Metal Magic

Last updated

Metal Magic
PanteraMetalMagic.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 10, 1983 [1]
StudioPantego Sound, Pantego, Texas
Genre
Length39:37
Label Metal Magic
Producer Jerry Abbott & Pantera
Pantera chronology
Metal Magic
(1983)
Projects in the Jungle
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 6/10 [4]
The Daily VaultC+ [5]
Metal Forces 8/10 [6]

Metal Magic is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on June 10, 1983 by Metal Magic Records. [1] Like the band's next three releases, it is musically oriented toward a glam/heavy metal sound influenced by Kiss and Van Halen, rather than the groove metal style they became famous for playing in the 1990s. The album was released on the band's own label (also called Metal Magic) and produced by Jerry Abbott (under the alias "The Eld'n"), a noted country music songwriter and producer, and father of "Diamond" Darrell and Vince Abbott, who were 16 and 19 years old, respectively, at the time of release.

Contents

Reception

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia gave Metal Magic a largely negative ranking of 1.5 stars out of a possible 5. He described the album as "exceedingly average hard rock and metal misfires" with only two promising songs in "I'll Be Alright" and "Widowmaker". Furthermore, the album's "strongest asset" even in these early years was Dimebag Darrell's guitar playing. [3]

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original LP. [7]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ride My Rocket"4:55
2."I'll Be Alright"
  • V. Abbott
  • D. Abbott
3:13
3."Tell Me If You Want It" Terry Glaze 3:44
4."Latest Lover"
  • V. Abbott
  • D. Abbott
  • Glaze
2:54
5."Biggest Part of Me"Glaze4:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Metal Magic"
  • V. Abbott
  • D. Abbott
4:17
7."Widowmaker"
  • V. Abbott
  • D. Abbott
3:03
8."Nothin' On (But the Radio)"Glaze3:30
9."Sad Lover"
  • V. Abbott
  • D. Abbott
3:27
10."Rock Out!"Glaze5:45
Total length:39:37

Personnel

Pantera
Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pantera</span> American heavy metal band

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. In addition to their development and popularization of the groove metal subgenre, Pantera is credited for being part of the second wave of thrash metal scene from the late 1980s to early-to-mid 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.

<i>Cowboys from Hell</i> 1990 studio album by Pantera

Cowboys from Hell is the fifth studio album and major label debut by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on July 24, 1990, by Atco Records. It marked the first of many collaborations with producer Terry Date. This was also the album where Pantera fully abandoned the glam metal style of their previous albums in favor of a heavier sound. It has been recognized as one of the first ever groove metal albums.

<i>Cleansing</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Prong

Cleansing is the fourth album by the American heavy metal band Prong, released on January 25, 1994, by Epic Records. It was produced by Terry Date, whereas Prong's previous two albums had been produced by Mark Dodson. The album features ex-Killing Joke members Paul Raven on bass guitar and John Bechdel on keyboards and programming. Featuring an industrial-influenced sound, the record received moderate commercial success.

<i>Vulgar Display of Power</i> 1992 studio album by Pantera

Vulgar Display of Power is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera. Released on February 25, 1992, through Atco Records, it was the band's second collaboration with producer Terry Date, after having worked with him on their breakthrough album Cowboys from Hell (1990).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimebag Darrell</span> American guitarist (1966–2004)

Darrell Lance Abbott, best known by his stage name Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his brother Vinnie Paul. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time.

<i>Reinventing the Steel</i> 2000 studio album by Pantera

Reinventing the Steel is the ninth and most recent studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on March 21, 2000 through Elektra Records and East West Records. This was the last studio album Pantera released before their nineteen-year breakup from November 2003 to July 2022, and it is the band's final album to feature the Abbott brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, before their deaths in 2004 and 2018, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damageplan</span> American metal band

Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Diesel Machine and Halford guitarist Patrick Lachman on vocals, and later Bob Zilla on bass. Damageplan released New Found Power, their only album, on February 10, 2004. New Found Power debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, selling 44,676 copies in its first week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinnie Paul</span> American drummer (1964–2018)

Vincent Paul Abbott was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott, and was a member of Hellyeah for 12 years from 2006 until his death in 2018.

<i>Power Metal</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Pantera

Power Metal is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on June 24, 1988, through Metal Magic Records. It is the first Pantera album to feature Phil Anselmo on lead vocals, as part of the most well-known lineup which would last until the band's breakup in 2003.

<i>New Found Power</i> 2004 studio album by Damageplan

New Found Power is the only studio album released by the American heavy metal supergroup Damageplan. The group was formed by brothers "Dimebag Darrell" Abbott (guitar) and "Vinnie Paul" Abbott (drums) after the breakup of their previous band, Pantera. This is the final album that was released during Darrell's lifetime, before his death less than 10 months after the release.

<i>Projects in the Jungle</i> 1984 studio album by Pantera

Projects in the Jungle is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on July 27, 1984, by Metal Magic Records. The band would make their first music video for the track "All Over Tonight". Though sharing many similarities with Def Leppard's pre-Hysteria sound, the album also contains influences from bands like Judas Priest and in addition to Van Halen inspired guitar solos features many speed metal-oriented guitar riffs.

<i>I Am the Night</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Pantera

I Am the Night is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released in 1985 through Metal Magic Records. It was made available only on vinyl and cassette, with any subsequent CD releases being bootlegs transferred from the vinyl or tape originals. It was the last Pantera album to feature lead singer Terry Glaze, as well as their last to feature a primarily glam metal sound. The band made their second music video for the track "Hot and Heavy". The album sold around 25,000 copies, which was considered high for an independent release.

Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. Heavily influenced by thrash metal, groove metal features raspy singing and screaming, down-tuned guitars, heavy guitar riffs, and syncopated rhythms. Groove metal is usually slower than thrash. Pantera are often considered the pioneers of groove metal, and the genre expanded in the 1990s with bands including White Zombie, Machine Head, and Sepultura. Successful groove metal acts of the 2000s include Lamb of God, DevilDriver, and Five Finger Death Punch.

<i>Out of the Silent Planet</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Kings X

Out of the Silent Planet is the debut studio album by the American rock band King's X, released in 1988. The title of the album comes from that of a book by C.S. Lewis, an author favored by band members Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill. "Out of the Silent Planet" is also the title of the first track from the follow-up album Gretchen Goes to Nebraska. The cover art features the skyline of Houston with the southern outline of the state of Texas. The album received widespread acclaim from music contemporaries. Pantera bassist Rex Brown commented of his and Dimebag Darrell's impressions, noting "Dime called me and said, 'Dude, have you heard this? Have you checked out King's X?'" He says. "We went on a long road trip, and we must have listened to that first record I don't know how many times, and we couldn't stop! This was the sound that Dime and I were always looking for."

<i>Saxon</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Saxon

Saxon is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Saxon, released in 1979.

<i>Rebel Meets Rebel</i> 2006 studio album by David Allan Coe with Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul and Rex Brown

Rebel Meets Rebel is a country metal album by David Allan Coe and Pantera members Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown, and Vinnie Paul. The music was written and recorded by the band when the musicians had time aside from their other projects, including Pantera's world tour supporting Reinventing the Steel.

Jerry Bob Abbott is an American country music songwriter and record producer. He is the father of late heavy metal musicians Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell, both formerly of Pantera and Damageplan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowboys from Hell (song)</span> 1990 single by Pantera

"Cowboys from Hell" is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera. First appearing on the band's 1989 demo album, the song is the band's first single. It was released later on the major label debut album Cowboys from Hell, and on the band's compilation album.

<i>Balls to the Wall</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Accept

Balls to the Wall is the fifth studio album by German heavy metal band Accept. European label Lark Records released the album in December 1983, but its United States release was delayed until a month later in January 1984 as to not compete with the band's then-current album Restless and Wild, which had arrived in the US in early 1983. It is Accept's only record to attain Gold certification in the US. The album's title track became Accept's signature tune and remains a metal anthem and trademark in the genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Broken</span> 1994 single by Pantera

"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.

References

  1. 1 2 Wiederhorn, Jon (June 10, 2022). "39 Years Ago: Pantera Release Their First Album 'Metal Magic'". Loudwire. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  2. Ewing, Jerry (January 15, 2019). "Every Pantera album ranked from worst to best". Metal Hammer . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Metal Magic - Pantera". AllMusic . Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  4. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 258. ISBN   978-1894959315.
  5. Thalen, Christopher (January 10, 2005). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Metal Magic". The Daily Vault. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  6. Hammonds, Steve (1984). "Pantera - Metal Magic". Metal Forces . No. 3. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  7. Metal Magic (LP sleeve). Pantera. Arlington, Texas: Metal Magic Records. 1983. MMR1283.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)