Pantera was a pretty controversial band in their time. Just taking a look at some of their album covers will confirm that.
They were super aggressive even for the Heavy Metal genre and they gave off a dangerous (and very sweaty) vibe.
But they also had a seriously devoted fanbase and people still talk about Dimebag Darrell and his guitar prowess after all these years, often hailing him as the greatest Heavy Metal guitarist.
In fact, something that I’ve come across on the web is that many people who try to play Pantera songs say that while they can learn the songs, they can never get it exactly like Dimebag could do it.
It could be the tone, the tricky time signatures, the harmonics, and squeals…
Or maybe it’s the tuning… Many players have pointed out that the band would actually tune down about one and quarter steps, which not everyone is able to do with the tuner that they have.
Well, some people are just uncopyable but that doesn’t mean that an average player can’t get close enough to do a decent cover.
Unfortunately, the legendary Dimebag was shot and killed while playing a concert with his post-Pantera band Damageplan in Columbus, Ohio.
But that loyal fanbase that the band had accumulated has laid some very helpful groundwork as far as how to master a lot of Pantera’s songs.
On a quick side note, as far as gear is concerned, you don’t need a Dimebag Darrell signature guitar.
But a locking tremolo system such as a Floyd Rose is pretty essential to the band’s sound if you’re trying to be exact.
As for the solos, they are usually brutal so I wouldn’t recommend trying them unless you’ve been playing for several years.
So if you’re ready to annoy your neighbors, crank up the distortion and try your hand at some of these songs!
1. We’ll Grind That Axe for a Long Time
This one is suitable for beginners as long as you can wrap your head around the timing of the riffs as the guitar’s time signature shifts throughout the song.
It’s really just two string power chords to worry about with your fretting hand although there are some unison bends later in the song as well.
(You need to tune your guitar down a full step to match the sound of the recording).
Part of what makes this one so easy is that the intro riff, which is F F# D# E D, is basically just shifted up a whole step for the beginning of the verse (with the D chord staying as is) so G G# F F# D.
So playing the second riff once and then repeating the first (intro) riff several times, you have most of the song already done!
You can watch the excellent video tutorial if you get stuck and to learn the other parts of the song.
But if this one gives you too much trouble then I’m afraid playing Pantera may not be in your future!
And here’s a lesson (this guy does tons of Pantera songs from easy to expert level):
2. Walk
Walk and Cowboys from Hell are two of the band’s most famous songs so either of the two can be learned from in-depth video tutorials.
But this one seems to be the easier of the two for me as most of the song is quite slow and the verse and the chorus are very close to each other.
Using D Standard tuning, this riff is just the open D string played, then fretted at the 1st fret D# but that note is pre-bent up close to an E note, then relaxed to let the note fall down to the actual D#.
This gives the song a really scary and nauseous sound and then you can start adding in the other chords which are implemented like this…
D (E) D# D A#
D (E) D# D G#
D (E) D# D C# (power chord with the root on the 5th string)
D D# D F D F# D F D D# (played very quickly)
Here is the Pre-Chorus.
C G# A
C G# F E D#
Outro: D D#add5b (6th string at 1st fret and 5th string at 2nd fret)
There are small variations but that’s basically the whole song!
And here’s a lesson:
3. Goddamn Electric
This is a tune that speeds up in several parts but most of the song is played at a pretty slow tempo for a Metal song.
As usual for the band, the tuning is about a whole step down.
With that in mind, all you need to pull off the main riff of the song is to chug an E5 power chord and then slide back and forth between D# and E several times before finishing on D#.
You will also be sliding up the fretboard on the 6th string a lot and adding a G# chord with some whammy bar action to spice things up.
So this is a perfect song to just focus on getting the trademark Pantera groove down.
There are a few pretty simple riffs and licks to learn to complete the song but those are best left to a good tab or the video linked below!
And here’s a lesson:
4. I’m Broken
5. 5 Minutes Alone
6. Sandblasted Skin
7. Becoming
Bonus!
If you want to master Dimebag’s harmonic squeals, check out this old footage with a quick lesson from the guy himself.
Hello there, my name is Ramiro and I’ve been playing guitar for almost 20 years. I’m obsessed with everything gear-related and I thought it might be worth sharing it. From guitars, pedals, amps, and synths to studio gear and production tips, I hope you find what I post here useful, and I’ll try my best to keep it entertaining also.
