I shout Pantera sucks at you as a running gag from back when we had like what, a solid 6 months metal education camp for a few users here? 
It's honestly been forever since I checked Pantera but IIRC I went by "Cowboys from hell is a classic banger track, but the album not so much". I fuck with some singles but not the discography, basically. Like I listened to Down since then and kinda enjoy a few tracks as well.
cowboys is the tape that holds up the best front to back, but honestly, theres only like ~15 tracks all told that are worth listening to across 4 albums (reinventing is garbage)
Nola is a 4.5 mic album and always will be, easily better than anything pantera did and the second best sludge anyone ever made. the rest of downs discography is gutter trash, dont bother
I can go on and on about Pantera, but I'll refrain. For a simplified take,
Vulgar is number 1 to me.
Far Beyond Driven last for the "true" Pantera era. I really dislike most of the songwriting on it even if it is very similar to what the band was doing just one album prior. Surprisingly, I don't mind Reinventing too much. Lyrically it's one note (not that I come to Phil for wisdom in his words, but the record is essentially about Pantera being Pantera and how they are gonna stay Pantera.) I mean Yesterday Don't Mean Shit I enjoy, but lyrically it's absolutely ignorant which of course isn't surprising given Phil's antics before and after this record. I like the production on
Reinventing. Yeah I probably dig like 3/4ths of the album. Worst album cover art ever though? Maybe. I mean there is plenty of generic or cliche artwork out there, but something about this one is extra boneheaded.
For as rough as things were in the band leading up to
TGST, I think that's my second favorite from them. Musically it has much more diversity that the two before it. Nice thick production. Phil exchanges his chest beating bark to a psycho wounded animal writhing in pain. I think the album closes out quite weakly, but I have a lot of love for that record.
Down- Seen them twice. Dumbest fucking crowd of roided up white trash ever. Pontiac, Michigan baby. Then I saw them some years later at a metal festival where Phil decided he was gonna go past their allotted time cause
I'm fucking Phil Anselmo and what I say goes. I agree. The first Down record rips. Just wish there was more clarity on the vocals. Or maybe Phil just mumble/slurs too much in that style. One or the other. I also own their third record. Yeah it's not that great. The production on it is really flat.
Three Suns and One Star is a great song though from
III.
Best thing is that I used to think Phl was a cool dude. His take on masculinity was appealing to me at like age 16. Then I saw a little more of him and was like "ehh... this is kind of bad what he's saying. White Pride stuff?!" I quickly reverted to my soyboy brand of masculinity. But yeah man. Nobody in those 90s crowds even questioned his shit which is nuts. Of course it comes to bite him in the ass in the era of Trump. I get that he isn't the most educated dude. That's not a reason to kick someone down for. It's when you don't try to become better. Case in point, Axl fucking Rose. I mean
One in a Million? Phil never wrote lyrics as imbecilic and bigoted and those. But Axl also being a white trash simple boy put in the effort to better himself. Phil. He's out there blurting "white power" with the sieg heil for shits and giggles like a 4channer in the year 2016 or whatever.
I can go on and on about Pantera, but I'll refrain
Oh, whoops.
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Also wanted to touch on
Alice in Chains. Big fan. From my perspective they have fallen off after having a great comeback initially. That's fine. At some point bands get old and the songwriting creativity just evaporates. No shame in that. You tour with your catalog that has plenty of great tunes. That's quite alright. Happens to nearly all bands that at one point were firing on all cylinders.
But yeah. That debut album. Very 80s underneath it all. Always said it and people kinda brush that aside. Just listen to the drums. The production on the drums reeks of 80s hair metal bands. It just does. I swear then even use that weird backmasking on the snare drum that was super popular for 80s hair metal bands. Think
Scorpions song Rock You Like a Hurricane. It has that snare effect where it sounds like a big sweeping wind comes in before the drummer smacks the snare. I want to say before going into the final verse on that song. But anyways you will know what I mean when you hear it.
Yeah that first AiC album has a lot of hair metal aftertaste to it even though I would never classify it as that type of record. But it makes sense. They weren't a punk band. They weren't coming into the 90s with that sound mentality. they were coming in with 80s metal being what it was. And I think that debut record is strong. But right after that I think they really created a defining AiC sound starting with the SAP EP. Then Dirt is a completely sonically different sounding album compared to the debut. Jar of Flies? Probably my favorite EP ever. Straight up. By the time you get to the 3rd record (Tripod/self-titled/3 legged doge) you can tell things are wrong with Layne. His voice ain't the same. Lot's of doubling on his vocals or using an effect to sort of mask it. He's still strong vocally, but not at his 100%. It's sad. Jerry was a such a trooper for putting up with Layne's addiction. I mean it ended up tragically (and for Mike Starr too all those years later), but Jerry and the rest of the band stayed so respectful to him and giving him all the chances in the world to get himself together. Of course that didn't happen.
