Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.

"I'm Broken" was nominated for Best Metal Performance in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.

Personnel: Phil Anselmo (vocals); Diamond Darrell (guitar); Vinnie Paul (drums).

Recording information: Nashville, TN.

Far Beyond Driven may have been Pantera's fastest selling album upon release, but it's hardly their best. In fact, although it shot straight to the number one spot on the Billboard sales chart in its first week (arguably the most extreme album ever to do so), this incredible feat doesn't so much reflect its own qualities as those of its predecessor, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power. A true landmark by any definition, Vulgar Display had seen the Texan quartet quite literally reinventing the heavy metal wheel in ways not seen since Metallica's rise to fame in the mid-'80s. But when the time came to follow it up, the members of Pantera seemed unsure about how they could possibly top it, so they decided to try and out-heavy themselves, resulting in a less cohesive record which often sacrificed songwriting for outright aggression. Guitarist Dimebag Darrell (recently re-baptized from the far more glam Diamond Darrell) took it upon himself to conjure the heaviest guitar tones imaginable, turning up the volume and dissonance to sometimes painful thresholds with his massive, grinding riffs. As a result, songs like "Becoming," "Shedding Skin," and the particularly vicious "Slaughtered" still stand head and shoulders above most of the heavy metal competition, but only die-hard fans may be able to withstand their systematic sensory bludgeoning long enough to get to the hooks hidden underneath. Indeed, except for wisely chosen first single "I'm Broken," the rest of the material (and especially over-long tracks like "5 Minutes Alone" and "25 Years") generally lacks the iron-fisted discipline and controlled power captured on the band's previous triumphs. Worst of all is probably "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills," which wanders aimlessly in formless feedback and is topped with vocalist Phil Anselmo in gratuitous, stream-of-consciousness mode -- a sketchy proposition at the best of times. In the end, it's probably the band's need to justifying their faithful cover version of Black Sabbath's gentle "Planet Caravan" in the album's liner notes that sheds the most light on their embattled frame of mind at the time. With or without this evidence, however, the bottom line is that Far Beyond Driven doesn't match the hype -- but it sure proved its weight in platinum at the bank. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Not since the last asteroid collision with planet Earth untold eons ago has there been a apocalyptic event to equal the musical Krakatoa that is Pantera's FAR BEYOND DRIVEN. Walking a stylistic line somewhere between the melodious crunch pop of Metallica and the punkish thrashorama of Helmet, Pantera channels their raging energy into songs that function as aural letterbombs from hell--designed to detonate in your face. Never have records quite as rude as FAR BEYOND DRIVEN (or Nine Inch Nail's THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL) broken out at #1 on the Top 200 of Billboard's pop charts. There must be a reason.

Immerse yourself in the first single off of FAR BEYOND DRIVEN, the thrashing "I'm Broken," and you'll get a good idea as to the method behind Pantera's madness--and what makes them such trendsetters in the thermonuclear epoch after heavy metal, speed metal and thrash have run their course. The arrangement opens with a classic Led Zeppelin rifforama (almost a blues figure); then they ride along on a single chord over an odd, slightly spastic rhythm figure a la Helmet; finally they allow these conflicting notions of noize to collide in hyperspace, setting the stage for a pithy, pulverizing guitar orgasm by Dimebag Darrell that is blissfully melodic, almost in spite of itself.

Or check out "Use My Third Arm," a terrifying journey into the world of police brutality. Vocalist Phillip Anselmo froths and rants like an enraged Electrolux, sucking in noise and spewing out hostility over Dimebag's jittery power-riffs. Drummer Vinnie Paul turns popular rhythm conventions on their head, letting the bass and guitar carry the carnage while choosing to spray short bursts of small arms fire in an arrhythmic fury like a deranged dixieland drummer. When Pantera finally tucks us all in with an affectionate cover of Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan," it's as if they're trying to recollect a romantic folk song from some bygone era. As for the rest of FAR BEYOND DRIVEN...well, you want heavy--this is heavy.