5 Bands Who Drastically Changed Their Sound
3. Pantera
It's rather humorous to see where Pantera started, knowing where they ended. The band started in the early 80s as a Glam Metal outfit, wearing colorful clothes and having larger than life hair. They called themselves Gemini and lead guitarist Dimebag Darrell went by Diamond Darrell. They had songs like Ride My Rocket and Tell Me if you Want it. They would change their name to Pantera before their first album in 1983, Metal Magic.
It wasn't until they found Phil Anselmo that they decided to change their sound, but not to the Pantera sound most know today. No, their 1988 release Power Metal was very much a product of the time, with obvious influence from the likes of Judas Priest, Dio, Slayer, and many other titans of the time.
The tidal shift in music happening at the time (see: Nirvana) forced change on the band. Diamond Darrell changed his name to Dimebag Darrell and the band started writing even heavier music than what was on Power Metal. The end result would be the 1990 release Cowboys From Hell. There was no turning back after that.