10 Greatest Final Rock Music Albums Of The 2000s
3. Reinventing The Steel - Pantera
Just three months into the new millennium, groove metal titans Pantera released what would ultimately become their parting gift.
Reinventing the Steel was the band holding up a mirror to themselves, reflecting on their fame and influence and what it had done to them and the wider rock landscape. The final track, I'll Cast a Shadow, is about their influence on heavy metal, which is an incredibly meta way of saying goodbye.
Plans for any future Pantera projects were wrecked when, in 2004, guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed whilst playing a gig. In 2018, Dimebag's brother and Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul died of a heart condition, further reducing the chances of the band getting back together.
Though they didn't intend it to be at the time, Pantera had inadvertently created the perfect premise for a farewell. Recording a definitive look back at your own career is something few bands have ever done, with even fewer doing it with as much aplomb as the Cowboys from Hell.
It may be tinged with sadness, but Reinventing the Steel is still a fascinating offering from one of the best groups to ever grace a stage.