Vulgar Display of Power

Vulgar Display of Power
Studio album by Pantera
Released	February 25, 1992 (1992-02-25)
Recorded	1991, Pantego Sound Studio, Pantego, Texas
Genre	Groove metal, heavy metal, thrash metal
Length	52:42
Label	Atco
Producer	Terry Date
Pantera chronology
Cowboys from Hell (1990) Vulgar Display of Power (1992) Far Beyond Driven (1994)

Vulgar Display of Power is the sixth studio album by heavy metal band Pantera. It was released through Atco Records, on February 25, 1992. It is the last album where Darrell Abbott is credited as "Diamond Darrell". One of the most influential groove metal albums of the 1990s, Vulgar Display of Power is said to have played a major role in defining groove metal. Several songs from this release have become some of the band's best known, such as "Fucking Hostile", "Mouth for War", "This Love", and "Walk". The album is the band's first to be labeled with a Parental Advisory.

Title

The title of the album is from a line in the 1973 film, The Exorcist. When Father Damien Karras asks Regan MacNeil (or the demon who possesses her) to break her own straps and release herself using her evil power, Regan replies "that's much too vulgar a display of power." In April 2007 the title was used for the book A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa, which includes many song titles to name its chapters. The book details those involved and the details leading up to the murder of Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott. The Abbott family have stated that they are against the book and took no part in its writing.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(A)[2]
Metal Storm	[3]
Sputnikmusic	[4]
Kerrang!	[5]

Vulgar Display of Power is regarded as the bands best work. The album has been praised for its influence on the metal genre, paiving the way for alternative and nu metal bands such as Korn and Tool. Reviews have been very positive, with Kerrang! and Sputnikmusic both giving the album 4 out of 5 stars, while Metal Storm gave the album 9.5 out of 10 stars. Allmusic also gave the record a near perfect 4.5 out 5 stars (the highest rating given to a Pantera album by Allmusic), with reviewer Steve Huey stating:

"One of the most influential heavy metal albums of the 1990s, Vulgar Display of Power is just what is says: a raw, pulverizing, insanely intense depiction of naked rage and hostility that drains its listeners and pounds them into submission. Even the "ballads," "This Love" and "Hollow," have thunderingly loud, aggressive chorus sections."

^[6]

IGN named Vulgar Display of Power the 11th most influential heavy metal album of all-time.^[7] They said about the album:

"This album makes the list because it took heavy metal and made it heavier. It took darkness and made it darker. It took anger and made it angrier. Never before had a band tuned down its guitars and crunched a heavier riff than on this album. "Mouth for War" and "A New Level" and "No Good (Attack the Radical)" stand out on an album where every track is a classic track. Dimebag Darrell was an innovator and a true godsend for heavy metal. One of the most underrated players in the genre. And this may sound corny, but the way the band was able to turn seemingly negative aspects of the genre - hate, anger, violence and despair - into positive thoughts is somewhat akin to De La Soul dropping a positive message into rap."

Entertainment Weekly (3/6/92, p. 59) - "..one of the most satisfying heavy metal records since Metallica's early-80s cult days...11 caustic songs of unabashed brute force...a fully realized album that goes way beyond metal's usual crunch-and-burn." - Rating: A

Q magazine (7/01, p. 90) - "Pantera's new, heavier direction...was succinctly summed up by 'A New Level's sludge-thick chorus and the neck-snapping riffage of bile-flecked hate anthem 'Fucking Hostile'."

Commercial performance

Vulgar Display of Power peaked at #44 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spent a total of 77 weeks on the chart, the most weeks any Pantera album spent on the chart.^[8] The album also peaked at #64 on the UK Albums Chart, #69 on the German Chart, and #54 on the Oricon Chart. The album has since gone on to become Pantera's highest selling album, attaining many certifications since its release including Gold, Platinum, and in July 2004, Double Platinum status in the U.S. for a combined total sales of 2,000,000 copies. The album also achieved Platinum status in Australia, Gold status in Canada, and in November 2004, the album achieved Gold status in the U.K. for sales of 100,000. The albums lead single, "Mouth for War", became the bands first song to ever chart, debuting in October of 1992 on the UK Singles Chart and managing to peak at #73. "Mouth for War" also reached #24 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. The albums last single "Walk" gave the band their first top 40 U.K. hit when it peaked at #35 in early 1993, but failed to chart in the U.S..

Accolades

In 2001 Q magazine named it one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All-Time." IGN named Vulgar Display of Power the 11th most influential heavy metal album of all-time. It has been listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In October 2011, the album was ranked number four on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992.^[9]

Tour

To promote the album Pantera hit the road again, visiting Japan for the first time in July 1992 and later performing at the "Monsters of Rock" festival co-headlined by Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath in Italy. It was around this time that Darrell Abbott dropped the nickname "Diamond Darrell" and assumed "Dimebag Darrell", and Rex Brown dropped the pseudonym "Rexx Rocker".

Appearances in the media

During the 90s, MTV's Headbangers Ball used excerpts from the album's songs for the show's opening theme, bumpers, and closing theme. Perhaps the most prominent sample is that of Anselmo screaming "hostile," taken from the end of the song "Fucking Hostile". "Rise," "Regular People (Conceit)" and "Mouth for War" were covered by Robert Prince for the first-person shooter computer game Doom, and a cover of "This Love" appeared in Doom II: Hell on Earth.^[10]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Pantera. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mouth for War"	3:56
2.	"A New Level"	3:57
3.	"Walk"	5:15
4.	"Fucking Hostile"	2:49
5.	"This Love"	6:32
6.	"Rise"	4:36
7.	"No Good (Attack the Radical)"	4:50
8.	"Live in a Hole"	4:59
9.	"Regular People (Conceit)"	5:27
10.	"By Demons Be Driven"	4:39
11.	"Hollow"	5:45

Personnel

Pantera Philip Anselmo - lead vocals Diamond Darrell – guitar, backing vocals Rex – bass, backing vocals Vinnie Paul - drums

Production Produced, Engineered & Mixed by Terry Date and Vinnie Paul. Co-produced & arranged by Pantera Recorded & Mixed at Pantego Sound Studio, Pantego, Texas. Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York City. Vinyl mastered by Doug Sax. A&R coordination: Derk Oliver. Cover photo: Brad Guice. Band photography: Joe Giron. Art direction: Bob Defrin. Design: Larry Freemantle

Chart positions

Chart (1992)	Peak position
German Albums Chart[11]	69
UK Album Charts[12]	64
US Billboard 200[13]	44
Oricon Chart	54

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified
U.S.[14]	Gold	February 9, 1993	500,000
U.S.[14]	Platinum	November 7, 1997	1,000,000
U.S.[14]	Multi Platinum (2X)	July 7, 2004	2,000,000
Canada[15]	Gold	August 24, 1993	50,000

Trivia

• Philip Anselmo has a tattoo on the back of his neck which reads "ATR," which is an abbreviation for "Attack The Radical" which is the subtitle of the seventh track on the album.

References

1. ^ Huey, Steve. "Pantera Vulgar Display of Power review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://allmusic.com/album/vulgar-display-of-power-r60044/review. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
2. ^ Garza, Janiss (March 6, 1992). "A Vulgar Display of Power: Music Review:Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,309798,00.html. Retrieved August 23, 2009. 
3. ^ "Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power". Metal Storm. 26 November 2003. http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=101. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
4. ^ H., Andrew (16 January 2005). "Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/1174/Pantera-Vulgar-Display-of-Power/. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
5. ^ Kaye, Don (22 February 1992). "Pantera 'Vulgar Display of Power'". Kerrang!. 380. London, UK: EMAP. 
6. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r60044
7. ^ IGN: Top 25 Metal Albums
8. ^ http://www.billboard.com/artist/pantera/chart-history/5375#/artist/pantera/chart-history/5375
9. ^ Grassi, Tony. "Photo Gallery: The Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1992". GuitarWorld.com. http://www.guitarworld.com/photo-gallery-top-10-guitar-albums-1992. Retrieved 2011-10-24. 
10. ^ Doomworld Official list of songs that inspired music from Doom and Doom 2 Retrieved on 27 March 2007.
11. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Pantera / Longplay" (in German). Musicline.de. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Pantera/longplay. Retrieved 24 October 2008. 
12. ^ [1]
13. ^ "Artist Chart History - Pantera > Albums". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/pantera/vulgar-display-of-power/50586. Retrieved 24 October 2008. 
14. ^ ^{a b c} U.S. certifications
15. ^ ALBUM(S)&ssd=1/1/1990&sed=2/1/2011&ssb=Artist