10 Best Hard Rock Drummers Of The '90s
3. Vinnie Paul - Pantera
The beginning of the '90s seems like a dark time for metal in retrospect. While the thrash scene was finally coming up from the underground on the strength of Metallica and Megadeth, hair metal had died off and most of the other heavy bands were left by the wayside once grunge took over.
Despite Kurt Cobain's obvious death knell to heavy music, Pantera put a completely different spin on what constituted heaviness.
Whenever you throw on a Pantera record, most fans tend to gravitate towards the muscley riffs of Dimebag Darrell...and rightfully so. Dime was a one of a kind musical force, but there was something special about the way his brother held everything together. Ever since the group's glam metal days, Vinnie Paul was always a force to be reckoned with, which came out in spades once they made the transition to the heavier side of music.
Rather than the Van Halen wannabes you saw on the first releases, records like Cowboys from Hell and Vulgar Display of Power married the unholy thrashiness of Metallica to the bluesy swing of ZZ Top.
Despite being as heavy as Slayer, these rhythms were still infectious enough to get you moving even if you weren't a fan of metal. Rest easy Vin...it's been an honor headbanging to your beats for all these years.