Of the bands known for having two distinct acts — playing one kind of music early in their career before drastically changing styles — Pantera is an odd duck. We think of the Texan quartet as the groove pioneers who saved American metal by adding sexy rhythms and untold heaviness to thrash. But the truth is, Pantera were a pretty standard glam metal act with NWOBHM shred tendencies before they finally found their unique Southern style. As such, it’s easy to think of them as two different bands — Pantera Before, and Pantera After. In the spirit of fairness, we decided to rank Pantera’s entire discography, poofy hair and all. What we found was surprising: when they’re all listened to with a fair ear, some of t...
