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Pantera - Cowboys From Hell



8.7 | 1690 votes |
Release date: 24 July 1990
Style: Groove thrash metal

Owners:

2243 have it
85 want it
3 trade it


Disc I
01. Cowboys From Hell
02. Primal Concrete Sledge
03. Psycho Holiday
04. Heresy
05. Cemetery Gates
06. Domination
07. Shattered
08. Clash With Reality
09. Medicine Man
10. Message In Blood
11. The Sleep
12. The Art Of Shredding

Disc II [expanded and deluxe edition bonus]
[Live Foundations Forum (1990)]
01. Domination
02. Psycho Holiday
03. The Art Of Shredding
04. Cowboys From Hell
05. Cemetery Gates
06. Primal Concrete Sledge
07. Heresy

[Alive And Hostile EP]
08. Domination
09. Primal Concrete Sledge
10. Cowboys From Hell
11. Heresy
12. Psycho Holiday

Disc III [Cowboys From Hell: The Demos] [deluxe edition bonus]
01. The Will To Survive
02. Shattered
03. Cowboys From Hell
04. Heresy
05. Cemetery Gates
06. Psycho Holiday
07. Medicine Man
08. Message In Blood
09. Domination
10. The Sleep
11. The Art Of Shredding

Top 20 albums of 1990: 6
Top 200 albums of all time: 155

Line-up
Phil Anselmo - vocals
Dimebag Darrell - guitars
Vinnie Paul - drums
Rex Brown - bass

Additional info
Remastered and re-released by Rhino Entertainment as an expanded edition and deluxe edition.

Guest review by
K✞ulu
Rating:
9.5
I have never listened to the pre-Cowboys Pantera. I don't know if it's for the good or for the bad, but I'm a most happy person to have listened to this piece of Thrash metal. I just can't get enough of this record. After listening to the headliners like Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth etc, Cowboys From Hell made me look at Thrash metal with a new, refreshed mentality. The guys from Pantera created something which was quite different from the traditional Thrash, yet at the same time as true as it could be. What else can I say? This album just makes the Big Four sound generic. Just kidding, but still the whole album is a good quality original Thrash metal release.

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published 29.06.2008 | Comments (31)

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Comments: 54   Visited by: 1931 users
08.12.2013 - 16:57
Rating: 7
LeKiwi
High Fist Prog
Largely filler and a few good tracks.
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17.12.2013 - 00:24
Rating: 10
Jiri
I ain't hearing the filler, peeps.
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16.02.2014 - 23:25
Rating: 7
pkillerjp
There is some filler definitely but some of Dime's best riffs appear on this album. Cemetery Gates maybe their best song. At least this site isn't like metal archives, where the take the elitist persona and trash everything this band wrote, silly elitists, haha.
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18.02.2014 - 18:32
Rating: 7
pkillerjp
Written by deadone on 16.02.2014 at 23:47

I never understood Pantera hate.

It became cool to hate them I guess, and the major problem with metal fans, is some will hate a band because they become "too popular". It's an immature and almost psychotic trait, because they then dig out other bands of less talent and listening enjoyment and elevate them to horribly exaggerated heights. Dime was a hell of a guitarist, one of kind and everyone else in the band is above average talent wise as well. They definitely were cheesy with the tough guy posturing and white trashy at times, but that's part of the persona. Pantera have at least 2 or 3 albums that have kick ass riffs and great songwriting all over them. Slam a beer, down a shot, and enjoy.
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18.02.2014 - 23:54
Vombatus
Potorro
Nowadays, looks like everytime you dislike or hate a band/album is coz it's "cool" to do so. Yep, real deep thinking put into such argumentation (and I'm talking about music in general).


As for Pantera, typical big band I never cared for. Listen a few things, but never appealed to me.
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21.02.2014 - 19:07
Rating: 7
pkillerjp
Written by Vombatus on 18.02.2014 at 23:54

Nowadays, looks like everytime you dislike or hate a band/album is coz it's "cool" to do so. Yep, real deep thinking put into such argumentation (and I'm talking about music in general).


As for Pantera, typical big band I never cared for. Listen a few things, but never appealed to me.

I disagree. You have it reversed- it's actually every time you say you like a great well known band, you get some weirdo telling you they suck and go check out this -----insert name of really crappy underground band with half the talent of the well known act..it's always amusing though...if you don't like Pantera that's fine, just do not try and tell their fans that a 3rd tier Dark Throne rip off from Scandinavia is so much better, it's insulting and just plain odd. I'll take my Pantera, Slayer, Judas Priest, Metallica, and Mercyful Fate's any day...sorry their well known and "big" for a reason.
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21.02.2014 - 20:09
Vombatus
Potorro
Written by pkillerjp on 21.02.2014 at 19:07

I disagree. You have it reversed- it's actually every time you say you like a great well known band, you get some weirdo telling you they suck and go check out this -----insert name of really crappy underground band with half the talent of the well known act..it's always amusing though...if you don't like Pantera that's fine, just do not try and tell their fans that a 3rd tier Dark Throne rip off from Scandinavia is so much better, it's insulting and just plain odd. I'll take my Pantera, Slayer, Judas Priest, Metallica, and Mercyful Fate's any day...sorry their well known and "big" for a reason.

It's not one way or another, except if you're dumb enough to think you are always right. Yes, some people will criticize mainstream bands and favor the underground. But the contrary is also very true (as you are just proving yourself). I personally never saw someone comparing random Darkclone with Pantera and if they did, I agree it's quite stupid. However, the amount of times people whine coz someone doesn't like their favorite mainstream band is quite appalling (most recent case over here on MS is that amusing Behemoth review...).

Personally I'm not into "old vs. new" or "underground vs. mainstream" debates coz I like stuff in any of the categories, all of which have their fair share of brilliance and crap. And I'm no longer a 12 years old that doesn't have anything better to do than tell other people my musical tastes are superior, or get offended by such things. Just have to grow up, man.
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27.04.2014 - 14:14
Rating: 10
_deepblack
One the weirdest bands ever and greatest
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12.02.2017 - 20:44
Rating: 9
Redel
Moderator
Excellent 1st half, I seldomly make it through the entire 2nd one though. That said, it remains a Thrash classic.
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06.04.2018 - 12:23
Zap
Most of what I like about Pantera is Dimebag's solos. Not much else. Which is probably why I used to dig this band more when I was a silly teenager looking for guitar-centered wankery music.
Cemetery Gates is pretty good though.
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27.10.2018 - 21:57
Angelic Man
Account deleted
This album is Pantera's first fully evil album (with their first hint of their evil being the I Am The Night title track, then again in D Trap), but through the evil magic of Kerry King and with the absence of the heroic Terry Glaze, Pantera became a fully evil Satanist band. Cowboy's from H (I refuse to say the entire word, since it disturbs me) is a bad song, Primal Concrete Sledge, Psycho Holiday, Cemetery Gates, Message in B are disturbing songs, Heresy is Satanic, Shattered is violent, The Sleep criticizes the meek (The second time they criticized the meek, first example being D Trap. Like what did the meek ever do to them?), and the other stupid songs, I don't want to listen to them, since I don't trust that they won't make me another Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold or another Satanist who sacrifices children in the night. Boycott this evil album and other groove albums and listen instead of Metal Magic, Projects in the Jungle, I Am the Night (excluding the title track), and Power Metal (excluding D Trap).
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27.10.2018 - 21:58
Maco
Pvt Funderground
I missed users like u bro.
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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28.10.2018 - 04:26
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Ignore the troll
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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13.01.2019 - 15:20
Rating: 5
Maasai Mara
Meh, heavy riffs, breakdown.. Dun! Dun! Dun!, a practice for the more catchy and fun Vulgar Display of Power.
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You are not metal enough until you visit Kenya. The cradle of mankind, where man learnt first to work with stones and first enjoyed the sounds produced by banging stones which later influenced metal in all its sounds and genres.
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26.04.2019 - 20:37
Rating: 7
SebaRaven36
>> Cemetery Gates my fav song
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13.05.2020 - 21:30
Rating: 9
Mountain King
K i K o
Their best record!
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27.06.2021 - 11:57
Rating: 8
Cementery gates is definitely their best song.
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18.09.2021 - 02:56
Rating: 7
Blackcrowe
I really don’t like Pantera but the guitar work on those two record’s are really good
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Invisible To telescopic eye,
Infinity. The star that would not die.
Slayer vs. Slayer: 1,000 MPH or Death
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27.02.2022 - 21:07
Rating: 9
F3ynman
Nocturnal Bro
Contributor
Another masterpiece of 1990!
Great vocalist who can at times sound like James Hetfield or Chuck Billy and other times like Rob Halford (see "Shattered" and "Medicine Man" for example) and the legendary riffs and solos of guitarist Dimebag Darrell
My favorite songs here are "Domination" (that solo and the ultra-heavy breakdown are divine!), "Cemetery Gates " (great ballad), "Cowboys from Hell", "The Sleep", and "Clash with Reality"
I love the energy and the guitar sound throughout - a fantastic fresh thrash incarnation
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27.02.2022 - 23:04
Rating: 5
JOPE OF STEELE
Steelemeister
Mostly meh songs like Maasai Mara wrote, Cemetery Gates is an amazing song, but otherwise this sucks pretty much. And this kind of sound killed the real thrash. it commercialized the groove which didn't produce anything good afterwards. I don't think, if I remember right, that Vulgar Display was any better though...
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My vision is augmented
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13.03.2022 - 12:53
Rating: 9
F3ynman
Nocturnal Bro
Contributor
Written by Redel on 12.02.2017 at 20:44

Excellent 1st half, I seldomly make it through the entire 2nd one though.

That's a shame - the second half has some excellent songs! Check out the underrated gem "Message in Blood" as a reminder
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13.03.2022 - 14:01
Rating: 9
Redel
Moderator
Written by F3ynman on 13.03.2022 at 12:53

Written by Redel on 12.02.2017 at 20:44

Excellent 1st half, I seldomly make it through the entire 2nd one though.

That's a shame - the second half has some excellent songs! Check out the underrated gem "Message in Blood" as a reminder

Message in Blood and especially The Sleep are my highlights of the second half here. It is a good half, just not as great as the first one and some fillers there make the album a bit lengthy overall, if you ask me.
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13.03.2022 - 14:24
Rating: 9
Redel
Moderator
Written by JOPE OF STEELE on 27.02.2022 at 23:04

And this kind of sound killed the real thrash. it commercialized the groove which didn't produce anything good afterwards. I don't think, if I remember right, that Vulgar Display was any better though...

Agree, this sound killed earlier thrash, it invented the groove sound, which I have never been a fan of either, and Vulgar Display of Power is not better than this album.
But this doesnt change the fact that Cowboys from Hell is a great album, it is the best Pantera album, and it is a thrash classic.
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13.03.2022 - 16:12
gavdann
Pantera never did it for me. I've tried this album several times over the years but it never clicks. Don't hate it, just don't feel it.
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