American vocalist and musician Phil Anselmo is best known for his involvement with Pantera. His manner of performance has become branded and fundamental to the whole genre.
early years
Phil Anselmo was born in New Orleans, in the southern United States, in 1968. His parents had French and Italian roots. From childhood, the child became addicted to heavy music. When Phil grew up, he began performing at local clubs. Passion took an extremely long time, which had a bad effect on school performance. By the twelfth grade, Anselmo had ceased to appear in the class at all. As a result, he dropped out of school without even getting a secondary education.
Most of all, Phil Anselmo loved heavy metal. In the 80s, this genre was just experiencing an era of prosperity. Such music was very popular in the American underground. In addition, Anselmo was influenced by punk rock. In the future, he will mix these two genres in his work. Phil's favorite vocalist was Rob Halford.
Hit in Pantera
Anselmo in his youth became a popular figure in the Louisiana underground. A jump in his career occurred at the moment when the vocalist ended up in the Pantera band in 1986. Prior to this, this team played hard rock and then popular glam metal. Three members of Pantera wanted to make their music sound heavier. Former vocalist Terrence Lee because of his style did not fit into the new framework of the group.
Then in the “Panther” and turned eighteen-year-old Phil Anselmo. He was quite a youth, but his vocal abilities were amazing. In 1988, the fourth album of Power Metal was released. This record was the debut for Anselmo. He sang high, largely imitating Halford. The album was commercially successful. Pantera finally left the local clubs and became a team of notable size.
International success
Pantera became a cult band in 1990 after releasing Cowboys from Hell. For its time it was a unique and innovative record. Phil Anselmo himself influenced the style and genre in many ways. Quotes from his 90s interviews suggest that he was then happy to perform at Pantera.
- "I tried to take heavy metal ... shuffle it and cut it in half to create something new. I really tried to give the extreme music a different shape."
- "It seems to me that I have already done everything I wanted in music."
Anselmo's data was perfect for a bold experiment. His high manner of singing reached the pinnacle of mastery at that time. The new style created by Pantera soon got its own name - groove metal. By sound, he was most like the thrash popular in the 80s. But in addition, the team’s game included tricks typical of hardcore punk and sludge. In these experiments, Anselmo's youthful passions were reflected in his work. Soon his name began to be mentioned in a row with the titans of the metal scene.
Commercial success has made the group popular worldwide. The team performed not only in America - now the musicians have become welcome guests in Europe. A real apotheosis of Anselmo's touring activities can be considered his trip to the Soviet Union in 1991. Then at the Tushino airdrome, the Monsters of Rock festival was held, which, as it turned out later, became a legendary event. Hundreds of thousands of people came to “Panther” and other foreign “heavy” groups. Those interested were placed within a radius of several kilometers. For Soviet informal youth, a concert with Pantera was not only a welcome event, but also a unique event - the first of its kind.
Pantera Decay
The 90s confirmed the success of Anselmo and his group. All subsequent albums of the collective diverged in millions of copies and received platinum and gold statuses in various countries. The musicians had the most controversial biography. Phil Anselmo used drugs. In 1996, after one of the concerts, he had an overdose of heroin. Because of this, the vocalist's heart stopped for a few seconds. Doctors managed to pump Phil. The group even continued the tour, but the atmosphere has noticeably increased since then.
In 2003, Pantera broke up due to disagreements among the participants. Since then, Anselmo has continued to perform with numerous outside groups as an invited guest. Of his several attempts to create a new team, Down stands out the most. As part of this project, Phil performed slug metal. This style was somewhat different from the Pantera concept. Curiously, the first Down records were released anonymously. Anselmo wanted to plunge into the underground of his youth again.
Present
For many years Anselmo played in small groups. Finally, in 2013, he first released his own solo album, Walk Through Exits Only. Critics and fans warmly welcomed the new product. On the disc, the former Pantera vocalist did not play traditional groove metal for him, but more extreme music with an accelerated tempo and heavy guitar sound.
In 2016, a public scandal erupted: many Pantera fans were outraged by the news that Phil Anselmo was racist. The cause of indignation was an unpleasant scene at one of the American concerts, when the famous vocalist insulted blacks and used a Nazi gesture. A few days after the incident, Anselmo apologized to the fans, explaining his trick by the fact that he was drunk.