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Far Beyond Driven

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Far Beyond Driven
Studio album by
Pantera
ReleasedMarch 22, 1994 (1994-03-22)[1]
Recorded1993
StudioAbtrax Recording (Nashville, Tennessee)
GenreGroove metal
Length56:19
Label
ProducerTerry Date
Pantera chronology
Hostile Moments
(1994) 		Far Beyond Driven
(1994) 		The Great Southern Trendkill
(1996)
Pantera studio album chronology
Vulgar Display of Power
(1992) 		Far Beyond Driven
(1994) 		The Great Southern Trendkill
(1996)
Alternative cover
Far Beyond Driven cover originally rejected by the record label. The cover was used for vinyl record releases.
Singles from Far Beyond Driven
  1. "I'm Broken"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Planet Caravan"
    Released: 1994
  3. "5 Minutes Alone"
    Released: 1994
  4. "Becoming"
    Released: 1994

Far Beyond Driven is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on March 22, 1994, by Elektra Records and East West Records. Pantera's fastest-selling album,[2] it peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200[3][4] and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[5] The album was also certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association.[6] Far Beyond Driven is the first album by Pantera where the band's guitarist Darrell Abbott is credited as "Dimebag Darrell", having changed his nickname from "Diamond Darrell" soon after Vulgar Display of Power was released. The Japanese and the Driven Downunder Tour '94 Souvenir Collection editions contain a bonus thirteenth track, "The Badge", a Poison Idea cover. This cover was also featured on The Crow soundtrack.[7]

Background

[edit]

In 1992, Pantera released their breakthrough album, Vulgar Display of Power. Despite the success of the album, the band would begin to experience turmoil in the two years following its release. Vocalist Phil Anselmo was injured with ruptured discs in his back and was suffering from chronic pain from degenerative disc disease.[8] Anselmo began drinking heavily, abusing painkillers and muscle relaxants, and using heroin to alleviate the pain.[9] Anselmo also begin to experience lower back pain, saying, "I think this is one of the first times in my life, man, that I had this thing called 'vulnerability' kick in, and that was a very uncomfortable feeling." Anselmo adds, "I think that was really my first glimpse into kind of screaming to the world, 'Fucking... I am broken! Somebody fucking help me here!'"[10]

Speaking about the song "5 Minutes Alone", drummer Vinnie Paul said:

"The story behind this song is we were opening for Megadeth, and there was a guy that was flipping us off the whole show and so we stopped the show. And I was like, 'Listen, in case you haven't noticed there's 18,000 people who really dig what we're doing. You're the only one doing that stupid shit without even having to egg the crowd on.' Ten guys just jumped the guy and beat the shit out of him. His dad called the manager after all the lawsuits and this and that, and basically said, 'Give me five minutes with that Phil Anselmo guy. I want to whup his ass.'"[3]

Music and lyrics

[edit]

The band tuned lower on the album than on previous efforts, with many songs going as low as C# standard. Several lyrical topics appear on Far Beyond Driven. The track "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" seems to be a reference to the song "Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine" on the Ted Nugent album Weekend Warriors. Phil Anselmo spoke about the track "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" saying:

"The lyrical content was me probably giving a nod to my fascination at the time with Nick Cave's Birthday Party. Nick Cave was a genius. I will say the lyrics [on 'Good Friends'] tell a true story. I made a lot of mistakes as a youngster, and to reveal to this particular person who it was about, why it was about, what happened that particular night, would not be a very kosher. I can't do it. To this day, I won't do it. It would just be in bad taste. At this point, I don't think that person would want five minutes alone with me, unless we have a sip of white wine."[3]

Pantera's bassist Rex Brown spoke about "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" saying:

"It was just kind of fucking around – Vinnie had a drumbeat, Dime was just fucking around with that pedal, and I had the five-string bass. It was just this little groove that we had. We listened to it and at first, we went, 'What the fuck is that?' Then when Phil put the vocals on it, it just blew everybody's fucking minds. I don't know what the fuck he was thinking with the lyrics."[3]

Phil Anselmo talked about the song "Strength Beyond Strength" saying "I was a rambunctious child," begins Anselmo. "None of it is regrettable, lyrically. You can look back at your lyrics and snicker. I'll always do, whether I'm embarrassed over it, or whether I'm embarrassed over it, or whether I'm embarrassed over it. You can tell growing spurts and pains and where you were in life, so I don't know. Strength fucking Beyond Strength is the old puffin' the chest up, 'look at us now,' we're as cute as [we're] fucking extreme."[11]

Anselmo explained the meaning behind the song "Becoming" saying "The most popular heavy metal bands in the world at that time were, in my estimate and definitely all of our estimates, playing the game," Anselmo says. "They had reached this pinnacle; now they were kind of tapering off and writing more commercial stuff, whereas we realized our strong point, once again, was sticking to heavy metal and making it as heavy as our style would allow. Therefore, with 'Becoming,' it is what it says. We were becoming. Honestly, we had arrived."[12]

Anselmo talks about the meaning behind the song "Shedding Skin" saying, "'Shedding Skin' was about me being in my 20s and any girlfriend, lady-friend of mine trying to tie me down at that age, at that particular time," begins Anselmo. "Basically, 'lay off, right now.' A relationship with me? A serious relationship with me at that age? Forget it, fuck off. Really, it's impossible."[13]

Anselmo talked about the song "Slaughtered" saying "I've always had a distorted view of organized religion and I was never more confused than when I was in my 20s and whatnot," Anselmo says about 'Slaughtered.' "And still I like to use a fusion, if you will, of religions and fuck with them, so to speak. And then tear them down and piss all over them or build them up only to tip over."[14]

Anselmo spoke about the song "Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks" saying "I think it was a foreshadowing of the fear that I felt of not being the same. ... I know for a fact, I guess, that I dabbled in pain pills and stuff like that because I was miserable, and that's always a friggin' dead end, dead road, a terrible path to take. But at the time, I didn't have any other answers."[15]

The song "25 Years", one of Pantera's most personal songs, is about Phil Anselmo's father. Anselmo said, "'25 Years' was written about my father. At the time [I] had a gigantic falling-out with him and I resented the fuck out of him and wrote a beautiful song about it." Anselmo continues, "It was a time capsule of how far he and I had not come, and I think a lot of fans could relate with the dysfunctional family vibe. I think I put in some pretty clever wording here and there, and it might be that wording that they had been searching for themselves for quite a while when it comes to anger."[16]

In the liner notes of the album, all the songs' lyrics are printed apart from the cover of "Planet Caravan". The liner note reads:

"This is a Black Sabbath song off of the Paranoid album. So don't freak out on us. We did the song because we wanted to. It has nothing to do with the integrity of our direction. It's a tripped out song. We think you'll dig it. If you don't, don't fucking listen to it. Thanks. On behalf of the rest of Pantera, Phil Anselmo '94."

Artwork

[edit]

The original album cover shows a drill going into someone's anus, but the record label rejected it, worrying it would harm sales and would be rejected by stores like Walmart and Target. The band then changed it to a drill put in the frontal lobe of a human skull.[17]

Release and reception

[edit]

At midnight on March 22, 1994, Pantera launched the release of Far Beyond Driven with an extensive record store campaign. They traveled to 12 cities in almost five days with MTV documenting their progress. Band members signed autographs, met fans, and promoted the album. The band released "I'm Broken" as the album's first single, which reached #19 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's highest-charting single worldwide. The LP also contained the first cover song on one of their major-label releases—Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" which served as the album's closing track and reached #21 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and #26 on the UK Singles Chart. By March, the LP had sold over 185,000 copies and had reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts and Australian charts upon release. It remained on the Billboard 200 for 29 weeks.[18] Shane Mehling of Decibel, commenting on Far Beyond Driven topping the Billboard 200 chart, called it "the first extreme metal record to reach that level of popularity and, in maybe a more perfect world, would have opened the doors for other extreme bands to gain a foothold."[19]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[20]
NME7/10[21]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[22]
Rolling Stone[23]

The album received positive reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars. Rolling Stone would eventually rank Far Beyond Driven #39 on their list "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[24] Spin wrote in April 1994 that the "quartet has successfully transformed itself into a cross between the older, faster Metallica and today's Rollins Band", adding that "at times, Phil Anselmo is every bit as charismatic as Henry Rollins."[25] AllMusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia had a more negative take on the album, stating "Far Beyond Driven may have been Pantera's fastest selling album upon release, but it's hardly their best. In fact, although it shot straight to the number one spot on the Billboard sales chart in its first week (arguably the most extreme album ever to do so), this incredible feat doesn't so much reflect its own qualities as those of its predecessor, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power."[2]

In November 2011, Far Beyond Driven was ranked number six on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994.[26] The album was also ranked at number twenty in Guitar World's "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[27]

Reissue

[edit]

On March 24, 2014, a two-disc deluxe edition of Far Beyond Driven was released to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Disc one is a remastered version of the original album. Disc two is a live album featuring Pantera's set at the 1994 Monsters of Rock Festival.

Tour

[edit]

Pantera toured South America, and were accepted into another "Monsters of Rock" billing. At that festival on June 4, 1994, the Abbott brothers got into a scuffle with journalists from the music magazine Kerrang! over unflattering cartoon depictions of drummer Vinnie Paul. Then in late June, Anselmo was charged with assault for hitting a security guard after he prevented fans from getting on stage, Anselmo was released on $5,000 bail the next day.[28][29] The trial was delayed three times.[30] In May 1995, he apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.[31][32] Pantera continued their tour of the United Kingdom and eventually the United States in mid to late 1994, where the band was opened for by fellow heavy metal bands Sepultura and Prong. The tour of Far Beyond Driven also took Pantera to Australia and New Zealand for the first time in November–December 1994. The tour ended in March of 1995 with another run through the United States, this time with Type O Negative opening.

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Strength Beyond Strength" 3:38
2."Becoming" 3:05
3."5 Minutes Alone" 5:47
4."I'm Broken" 4:24
5."Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" 2:52
6."Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks" 7:01
7."Slaughtered" 3:56
8."25 Years" 6:05
9."Shedding Skin" 5:36
10."Use My Third Arm" 4:51
11."Throes of Rejection" 5:01
12."Planet Caravan" (Black Sabbath cover)
4:03
Total length:56:19
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."The Badge" (Poison Idea cover)Jerry A3:55
Total length:60:14
20th anniversary edition bonus disc – Live from Donington '94[33]
No.TitleLength
1."Use My Third Arm"4:04
2."Walk"5:15
3."Strength Beyond Strength"4:01
4."Domination / Hollow"6:54
5."Slaughtered"3:57
6."Fucking Hostile"2:57
7."This Love"7:16
8."Mouth for War"4:01
9."Cowboys from Hell"4:49

Personnel

[edit]

Pantera

Production

  • Terry Date – production, engineering, mixing
  • Pantera – co-production, arranging
  • Ted Jensen – mastering

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[57] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[58] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[59] Gold 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[60] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[61] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Pantera - Far Beyond Driven". pantera.com.
  2. ^ a b c Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Far Beyond Driven – Pantera". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d Kory Grow (March 27, 2014). "Pantera Look Back at 20 Years of 'Far Beyond Driven'". Rolling Stone.
  4. ^ "Far Beyond Driven – Pantera Awards". Allmusic.
  5. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012.
  6. ^ "CRIA – Search Certification Database". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009.
  7. ^ "The Crow (1994)". IMDB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  8. ^ "PHILIP ANSELMO Opens Up About His Heroin Addiction, PANTERA's Breakup" Archived 2009-08-22 at the Wayback Machine. Blabbermouth. August 19, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  9. ^ Spera, Keith. "Phil Anselmo battled back from drugs and surgery to rock as hard as ever". NOLA.com. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  10. ^ Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (March 25, 2014). "Philip Anselmo Shares Vulnerability While Recalling Pantera's 'I'm Broken' – Exclusive Video". Loudwire.
  11. ^ Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (March 24, 2014). "Philip Anselmo Reflects on Pantera's 'Strength Beyond Strength' – Exclusive Video". Loudwire.
  12. ^ Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (March 24, 2014). "Philip Anselmo Explains the Meaning Behind Pantera's 'Becoming' – Exclusive Video". Loudwire.
  13. ^ Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (March 27, 2014). "Philip Anselmo Talks Pantera's 'Shedding Skin' + Rejecting Serious Relationships – Exclusive Video". Loudwire.
  14. ^ Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (March 26, 2014). "Philip Anselmo Tears Down Religion Recalling Pantera's 'Slaughtered' – Exclusive Video". Loudwire.
  15. ^ Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (March 26, 2014). "Philip Anselmo Talks Past Drug Use + Pantera's 'Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks' – Exclusive Video". Loudwire.
  16. ^ Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (March 27, 2014). "Philip Anselmo Talks Falling-Out With Father + Pantera's '25 Years' – Exclusive Video". Loudwire.
  17. ^ Stafford, James (September 17, 2015). "Cover Stories: Pantera, 'Far Beyond Driven'". Loudwire. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  18. ^ "Pantera Facts, information, pictures". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  19. ^ Mehling, Shane (August 13, 2015). "They Did It All for the Nookie: Decibel Explores the Rise and Fall of Nu-Metal". Decibel. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  20. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 335. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
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  22. ^ Sinclair, Tom (April 1, 1994). "Far Beyond Driven Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  23. ^ Evans, Paul (May 19, 1994). "Pantera: Far Beyond Driven : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  24. ^ Bienstock, Richard (June 21, 2017). "39: Pantera, Far Beyond Driven (1994)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  25. ^ SPIN Apr 1994
  26. ^ Grassi, Tony. "Photo Gallery: The Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1994". GuitarWorld.com. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  27. ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  28. ^ "DARIEN LAKE CONCERT FRAYS NERVES AGAIN BAND'S SINGER CHARGED WITH ASSAULT". Buffalo News. June 29, 1994. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  29. ^ "N.O. native, Pantera singer, arrested in guard's assault". The Advocate. October 26, 1994. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  30. ^ "Rock singer assault case ajourned for the third time". Buffalo News. October 26, 1994. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  31. ^ "The Scuttlebutt". Salt Lake Tribune. May 12, 1995. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  32. ^ "PANTERA SINGER CHANGES HIS TUNE". Grand Forks Herald. April 21, 1995. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  33. ^ "Far Beyond Driven 20th Anniversary Edition – back cover". Discogs. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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  39. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  40. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  41. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
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  43. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
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  45. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  46. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  47. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
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  51. ^ "Lista prodaje 38. tjedan 2024" (in Croatian). HDU. September 25, 2024. Archived from the original on September 25, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
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  53. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1994". austriancharts.at. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  54. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  55. ^ "Årslista Album (inkl samlingar), 1994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  56. ^ "1994 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-22. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  57. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  58. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven". Music Canada.
  59. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1995年12月 on the drop-down menu
  60. ^ "British album certifications – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven". British Phonographic Industry.
  61. ^ "American album certifications – Pantera – Far Beyond Driven". Recording Industry Association of America.
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