Pantera: Vulgar Video – Rude, Crude and Utterly Obnoxious
Written: Jun 07 '02 (Updated Jun 08 '02)
Product Rating:
Pros: An interesting glimpse into the life of Pantera.
Cons: Might be too hard-core for some.
The Bottom Line: Love ‘ em or hate ‘em, Pantera survived black tar heroin, internal creative differences and massive world tours … so the real question is - can you survive the video?
Freak369's Full Review: Vulgar Video by Pantera (Metal)
Pantera. One of the first names in thrash metal, one of the last true party bands. If you ever doubted their love of touring, women and cheap liquor - you needn’t look any farther than the 1993 video release of Vulgar Video to see the evidence. The interesting collection of highlights offers fans a somewhat realistic look at how the four bad boys from Texas leave their mark where they go – literally. In the past we’ve all heard the stories of the trashed hotel rooms, scantily clad women baring it all for a backstage pass and the managers that are left to clean up the mess. If you ever wanted to experience such events – this is just the thing to widen your eyes. Tuck the kids in, grab the microwave popcorn and get ready for sixty of the most intense minutes of your life.
Covering life on the road in the United States and selected footage from Russia, the somewhat candy coated presentation has the power to offend, but rarely takes complete advantage of the amount of possible shock power. You can only see a man shotgun a beer so many times before it loses its intended or desired effect on you, the viewer. As much as the band tries to come off as hard-core, it seems that at some points they are trying just a little too hard. That’s not to say that this isn’t a great video – because it is – but if they truly lived this type of lifestyle 24 hours a day, every day, then Pantera would have died a long time ago. Not to mention having all theirs name atop the UNOS [United Network for Organ Sharing] transplant waiting list.
What The Deal Phil?
It’s a painful fact of life, most video documentaries of rock bands only showcase the pretty boy lead singer. Not so on Vulgar Video, each of the band members shares the spotlight as well as the esteemed road crew and members of the inner circle that help make Pantera as extreme as they are. Dimebag takes you on a little video adventure through the cities and countries the band visits, Vinnie shows you the finer arts of breaking things and Rex, well Rex is his own unique animal. Sharing the spotlight are the outstanding road crew and members of management – the best sequence of the road crew are when the gold record awards are being handed out in the middle of the video. It just goes to further prove that for as outrageous as the members can get – they still take care of their own.
The Guests
Through out the video you’ll get the chance to see some of the bigger names in rock. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue fan shares the spotlight for a few minutes when he agrees to have his head shaved by Phil. A very intense scene to say the least. You’ll also get the chance to see Skid Row more than a few times as well as a version of the KISS classic Cold Gin. Riki Rachman, former host of Headbangers Ball, also shows his face [with lovely long locks nonetheless] to poke a little fun at the band. Make sure you check out the baseball game between Pantera and Skid Row – final score – Pantera 33, Skid Row 3. Keep your eyes peeled for other famous folks because you never know who is going to pop up on the screen – it’s a Pantera production so anything goes. Here are a few more famous names – just as a teaser – Gene Simmons, Dave Mustaine and Ace Frehley.
The Real Stars – The Fans
One thing you’ll notice about Pantera on this video is the fan interaction. There’s no ego, no attitude and certainly no typical rock star actions. Whether they are signing autographs, doing in store appearances or doin’ it “Lone Star State Style” with the fans – you can see their honest love and appreciation of the people who made them who they are. This is further explored when a fan is dragged from a concert by a security guard and Phil stops the show and orders the guard to bring him back or the show is over.
Lone Star State Style
Amid the music there is liquor. As I mentioned previously, this is not a video for the kids to be exposed to. There are numerous video segments of mass consumption of alcohol but the best is in the opening of the video. Lone Star State Style shows the bands talents of a darker nature – being able to consume a drink without closing your mouth or touching the glass or bottle – essentially gulping your liquid nutrients. Through the video you’ll see the band at various levels of intoxication so don’t go into this thinking they are little angels with glowing golden halos.
The Second Installment
Vulgar Video is the second in the home video series from the bad boys of Texas. The first film, released in 1991, is called Cowboys From Hell and offers you a look at the raw, untapped fury of a young budding band. The third in the series, released in 1997, is entitled 3 - Watch It Go and is even more offensive than the first two – something I didn’t think possible. Looking at the calendar on the wall it seems that they are due for another home video release in the near future.
Things To Know
Let’s face it, these guys are pretty ‘balls to the wall’ hard-core. If seeing a grown man puke, seeing more bare breasts than a chicken processing plant or massive consumption of alcoholic beverages offends you – then I am surprised that you made it this far into the review. Do I need to say that this is an adult film? OK, this is an adult film. While nothing on this video is groundbreaking it is an adult themed release so tuck the kids in before you press play. I’m not kidding – really – there is a reason it’s called Vulgar Video.
The three mainstream release videos on Vulgar Video [Mouth For War, This Love and Walk] were off the 1992 release Vulgar Display of Power. The concert footage tracks [Domination and Primal Concrete Sledge] were from the 1990 sleeper Cowboys From Hell.
Vulgar Video shouldn’t be confused with the similarly titled release Vulgar Videos From Hell which is a compilation of all three previously released video titles [Vulgar Video, Cowboys From Hell and Watch It Go]. A better value? Yes, but the hard core fans will want to have all three copies for the cover art and just to say “Yeah man, they rock and here’s the proof”. Plus, if someone wants to borrow one of them you don’t have to sweat it out until they return it – with the tri packaging you’ll surely go through Pantera night sweats.
A majority of the audio on this video production is top notch – the exception is the Skid Row / Pantera Cold Gin song. I’m pretty sure that this footage was taken from a fans home video or at least from something less than professional than what the rest of the video was shot with. There are some parts you’ll need to play back a few times to understand what exactly is being said but trust me – it’s well worth the wear on your VCR.
The Bottom Line
If you are die-hard fan of Pantera then this needs to be in your video library. But hold your horses there partner – an even sweeter deal would be to pick up the DVD of Vulgar Videos From Hell which has about four times the amount of coverage for a few dollars more. Being that this is on VHS, you are going to have the usual pitfalls – less than picture perfect imaging after repeated viewings, audio portions that are unclear and the eventual hungry VCR deck that will start to snack on the tape. Heed my warning, it will happen so invest in the DVD version if you anticipate repeated viewings.
The Stats
Release Date: November 16, 1993
Rating: Unrated
[Sexual situations, drug use,
excessive consumption of liquor, language, nudity]
Run Time 60 minutes
Distributed By: Elektra / Time Warner
UPC: VHS 085365-03453-2
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