PANTERA: 20th-Anniversary Reissue Of 'Cowboys From Hell' Lands On BILLBOARD Chart

The 20th-anniversary reissue of PANTERA's classic "Cowboys From Hell" album sold around 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 117 on The Billboard 200 chart.

PANTERA found its growl and groove on "Cowboys From Hell", a landmark album whose bone-powdering intensity, razor-sharp riffing and pummeling rhythmic assault represented a turning point in modern metal when it was released in 1990. More than just PANTERA's major label debut, many consider this album to be the official debut of the PANTERA lineup with singer Philip Anselmo, guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul and bassist Rex Brown.

To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of "Cowboys From Hell", Rhino rounds up a three-disc "Ultimate Edition," a three-disc "Deluxe Edition," and a two-disc "Expanded Edition." All three editions include a newly remastered version of the original album along with unreleased and rare live performances from the "Cowboys From Hell" tour. The "Ultimate" and "Deluxe" editions also feature a disc of unreleased demos for nearly every album track, plus, "The Will To Survive", a previously unreleased song recorded during the album's sessions.

"'The Will To Survive' is a great track. With so many killer songs, it was hard to pick and choose the ones that should make our major label debut," says Vinnie Paul. "After hearing it for the first time in about 20 years, it's a pretty stellar performance and I am definitely proud that it will see the light of day for all the die-hard PANTERA fans around the world! It shows the true musical diversity of the band at that time!"

The "Deluxe" and "Expanded" editions of "Cowboys From Hell" were released September 14 at all retail outlets, including www.pantera.com and www.rhino.com . The "Deluxe Edition" is available for a suggested list price of $29.98 (physical) and $17.99 (digital) and the "Expanded Edition" for $19.98 (physical) and $12.99 (digital).

The "Ultimate Edition" will feature all three discs included in the "Deluxe Edition" and will be housed in an intricate box including several replica memorabilia pieces from the "Cowboys" era. The "Ultimate Edition" will be available on November 23 and final pre-order details, as well as the contents, will be unveiled soon on PANTERA's Facebook page.

Along with the remastered version of "Cowboys From Hell", all three sets include a disc of live music recorded during the tour for the album. It begins with seven unreleased performances from PANTERA's September 15, 1990 appearance at the Foundations Forum metal convention in California, a show recorded for radio broadcast but never released commercially. The remainder of the disc contains the five-song EP "Alive And Hostile", a collection of performances recorded in 1991 at the Monsters of Rock festival in Moscow that was previously available only in Australia as part of a 1994 boxed set.

The "Ultimate" and "Deluxe" editions of "Cowboys From Hell" include a third disc that contains the previously unreleased "The Will To Survive", along with demos for 10 of the album's 12 songs, including early versions of the title track "Psycho Holiday", "The Art Of Shredding" and "Cemetery Gates".

After being turned down "twenty-eight times by every major label on the face of the earth," ATCO Records A&R rep Mark Ross saw the band when Hurricane Hugo stranded him in Texas. The rest, as they say, is history, including another seven years and over a million miles of touring for "Cowboys" to be certified platinum (one million album sales) by the RIAA.

The album's liner notes include essays by each of the band's surviving members, producer Terry Date, and the aforementioned Ross. Recalling the first time he saw PANTERA, Ross writes, "By the end of the first song, my jaw was on the floor. The sonic power of it all — the attitude and the musicianship — blew me away. Basically, you had to be an idiot to not think they're amazing. I mean, how could you see these guys and not think, Holy shit!?"

"Cowboys From Hell" 20th-anniversary reissue track listing:

Disc One - Ultimate, Deluxe, and Expanded Editions

01. Cowboys From Hell
02. Primal Concrete Sledge
03. Psycho Holiday
04. Heresy
05. Cemetery Gates
06. Domination
07. Shattered
08. Clash With Reality
09. Medicine Man
10. Message In Blood
11. The Sleep
12. The Art Of Shredding

Disc Two - Ultimate, Deluxe, and Expanded Editions

01. Domination (live) *
02. Psycho Holiday (live) *
03. The Art Of Shredding (live) *
04. Cowboys From Hell (live) *
05. Cemetery Gates (live) *
06. Primal Concrete Sledge (live) *
07. Heresy (live) *
08. Domination (live, "Alive And Hostile" EP) †
09. Primal Concrete Sledge (live, "Alive And Hostile" EP) †
10. Cowboys From Hell (live, "Alive And Hostile" EP) †
11. Heresy (live, "Alive And Hostile" EP) †
12. Psycho Holiday (live, "Alive And Hostile" EP) †

Disc Three - Ultimate and Deluxe Editions Only

01. The Will To Survive *
02. Shattered (demo) *
03. Cowboys From Hell (demo) *
04. Heresy (demo) *
05. Cemetery Gates (demo) *
06. Psycho Holiday (demo) *
07. Medicine Man (demo) *
08. Message In Blood (demo) *
09. Domination (demo) *
10. The Sleep (demo) *
11. The Art Of Shredding (demo) *

* Previously unreleased
† Unreleased in the U.S.