications – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". British Phonographic Industry.
  50. ^ "American album certifications – Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill". Recording Industry Association of America.
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