Artist: Pantera
Album: Far Beyond Driven
Year: 1994
Chronological position: Seventh, though I'm sure they wish it was their third
Genre: Groove metal
Expectations before listening: I don't know, something mediocre, perhaps

"Briks, you're increasing my blood pressure," you say. "Groove metal is not a fusion genre". What do you mean, is it not a fusion between groove and metal? Oh, well. The only reason we're using the fusion tag at all, is because we needed a place to dump nu, goth, groove, folk, prog and every other subgenre/fusion genre that doesn't deserve it's own chunk because it's either:

• Said to be crap (nu metal)
  
• Not large or important enough to take up 1/6th of this section

Anyway, my opinion on this album... I'd heard Cowboys from Hell and A Vulgar Display of Power already, and now I've heard this. I don't even know how to properly rank the albums, because they sound too similar to me, and I feel no need to concentrate on hearing them again. That's because I think Pantera is a bit bland. This album sounds, to me, exactly like A Vulgar Display of Power, maybe just a bit louder. But if you're reading this before hearing the album, keep in mind that I've only heard it in its entirety once, and that the same goes for the two preceding it, so feel free to judge my right to judge.

3/5