MIKE PORTNOY: 'PANTERA Was The Band That Kept Metal Alive In The '90s'

In a new interview with Consequence, DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy named PANTERA's 1992 album "Vulgar Display Of Power" as one of the 10 LPs which influenced his drumming. He said about the effort: "'Vulgar Display Of Power' came out around the same time as [DREAM THEATER's] 'Images And Words' back in 1992. We were actually labelmates at the time. So, we were working on the same label with the same people. And I remember hearing this when it came out, it just floored me. I was already a fan from 'Cowboys From Hell' that came out a year or two earlier, but this took their new sound and style and elevated it to a whole new level. To me, PANTERA was the band that kept metal alive in the '90s.

"By the time I was coming up with DREAM THEATER in the early '90s, thrash was starting to go away, grunge was killing all of us," he continued. "We were all fighting grunge, whether you were metal or prog or whatever, so PANTERA, to me, was the band that carried the flag. When METALLICA was going through their changes and ANTHRAX were going through their changes, PANTERA was carrying the metal flag throughout the '90s. And I have to give credit to maybe MACHINE HEAD and SEPULTURA as well.

"PANTERA, they took the heaviness of the thrash and speed metal world, but they really gave it a groove," Portnoy added. "I always appreciated that. They had a Texas swing and they had that swagger and they had the riffs and the heaviness of all these heavy thrash and speed metal bands, but they had the swagger of MÖTLEY CRÜE or GUNS N' ROSES, as weird as it is to say. And that's maybe why they toured with SKID ROW when this album came out.

"Vinnie Paul [Abbott, PANTERA drummer] played with a swing and a groove that a lot of thrash and speed metal drummers maybe didn't have. And I say that with all due respect, because a lot of those drummers blow my mind and are incredibly influential on me, but Vinnie, like a Mikkey Dee [KING DIAMOND, MOTÖRHEAD], had that swagger and that groove and really made these riffs that Dimebag [Darrell Abbott, PANTERA guitarist] was playing just really swing and groove."

Last year, Portnoy weighed in on the fact that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner. Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, headlined a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staged some of their own headline concerts. They also supported METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

According to Billboard, the new PANTERA lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Portnoy discussed the controversy surrounding PANTERA's comeback in an interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. Asked if he has had a chance to catch a concert from the new PANTERA yet, the now-57-year-old drummer said: "I caught the show in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was fricking phenomenal. I loved it. Absolutely loved it… Charlie and Zakk are absolutely killing it, really. I couldn't be happier for them. I think all the naysayers that came in this skeptical at the beginning are now kind of eating their words and realizing how badass this is and how important it is, to keep that legacy alive."

He continued: "I know it was a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow, but I think the reality is if Dimebag hadn't been killed, I think they surely would've reunited at some point by now. And I understand Vinnie, once Dimebag was killed, I understand Vinnie never wanting to do it without him; it's his brother, so I get that. But now that Vinnie isn't with us either — it's Phil and Rex's band as well, and I think wanting to carry on the legacy for a whole new generation is a great, great thing. They're an important band and important to metal, and why shouldn't they be out there doing it, you know? And actually, they're doing it so tastefully and with so much honor and respect to Dime and Vinnie. They're there each and every show right there on Charlie's bass drum heads. So I think they're doing it right."

Back in July 2018, less than a month after Vinnie Paul's passing, Portnoy told Metal Wani: "Vinnie was a friend of mine for a long time. We became friends right around when [PANTERA] put out 'Cowboys From Hell' and [DREAM THEATER] put out 'Images And Words'. We were both signed to Atco at the same time, so we were dealing with a lot of the same people. And I became good friends with not only Vinnie, but all four of the guys in the band, and, to this day, remain good friends with all of 'em.

"When Vinnie came on the scene, in terms of his drumming, I think [PANTERA] were the perfect band that was needed in the metal world around '91, '92, because pretty much the 'Big Four' were kind of knocked out of style by grunge," he continued. "SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, METALLICA and then also TESTAMENT and EXODUS and OVERKILL, all those bands around the early '90s got killed by grunge. So PANTERA was the only band to really carry metal through the '90s. I'd say PANTERA, MACHINE HEAD and SEPULTURA — to me, those were the three that were carrying it through. But PANTERA were the top of those.

"And getting back to Vinnie specifically, when I heard 'Cowboys From Hell' and 'Vulgar Display [Of Power]', it was, like, 'Okay, this is fuckin' great metal drumming,'" Portnoy added. "I already was listening to Charlie Benante ], Dave Lombardo [SLAYER] and Lars Ulrich [METALLICA], but by the early '90s, Vinnie was kind of the next guy in line to carry the torch for the thrash or groove metal movement."

During an appearance on Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM show, Portnoy said that "Vinnie was a big part of the production" of the early PANTERA albums. "Him and Dime [PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] co-produced with Terry [Date]. So he was very into that stuff — they were done at his studios. And he was very into that — it was another thing that he was really good at that you forget about. You just think about the drumming and the partying, but he was also really behind the PANTERA production."

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

Mike Portnoy photo credit: Travis Shinn