#333 – THE FIRST FOUR from the mighty PANTERA

“I wonder if we’ll get a cease and desist on this episode…”

Generally speaking, whenever someone says “Slayer” or “Metallica”, you think of two veteran thrash bands which both formed in 1981 and both released their debut albums in 1983. This is common knowledge among most fans of both of these bands.

Ironically, there’s another band who follows this exact same timeline of forming in 1981 and releasing their debut album in 1983, yet at the time, they were NOT at all thrashy…not even close.

Most of us know of PANTERA as the brutally heavy, groove metal masters from Arlington, Texas who lit a proverbial fire under the ass of the thrash and heavy music scene in 1990 with their “major label” debut album (with the emphasis, in this case, on the words “major label”) as CFH was actually their FIFTH studio album.

Fifth? Wait a minute…what about THE FIRST FOUR studio albums!? And why are those albums not talked about and celebrated just like all things PANTERA!?

Well, there’s a reason that THE FIRST FOUR aren’t really talked about or acknowledged. Actually, there are probably a multitude of reasons, but the most glaring one is the stylistic difference between their early glam and power metal days and the heavier, grittier era when they truly became the “Cowboys From Hell”.

Remember those awkward Olan Mills pictures you used to take with the family, or better yet, the pictures of you in high school with that absurd, dorky hairstyle that people always like to bring up in conversation? That’s kinda what THE FIRST FOUR ALBUMS by PANTERA were like.

Always remember that “Dokken is better than KISS” and you absolutely have to “pill up before PT”. Find out why “concubine” is a much cooler term than girlfriend, why the stress of having multiple families can be fatal, and realize that most doctors’ definition of “prescription pain medication” is painfully incorrect and a complete waste of a prescription pad.

Get ready to find out which Pantera album came out on Rex’s 20th birthday, which song features Dime on lead vocals, and understand that while we absolutely did not plan for this to be episode 333, it just so happened to turn out that way.

Brace yourselves and get your relaxers ready before you JOIN US as we go back to the 80’s to get a better idea of why one of the greatest metal bands of all time tried to bury their earliest work (and original “not as metal” logo) with THE FIRST FOUR from the mighty PANTERA.

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Show Notes:

(00:01): “Welcome back to the Megadeth, Dave Mustaine, Wisdom Teeth, Dry Socket Podcast…”/ “I am an adult children who refuses to move out…of my own house…”/

Double sided blade…or dildo? / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “Well I’ve got my Masters in Bation…” / ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST (for now…)*** / “I can’t jerk right now…there’s no tugging…” / “Pill up before you do PT…”/ #painkillers

(05:43): ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #Facebook #YouTube #Instagram #TikTok - EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com and VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!*** / “We’re pondering changing the name…”/ #namechange / “Hookers and Metal…Metal Dildos…”/ NOTE: Steely Dan is not a vibrator, it’s actually a slang term for a metal dildo…/ #multiplefamilies /

“Even having multiple significant others at once…King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines…”/ “That’s what we should start calling girlfriends now: concubines…”/ “Snooch, gooch, or hot pocket?”

(12:43): ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / “What happens if we change the name? Do they get a new shirt…everybody?”/ “Tragesty…that’s a tragedy and a travesty…” / #freshstart / “I don’t think it’s Norveen…”/ “It’s always been Waggis…”

(16:22): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: PANTERA – THE FIRST FOUR ALBUMS / Pre #CFH #Pantera / #TheFirstFour / Metal Magic (1983) / “It’s like a He-Man Thundercat…”/ “They’re on the same timeline as Metallica and Slayer…they didn’t really break until 9 years later when CFH came out…”/ “I wonder if Rex Rocker is related to John Rocker?”/ RIDE MY ROCKET / “It sounds like KISS…I’ve been listening to nothing but KISS…”/ WIDOWMAKER / “His name’s gotta be Jerry…that’s a dude who lives in the South…” / METAL MAGIC / “I wonder if we’ll get a cease and desist on this episode…”/ “They didn’t change their name, they changed their logo…”

(35:00): Projects In The Jungle (1984) / “They’re like Texas’s #DeathAngel …”/ “It came out on Rex’s 20th birthday…”/ #albumcover / ALL OVER TONIGHT / “That’s High ‘N’ Dry, all day…” / “That sounds more like OUR Dime…”/ OUT FOR BLOOD / “He stepped into a whole other dimension of bad ass…”/ BLUE LIGHT TURNIN’ RED / “This is his Eruption…”/ #getchapull / “It’s like Eddie and Randy combined…Randy Van Halen…Eddie Van Rhoads…”/ PROJECTS IN THE JUNGLE / “The drums have been to the gym…the whole production has been to the gym…”/ “So far everything on here sounds less #KISS than the first album”/ HEAVY METAL RULES! / Bang Your Head (Like A Hurricane) / “What if they played this on 96 Rock back in the day and we just totally missed it?”/ “Dude, Dokken is better than KISS…”

(48:34): I Am The Night (1985) / “At this point, Dime is 19…”/ HOT AND HEAVY / I AM THE NIGHT / D*G*T*T*M (Darrell Goes To The Movies) / “What kind of movies is he watching?”/ “Let’s bring ALL the sound effects in…”/ “It’s the most serious song title we’ve seen…” / VALHALLA / “You can definitely tell he’s got an 80’s honk, for sure…”/ #killercloser FOREVER TONIGHT / “This sounds like right before the sex scene from #Footloose that they cut out…” / “This is so weird…I kinda feel dirty now…”/ “Dude, you missed the ballad…”

(1:00:16): Power Metal (1988) / “Three years after I Am The Night…no more Glaze…” / Enter Phil Anselmo / “Phil started when he was 13…what were we doing at 13? I didn’t even know how to use Jergens yet…”/ #killeropener / Geoff Tate meets Rob Halford / ROCK THE WORLD / “I wonder how many bands tried to steal him?” / POWER METAL / “I think the first time I actually heard this…”/ DEATH TRAP / “It’s definitely heavier…the riffs…”/ “This is definitely…the turning point….”/ OVER AND OUT / “Much more metal…”/ P*S*T* 88 (with Dime on vocals) / “Pussy tight…tonight!” / “That was fun…that was definitely different…”/

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel #HappyNewYear