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The Great Southern Trendkill
Studio album by Pantera
Released	May 7, 1996 (1996-05-07)
Recorded	October 1995 – February 1996
Studio	Chasin' Jason Studios in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, U.S. Nothing Studios in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genre	Groove metal
Length	53:05
Label	Elektra East West
Producer	Terry Date
Pantera chronology
Far Beyond Driven (1994) The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) The Singles 1991–1996 (1996)
Pantera studio album chronology
Far Beyond Driven (1994) The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) Reinventing the Steel (2000)
Singles from The Great Southern Trendkill
"Drag the Waters" Released: 1996 "Suicide Note" Released: 1996 "Floods" Released: 1996

The Great Southern Trendkill is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on May 7, 1996, through Elektra Records and East West Records. It reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed on the chart for 16 weeks. During the album's production, Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals alone at Trent Reznor's Nothing Studios in New Orleans, while Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown, and Vinnie Paul recorded the music at Chasin Jason Studios in Dalworthington Gardens. This would be Pantera's last studio album to be produced by Terry Date, who had worked with the band since Cowboys from Hell (1990).

Content

"Floods", the album's longest song, contains a guitar solo considered by many to be Dimebag Darrell's finest. Guitar World magazine voted it as the 32nd greatest guitar solo of all-time, Darrell's highest ranking of three solos to make the list (the other two being his solos from "Cemetery Gates", ranked 35th, and "Walk", ranked 57th).

"10's" appears in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan.

The album is available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band, with the exception of "Suicide Note Pt. I".

Music and lyrics

Considered Pantera's most aggressive album, the album features elements of thrash metal and death metal, but is mostly considered a groove metal album overall. The Great Southern Trendkill is known for featuring much screaming, most notably on "Suicide Note Pt. II" and "The Great Southern Trendkill" while also featuring some of the fastest tempos and most down-tuned guitars: "The Underground in America" and "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin", in particular, were played in A=425 Hz standard D tuning, with the 6th string tuned to a low G. It also has a more experimental nature, such as the acoustic guitars and ballads.

Unlike Pantera's first three major label albums, the vocals are often double-tracked and layered to create a more "demonic" effect. An example of this can be heard in the chorus of "13 Steps to Nowhere", when Phil Anselmo's singing voice is backed up by high-pitched screaming, done by Seth Putnam of the band Anal Cunt. Screams done by Anselmo on the song "The Great Southern Trendkill" were compared to Putnam.

The lyrical themes on The Great Southern Trendkill include drugs, a flood that ends mankind, finding deeper meaning, anger, and the media.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Artistdirect
BBC Music	favorable
Chronicles of Chaos	9/10
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	9/10
Entertainment Weekly	C+
Los Angeles Times
Rolling Stone
Pitchfork	7.7/10

The Great Southern Trendkill received mixed to positive reviews from music critics upon release and was more polarizing than Pantera's previous albums. Steve Huey of AllMusic gave it a score of 3 out of 5 stars and stated, "Longtime Pantera fans will find plenty to enjoy here, and the band's expanding range bodes well, but overall, Trendkill is an inconsistent outing."

In retrospective analysis, the album has often been looked on more favorably, being noted as their heaviest and most aggressive work. In a retrospective review for Pitchfork, Saby Reyes-Kulkarni awarded it a score of 7.7/10 and summarized their review by saying "Intended as a rallying cry against shifting trends, Pantera's most abrasive album comes off more like a cry for help that reveals the turmoil eating the band from within. It's also thrilling." In 2024, Jon Wiederhorn of Loudwire stated "The Great Southern Trendkill writhes and rails with desperation and self-loathing and roars with a new reservoir of aggression and intensity, making it the heaviest album Pantera ever released." In 2019, Kerrang! ranked it as the best Pantera album.

Reissue

On August 12, 2016, Pantera announced the release of a 20th anniversary edition of The Great Southern Trendkill for October 21. The reissue features two discs, including a remastered version of the original album as well as 12 unreleased tracks (these include instrumentals, as well as alternative mixes and live recordings from the Dynamo Festival in 1998). In addition, a separate LP named The Great Southern Outtakes was released. It consists of songs also released on disc 2 of Trendkill's reissue except for the intro and early mix of "Suicide Note Part l".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Pantera

Personnel

Pantera

• Phil Anselmo – lead vocals, backing vocals
• Dimebag Darrell – guitars, backing vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar on "Suicide Note Pt. I"
• Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals
• Vinnie Paul – drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Seth Putnam – additional vocals on "The Great Southern Trendkill", "War Nerve", "13 Steps to Nowhere", and "Suicide Note Pt. II"
• Ross Karpelman – keyboards on "Suicide Note Pt. I" and "Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)"

Technical personnel

• Pantera – production
• Terry Date – production, recording, mixing
• Vinnie Paul – recording, mixing
• Ulrich Wild – recording

Charts

Certifications

References

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• 1996 albums
• Albums produced by Terry Date
• East West Records albums
• Pantera albums