Philip Anselmo On 'Far Beyond Driven'!

  • Philip Anselmo On 'Far Beyond Driven'!
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    Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven has just ticked over it’s 20th Anniversary and if you haven’t picked up the special edition, I don’t know why you’ve wasted any time in getting it because the bootleg disc is amazing.Philip Anselmorecently caught up withArtist Directand talked about how the iconic record came together, check it out.

    Far Beyond Drivenfeels like Pantera at its purest or most unbridled. In some ways, this is the rawest spirit of the band.

    That’s an interesting way to put it. It’s hard for me not to endorse the way you put it, but it’s also hard for me to endorse it. I think, at that time, we were all very much on the same page, so to speak. Let me side step really quickly and just remind you. Pantera had a lot of success before I was in the band. When I first joined the band, I was singing fucking tracks onPower Metalafter two weeks of being with them. Then, we wroteCowboys from Hellall throughout the rest of 1987 and 1988. We had been playing those songs live. We had been through a lot up to the point as far as personalities go and getting to know each other. Becoming a trusted member and true singer for this band was a process to where I didn’t have the rest of the band peaking over my shoulder like, “What are you writing about?” By the time I got toFar Beyond Driven, it was, “I’m going to write what the fuck I’m going to write”. So, I was very comfortable at the time. I guess the rest of the guys were like, “Leave Phil alone. Let him do his job” [Laughs]. It felt so fucking natural.

    Were thoseFar Beyond Drivensessions particularly intense?

    Well, I knew that’s what I wanted. There was a lot of speculation out there about what type of record we were going to make. I definitely had a chip on my fucking shoulder because there was no way in hell I was going to go the fucking commercial route. At the time, I think we were very aware of other heavy metal bands that had found a little bit of fame and taken that “commercial route”, so to speak, with their music. I very much instilled that there was no fucking way I was doing that into the other guys. I think they were on board quite a bit. It’s like when you have a favorite band, you follow their entire career, you wait anxiously to buy their new record, you open up it, you put it on, and it’s a letdown. That’s a shitty feeling. We knew what our fan base wanted. We were very focused on delivering what our fan base had come to know and come to know of us. A lot of people like to say we did things in reverse. Meaning, we didn’t start out this heavy fucking band and get more commercialized. It was kind of the other way around. That was the main focus there. When I laid my vocals on that fucking record, I wanted people to feel the fucking spit on their faces coming out of the speakers [Laughs]. I meant every fucking second.

    What song represents the record’s spirit the most for you?

    There are two songs for me. One of them really sums up what Pantera was about. That would be “Becoming”. Darrell had found this new noisy ass fucking pedal, and he came up with this heaving monstrous fucking riff using this pedal. I loved it because it was screechy, fucked up, and original-soundingand ugly at the same time. Also the drum beat and the kick drum patterns to that song are fucking outrageous. The riff is heavy and very Pantera to the max, and it also has the huge chorus. That song embodies the spirit of Pantera very well. Actually, a very interesting song is the first one we wrote for it. Strangely enough, that would be “25 Years”. That began with my infatuation with TheMelvinsand their interpretation of The Melvinsplaying things drone-y, slower, and unpredictably. That song itself is so different for us in a way because of its elongated intro and almost a perfect Pantera piece. The verses are so signature fucking Pantera it’s ridiculous. I’m proud of both of those songs as far as sticking out. You can’t take anything from “Strength Beyond Strength” or “I’m Broken” either because they have their points of magic as well.

    Read more at Artist Direct


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Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven has just ticked over it’s 20th Anniversary and if you haven’t picked up the special edition, I don’t know why you’ve wasted any time in getting it because the bootleg disc is amazing.Philip Anselmorecently caught up withArtist Directand talked about how the iconic record came together, check it out.

Far Beyond Drivenfeels like Pantera at its purest or most unbridled. In some ways, this is the rawest spirit of the band.

That’s an interesting way to put it. It’s hard for me not to endorse the way you put it, but it’s also hard for me to endorse it. I think, at that time, we were all very much on the same page, so to speak. Let me side step really quickly and just remind you. Pantera had a lot of success before I was in the band. When I first joined the band, I was singing fucking tracks onPower Metalafter two weeks of being with them. Then, we wroteCowboys from Hellall throughout the rest of 1987 and 1988. We had been playing those songs live. We had been through a lot up to the point as far as personalities go and getting to know each other. Becoming a trusted member and true singer for this band was a process to where I didn’t have the rest of the band peaking over my shoulder like, “What are you writing about?” By the time I got toFar Beyond Driven, it was, “I’m going to write what the fuck I’m going to write”. So, I was very comfortable at the time. I guess the rest of the guys were like, “Leave Phil alone. Let him do his job” [Laughs]. It felt so fucking natural.

Were thoseFar Beyond Drivensessions particularly intense?

Well, I knew that’s what I wanted. There was a lot of speculation out there about what type of record we were going to make. I definitely had a chip on my fucking shoulder because there was no way in hell I was going to go the fucking commercial route. At the time, I think we were very aware of other heavy metal bands that had found a little bit of fame and taken that “commercial route”, so to speak, with their music. I very much instilled that there was no fucking way I was doing that into the other guys. I think they were on board quite a bit. It’s like when you have a favorite band, you follow their entire career, you wait anxiously to buy their new record, you open up it, you put it on, and it’s a letdown. That’s a shitty feeling. We knew what our fan base wanted. We were very focused on delivering what our fan base had come to know and come to know of us. A lot of people like to say we did things in reverse. Meaning, we didn’t start out this heavy fucking band and get more commercialized. It was kind of the other way around. That was the main focus there. When I laid my vocals on that fucking record, I wanted people to feel the fucking spit on their faces coming out of the speakers [Laughs]. I meant every fucking second.

What song represents the record’s spirit the most for you?

There are two songs for me. One of them really sums up what Pantera was about. That would be “Becoming”. Darrell had found this new noisy ass fucking pedal, and he came up with this heaving monstrous fucking riff using this pedal. I loved it because it was screechy, fucked up, and original-soundingand ugly at the same time. Also the drum beat and the kick drum patterns to that song are fucking outrageous. The riff is heavy and very Pantera to the max, and it also has the huge chorus. That song embodies the spirit of Pantera very well. Actually, a very interesting song is the first one we wrote for it. Strangely enough, that would be “25 Years”. That began with my infatuation with TheMelvinsand their interpretation of The Melvinsplaying things drone-y, slower, and unpredictably. That song itself is so different for us in a way because of its elongated intro and almost a perfect Pantera piece. The verses are so signature fucking Pantera it’s ridiculous. I’m proud of both of those songs as far as sticking out. You can’t take anything from “Strength Beyond Strength” or “I’m Broken” either because they have their points of magic as well.

Read more at Artist Direct


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