12 Greatest Hard Rock Frontmen Of The '90s

For as intense as a band like Pantera seems nowadays, they were not gelling when they started in the mid 80's. Still trying to ride the coattails of the hair metal movement, the music never did fit the right way with vocalist Terry Glaze at the front. Once the band moved on to Louisiana's Phil Anselmo, the metal world got one of their most seasoned hardasses.

As soon as the 90's got underway, the band had found their groove on Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power. Though Dimebag Darrell's riffs stood out from the very beginning, Anselmo's growl was the real gamechanger in the band. As opposed to the typical metal shriekers, Anselmo's hard-edged delivery fit somewhere between extreme metal and the classic hard rock sound. Take a song like "Walk," for instance. The actual vocal range is not that complex, but Anselmo's grit is so forceful that it feels like it's about to grab you by the throat.

In a live setting, Anselmo's attitude sometimes became more out of control, as he commanded the audience to lose their minds whenever he could. Most singers just use the stage to showcase their vocal prowess, but Phil Anselmo showed the metal world how to turn a song into a primal unleashing of emotion.