| "I'm Broken" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Pantera | ||||
| from the album Far Beyond Driven | ||||
| B-side | "Slaughtered" | |||
| Released | March 7, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Genre | Groove metal | |||
| Length | 4:25 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Terry Date | |||
| Pantera singles chronology | ||||
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"I'm Broken" is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on their 1994 studio album, Far Beyond Driven . It was the first single released from the album.
The song is about the back pain that Pantera's vocalist Phil Anselmo felt. Phil Anselmo said "This is right when I started feeling the pain in my lower back, and it felt scary," says Anselmo. "I think this is one of the first times in my life, man, that I had this thing called 'vulnerability' kick in, and that was a very uncomfortable feeling." Anselmo adds, "I think that was really my first glimpse into kind of screaming to the world, 'Fucking... I am broken! Somebody fucking help me here!'" [1]
Pantera's guitarist Dimebag Darrell spoke about the song saying:
""I'm Broken" was a sound check riff – one of them ones where I'd walk in with a hangover from ripping it up night after night with everyone in every town. That's where a lot of the best riffs I ever wrote came from. I just played the first riff I thought of, Vinnie started kickin' in on it, Rex joined in – we didn't write the entire song on the spot, but we kept toying with it and finally worked on it once we got into the studio."[ citation needed ]
"I'm Broken" was released as the band's first single for Far Beyond Driven . Two versions of the single were released. Both contained the B-side "Slaughtered", but each version included a differing pair of live tracks. All live tracks were recorded in Moscow, USSR at the Monsters of Rock concert in 1991. The single garnered the band its second top 40 UK hit, reaching number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's highest charting single worldwide. It also reached number 49 on the Australian Singles Chart and number 32 on the Swedish Singles Chart. [2] The song was also nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards. [3] AllMusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia called "I'm Broken" a "wisely chosen first single". [4]
A live version of the song can be found on the band's live album Official Live: 101 Proof . During live performances of the song, the band would have Dimebag Darrell performing backup vocals and would end the song with the outro of "By Demons Be Driven".
The covers for parts one and two each show half of Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo's face. When compared, it can be seen that they are a mirror image of one another, and on part two of the single, the colors are inverted.
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [5] | 49 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [6] | 12 |
| Scotland (OCC) [7] | 20 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [8] | 32 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [9] | 19 |
Pantera is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed in 1981 by the Abbott brothers, and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup consisted of the Abbott brothers along with Brown and Anselmo, who joined in 1982 and 1986, respectively. The band is credited for developing and popularizing the subgenre of groove metal in the 1990s. Regarded as one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history, Pantera has sold around 20 million records worldwide and has received four Grammy nominations.
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