PHILIP ANSELMO Talks About 20th Anniversary Of PANTERA's 'Vulgar Display Of Power' (Video)

Artisan News recently spoke to former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo about the 20th anniversary of PANTERA's classic album, "Vulgar Display Of Power".

When asked about how he views the LP 20 years later, Anselmo said, "'Vulgar Display Of Power' is probably… It's up there as one of my favorite freaking PANTERA records. And honestly, considering its timing, considering our ages, our mindsets, it was a very important record that… There were struggles, but they were in the long run a footnote, a memory, because the overall product delivered."

Regarding what made "Vulgar Display Of Power" so special, Anselmo said, "The production. Heavy metal was going through a lot of different change as far as production goes. And we were brought with Terry Date [producer] and Vinnie Paul [Abbott, drums]… genius in the studio… With Terry Date, him and Dimebag [Darrell Abbott, guitar] really, really, really just drilling it. Rex was, like, automatic. Back then, Rex was just… Oh my God, it was easy. He'd zip through it and nail it. And really, with chops and licks and what-not."

The 20th-anniversary reissue of "Vulgar Display Of Power" sold 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 48 on The Billboard 200 chart. This is more than double the first-week tally registered by the 20th-anniversary reissue of PANTERA's classic "Cowboys From Hell" LP, which debuted at No. 117 in September 2010 with sales of 4,200.

Upon its original release, "Vulgar Display Of Power" peaked at No. 44 on The Billboard 200 and spent a total of 77 weeks on the chart, the most weeks any PANTERA album spent on the list.

February 25 marked the 20-year anniversary for PANTERA's "Vulgar Display Of Power", a landmark album widely acknowledged as one of metal's most enduring and influential masterworks. Recorded by singer Philip Anselmo, guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and features several of the group's most iconic songs including "Walk", "Mouth For War", "This Love" and "Fucking Hostile".

To celebrate, Rhino channels the album's relentless blitzkrieg of musical aggression onto a two-disc Deluxe Edition. The CD includes the original album remastered and "Piss", a recently discovered unreleased track from the recording sessions. The DVD contains an unreleased live performance filmed in Italy in September of 1992 plus the three official music videos from the album.

Along with the unreleased song, "Vulgar Display Of Power (Deluxe Edition)" also features unreleased video of the quartet performing six songs at the Monsters Of Rock show in Reggio Emilia, Italy on September 12, 1992. The set list draws almost exclusively from "Vulgar" ("This Love", "Rise", "Mouth For War"),but also includes the title track from their previous album, "Cowboys From Hell", and a melding of "Vulgar"'s "Hollow" and "Cowboys"' "Domination", which was a live staple of the band. Video of PANTERA performing live during this era is extremely rare, making the DVD one of the few ways to see them in their prime.