DevilDriver promo May-2020

Entry Level: DevilDriver's Austin D'Amond Discovers Pantera

DevilDriver promo May-2020


Entry Level is a new series where musicians re-examine the records that piqued their interests in heavy and loud music as children and young adults.

The year was 1992 and I was only nine at the time. I remember distinctly what I was doing when I first heard Pantera. “This Love” was the song. Vulgar Display of Power was the album. It was a pretty typical Friday night and my dad was driving me to get pizza and wings. On the way there, we were listening to our local heavy metal station KNAC and the cryptic beginning of the song came on.

I remember being drawn in by the clean tones and singing. I was actually unsure about how I felt about it initially, but then… the chorus! It got heavy as hell and I couldn’t wait for it to circle back around for round 2! Little did I know, the bridge was going to show what the band was really about! Man! To this day, that bridge shreds souls and brings back the dead! Let’s not forget the perfectly told story of Dime’s lead (every lead that he’s ever done is horns-worthy)!

Needless to say, we bought the cassette tape later that week and proceeded to have our teeth punched in from front to back of what we all know as a metal masterpiece! Vulgar Display of Power changed my life. My walk, talk, and way of shred! Thank you forever, Pantera!

Austin D’Amond is the current DevilDriver drummer and previously drummed for Chimaira.


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