Pantera

Pantera is an American groove metal band formed in 1981 in Arlington, Texas by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell. The word pantera means panther in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, and the band certainly takes its name from the Spanish word. The band had a major influence on the development of modern metal music as the founders of the groove metal style, and their music fundamentally changed the face of heavy metal.

Pantera is widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential bands in the history of heavy metal, and in the 1990s they were often credited with the role that Black Sabbath and Metallica played in the 70s and 80s respectively. After the addition of singer Phil Anselmo, Pantera albums released in the 1990s all went platinum in the US and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. After 1998, the band became increasingly divided and split up in 2003. On 8 December 2004, guitarist Dimebag Darrell, a prominent talent, was shot and killed on stage during a concert of his band Damageplan. His brother, Vinnie Paul, died on 22 June 2018 in Las Vegas.