In a recent interview with Gibson TV, former Pantera bassist Rex Brown revealed the influence of Metallica’s James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich on their search for a new vocalist. This connection ultimately led them to Phil Anselmo.
Brown detailed the band’s early days and their search for a new singer following their original vocalist’s departure.
“With the first Pantera singer, just something was amiss. Me and Dime were listening to freaking ‘Kill ‘Em All,’ the first Metallica record. We had met James and Lars. They stayed down at the house for about two weeks. We just jammed nonstop. It was really cool. Meeting those cats was just a totally different world for us. That was such a great experience, you know,” Brown explained.
Brown described the events that prompted their search for a new vocalist:
“Terry had decided he wanted to go to college. He didn’t think it was worth his time to dedicate himself to the band. We were starting to get successful. We were pretty much the hottest little band in Texas coming up for kids under twenty, you know.”
The band found their perfect match in Phil Anselmo after auditioning several local singers:
“We went through about another four or five guys. They were all home guys. Then we heard about this guy who played in a band called Razor White,” Brown recalled. “Vinnie called me on the phone and said, ‘Man, I just talked to some dude and he sounds just like Von Joey.’ I went, ‘What does that mean?’ That’s just the way the brothers talked. That means he had mojo.”
Brown described their first meeting with Anselmo: “Philip came down. I picked him up in a ’74 Corvette and took him straight to the living room we had set up for jamming. We played just about every Cheetah Spree song and anything current that we all knew. This guy was amazing. He looked the part. He was fresh—18. That moment when you find somebody after jamming with five assholes—that feeling was really, really cool.”
This moment marked a significant transformation for the band.
Research from Loudwire showed that Anselmo’s arrival in 1986 steered the band away from their glam metal roots toward a heavier sound.
Dig Me Out Podcast documented the band’s transformation. Their first album with Anselmo, “Power Metal,” released in 1988. This record established their foundation as pioneers of groove metal.
Blabbermouth highlighted how Terry Glaze’s departure and Anselmo’s arrival transformed the band. This change led to groundbreaking albums like “Cowboys from Hell” (1990) and “Vulgar Display of Power” (1992). These releases solidified Pantera’s position as a major force in the metal scene.
Pantera’s evolution through the 1990s saw them rise to prominence alongside other influential acts. This included Metallica, whose early influence had guided their path to discovering Anselmo.
