VINNIE PAUL: PANTERA's 'Southern Trendkill' Was 'The Most Chaotic, Most Unorganized' Record We Ever Made

During a recent appearance on "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott spoke about "The Great Southern Trendkill: 20th Anniversary Edition", which was released on October 21. This two-disc PANTERA set includes the original album remastered, plus a dozen previously unreleased mixes, instrumentals, and live recordings.

Vinnie said (hear audio below): "Well, I don't revel in the past, so it had been a long time since I had listened to that record. And it was a really crazy record for PANTERA. I mean, it was the most chaotic, most unorganized, most against-the-grain record that we ever made, looking back at it, after being a part of the remastering and everything that was there. That being said, it came out at a time, in 1996, when rap metal was coming in, and I even remember us getting a phone call from the president of our label, saying, 'Hey, you guys need to… Be sure and start rapping on your record, add some rap to it.' And we just kind of laughed and said, 'Okay, we'll get right on that.' And anyways, that record was really designed as just a gigantic bird finger to the music industry at that time, and I think it really accomplished what it was all about."

Late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie Paul and singer Philip Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004.

Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.