Far Beyond Driven

{{Over-quotation|date=December 2022|section}}

In 1992, Pantera released their breakthrough album, Vulgar Display of Power. Despite the success of the album, the band would begin to experience turmoil in the two years following its release. Vocalist Phil Anselmo was injured with ruptured discs in his back and was suffering from chronic pain from degenerative disc disease.[http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=125509 "PHILIP ANSELMO Opens Up About His Heroin Addiction, PANTERA's Breakup"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822115318/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=125509 |date=2009-08-22 }}. Blabbermouth. August 19, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2010. Anselmo began drinking heavily, abusing painkillers and muscle relaxants, and using heroin to alleviate the pain.{{cite web|last1=Spera|first1=Keith|title=Phil Anselmo battled back from drugs and surgery to rock as hard as ever|url=http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2011/01/phil_anselmo.html|website=NOLA.com|date=January 25, 2011 |access-date=July 9, 2017}} Anselmo also begin to experience lower back pain, saying, "I think this is one of the first times in my life, man, that I had this thing called 'vulnerability' kick in, and that was a very uncomfortable feeling."{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-im-broken-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Shares Vulnerability While Recalling Pantera's 'I'm Broken' – Exclusive Video|magazine=Loudwire|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 25, 2014}}

The band tuned lower on the album than on previous efforts, with many songs going as low as C# standard. Unlike the bands previous major label albums, many of the songs, such as "5 Minutes Alone", feature double-tracked and layered vocals from singer Phil Anselmo. Several lyrical topics appear on Far Beyond Driven. The track "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" seems to be a reference to the song "Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine" on the Ted Nugent album Weekend Warriors.{{Original research inline|date=November 2024}} Anselmo spoke about the track, saying:

{{blockquote|"The lyrical content was me probably giving a nod to my fascination at the time with Nick Cave's Birthday Party. Nick Cave was a genius. I will say the lyrics [on 'Good Friends'] tell a true story. I made a lot of mistakes as a youngster, and to reveal to this particular person who it was about, why it was about, what happened that particular night, would not be very kosher. I can't do it. To this day, I won't do it. It would just be in bad taste. At this point, I don't think that person would want five minutes alone with me, unless we have a sip of white wine."}}

Pantera's bassist Rex Brown spoke about "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" saying:

{{blockquote|"It was just kind of fucking around – Vinnie had a drumbeat, Dime was just fucking around with that pedal, and I had the five-string bass. ... We listened to it and at first, we went, 'What the fuck is that?' Then when Phil put the vocals on it, it just blew everybody's fucking minds. I don't know what the fuck he was thinking with the lyrics."}}

Phil Anselmo talked about the song "Strength Beyond Strength", saying:

{{Blockquote|text="I was a rambunctious child. None of it is regrettable, lyrically. You can look back at your lyrics and snicker. I'll always do, whether I'm embarrassed over it, or whether I'm embarrassed over it, or whether I'm embarrassed over it. You can tell growing spurts and pains and where you were in life, so I don't know. Strength fucking Beyond Strength is the old puffin' the chest up, 'look at us now,' we're as cute as [we're] fucking extreme."{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-strength-beyond-strength-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Reflects on Pantera's 'Strength Beyond Strength' – Exclusive Video|magazine=Loudwire|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 24, 2014}}}}

Speaking about the song "5 Minutes Alone", drummer Vinnie Paul said:

{{blockquote|"The story behind this song is we were opening for Megadeth, and there was a guy that was flipping us off the whole show and so we stopped the show. And I was like, 'Listen, in case you haven't noticed there's 18,000 people who really dig what we're doing. You're the only one doing that stupid shit without even having to egg the crowd on.' Ten guys just jumped the guy and beat the shit out of him. His dad called the manager after all the lawsuits and this and that, and basically said, 'Give me five minutes with that Phil Anselmo guy. I want to whup his ass.'"{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pantera-look-back-at-20-years-of-far-beyond-driven-20140327|title=Pantera Look Back at 20 Years of 'Far Beyond Driven'|magazine=Rolling Stone|author=Kory Grow|date=March 27, 2014}}}}

Anselmo explained the meaning behind the song "Becoming", saying:

{{Blockquote|text="The most popular heavy metal bands in the world at that time were, in my estimate and definitely all of our estimates, playing the game. ... They had reached this pinnacle; now they were kind of tapering off and writing more commercial stuff, whereas we realized our strong point, once again, was sticking to heavy metal and making it as heavy as our style would allow. Therefore, with 'Becoming,' it is what it says. We were becoming. Honestly, we had arrived."{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-becoming-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Explains the Meaning Behind Pantera's 'Becoming' – Exclusive Video|magazine=Loudwire|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 24, 2014}}}}

Anselmo talks about the meaning behind the song "Shedding Skin" saying, "'Shedding Skin' was about me being in my 20s and any girlfriend, lady-friend of mine trying to tie me down at that age, at that particular time," begins Anselmo. "Basically, 'lay off, right now.' A relationship with me? A serious relationship with me at that age? Forget it, fuck off. Really, it's impossible."{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-panteras-shedding-skin-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Talks Pantera's 'Shedding Skin' + Rejecting Serious Relationships – Exclusive Video|magazine=Loudwire|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 27, 2014}}

Anselmo talked about the song "Slaughtered" saying "I've always had a distorted view of organized religion and I was never more confused than when I was in my 20s and whatnot," Anselmo says about 'Slaughtered.' "And still I like to use a fusion, if you will, of religions and fuck with them, so to speak. And then tear them down and piss all over them or build them up only to tip over."{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-use-my-third-arm-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Tears Down Religion Recalling Pantera's 'Slaughtered' – Exclusive Video|magazine=Loudwire|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 26, 2014}}

Anselmo spoke about the song "Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks", saying "I think it was a foreshadowing of the fear that I felt of not being the same. ... I know for a fact, I guess, that I dabbled in pain pills and stuff like that because I was miserable, and that's always a friggin' dead end, dead road, a terrible path to take. But at the time, I didn't have any other answers."{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-hard-lines-sunken-cheeks-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Talks Past Drug Use + Pantera's 'Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks' – Exclusive Video|magazine=Loudwire|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 26, 2014}}

The song "25 Years" is about Phil Anselmo's father. Anselmo would later cover the topic, saying:

{{Blockquote|text="'25 Years' was written about my father. At the time [I] had a gigantic falling-out with him and I resented the fuck out of him and wrote a beautiful song about it. It was a time capsule of how far he and I had not come, and I think a lot of fans could relate with the dysfunctional family vibe. I think I put in some pretty clever wording here and there, and it might be that wording that they had been searching for themselves for quite a while when it comes to anger."{{cite magazine |author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann |date=March 27, 2014 |title=Philip Anselmo Talks Falling-Out With Father + Pantera's '25 Years' – Exclusive Video |url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-25-years-exclusive/ |magazine=Loudwire}}}}

In the liner notes of the album, all the songs' lyrics are printed apart from the cover of "Planet Caravan". The liner note reads:

{{blockquote|"This is a Black Sabbath song off of the Paranoid album. So don't freak out on us. We did the song because we wanted to. It has nothing to do with the integrity of our direction. It's a tripped out song. We think you'll dig it. If you don't, don't fucking listen to it. Thanks. On behalf of the rest of Pantera, Phil Anselmo '94."}}

The original album cover shows a drill going into someone's anus, but the record label rejected it, worrying it would harm sales and would be rejected by stores like Walmart and Target. The band then changed it to a drill put in the frontal lobe of a human skull.{{cite web |url=https://loudwire.com/cover-stories-pantera-far-beyond-driven/ |title=Cover Stories: Pantera, 'Far Beyond Driven' |work=Loudwire |last=Stafford |first=James |date=September 17, 2015 |access-date=May 6, 2020}}

At midnight on March 22, 1994, Pantera launched the release of Far Beyond Driven with an extensive record store campaign. They traveled to 12 cities in almost five days with MTV documenting their progress. Band members signed autographs, met fans, and promoted the album. The band released "I'm Broken" as the album's first single, which reached #19 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's highest-charting single worldwide. The LP also contained the first cover song on one of their major-label releases—Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" which served as the album's closing track and reached #21 on Billboard{{'}}s Mainstream Rock Tracks and #26 on the UK Singles Chart. By March, the LP had sold over 185,000 copies and had reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts and Australian charts upon release. It remained on the Billboard 200 for 29 weeks.[http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Pantera.aspx "Pantera Facts, information, pictures"]. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 29, 2011. Shane Mehling of Decibel, commenting on Far Beyond Driven topping the Billboard 200 chart, called it "the first extreme metal record to reach that level of popularity and, in maybe a more perfect world, would have opened the doors for other extreme bands to gain a foothold."{{cite web |last1=Mehling |first1=Shane |title=They Did It All for the Nookie: Decibel Explores the Rise and Fall of Nu-Metal |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2015/08/13/they-did-it-all-for-the-nookie-decibel-explores-the-rise-and-fall-of-nu-metal/ |website=Decibel |access-date=August 26, 2024 |date=August 13, 2015}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}Rivadavia, Eduardo. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/far-beyond-driven-mw0000623560 "Far Beyond Driven – Pantera"]. AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2011.

| rev2 = Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal

| rev2score = 10/10{{cite book |last1=Popoff |first1=Martin |author-link1=Martin Popoff |title=The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties |publisher=Collector's Guide Publishing |year=2007 |location=Burlington, Ontario, Canada |isbn=978-1-894959-62-9 |page=335}}

|rev3 = NME

|rev3Score = 7/10{{cite journal|title=Pantera: Far Beyond Driven|journal=NME|date=April 2, 1994|page=44}}

| rev4 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev4score = B+{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/04/01/far-beyond-driven/|title=Far Beyond Driven Review|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|first=Tom|last=Sinclair|date=April 1, 1994|access-date=August 13, 2012|archive-date=April 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421091059/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,301637,00.html|url-status=live}}

| rev5 = Rolling Stone

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}Evans, Paul (May 19, 1994). [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725143220/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pantera/albums/album/205134/review/5943057/far_beyond_driven "Pantera: Far Beyond Driven : Music Reviews"]. Rolling Stone. Archived from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013141320/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pantera/albums/album/205134/review/5943057/far_beyond_driven original] on July 25, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2011.

}}

The album received positive reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars. Rolling Stone would eventually rank Far Beyond Driven #39 on their list "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".{{cite magazine |last1=Bienstock |first1=Richard |title=39: Pantera, Far Beyond Driven (1994) |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-100-greatest-metal-albums-of-all-time-113614/pantera-far-beyond-driven-1994-3-195056/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 21, 2017 |access-date=November 25, 2018}} Spin wrote in April 1994 that the "quartet has successfully transformed itself into a cross between the older, faster Metallica and today's Rollins Band", adding that "at times, Phil Anselmo is every bit as charismatic as Henry Rollins."[https://books.google.com/books?id=yLwsk0pC50gC&dq=%22pantera%22+%22metallica%22+%22rollins+band%22&pg=PA92 SPIN Apr 1994] AllMusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia had a more negative take on the album, stating "Far Beyond Driven may have been Pantera's fastest selling album upon release, but it's hardly their best. In fact, although it shot straight to the number one spot on the Billboard sales chart in its first week (arguably the most extreme album ever to do so), this incredible feat doesn't so much reflect its own qualities as those of its predecessor, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power."

In November 2011, Far Beyond Driven was ranked number six on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/readers-poll-results-top-10-guitar-albums-1994|title=Photo Gallery: The Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1994|author=Grassi, Tony|magazine=GuitarWorld.com|access-date=November 8, 2011}} The album was also ranked at number twenty in Guitar World{{'}}s "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994|title=Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994|date=July 14, 2014|work=GuitarWorld.com|access-date=July 14, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715053900/http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994|archive-date=July 15, 2014}}

On March 24, 2014, a two-disc deluxe edition of Far Beyond Driven was released to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Disc one is a remastered version of the original album. Disc two is a live album featuring Pantera's set at the 1994 Monsters of Rock Festival.

Pantera toured South America, and were accepted into another "Monsters of Rock" billing. At that festival on June 4, 1994, the Abbott brothers got into a scuffle with journalists from the music magazine Kerrang! over unflattering cartoon depictions of drummer Vinnie Paul. Then in late June, Anselmo was charged with assault for hitting a security guard after he prevented fans from getting on stage, Anselmo was released on $5,000 bail the next day.{{cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/BN/lib00142,0EAF97EAAE9DA721.html|title=DARIEN LAKE CONCERT FRAYS NERVES AGAIN BAND'S SINGER CHARGED WITH ASSAULT|newspaper=Buffalo News|date=June 29, 1994|access-date=April 6, 2008}}{{cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/AD/lib00241,0EB47798D28863CB.html|title=N.O. native, Pantera singer, arrested in guard's assault|newspaper=The Advocate|date=October 26, 1994 |access-date = April 6, 2008}} The trial was delayed three times.{{cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/BN/lib00142,0EAF9825A7209AA9.html|title=Rock singer assault case ajourned for the third time|newspaper=Buffalo News|date=October 26, 1994 |access-date = April 6, 2008}} In May 1995, he apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.{{cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/SLTB/lib00826,1010DE6F85D7B491.html|title=The Scuttlebutt|newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune|date=May 12, 1995|access-date=April 6, 2008}}{{cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/GF/lib00128,0EB6EA90E5CEB00C.html|title=PANTERA SINGER CHANGES HIS TUNE|newspaper=Grand Forks Herald|date=April 21, 1995 |access-date = April 6, 2008}} Pantera continued their tour of the United Kingdom and eventually the United States in mid to late 1994, where the band was opened for by fellow heavy metal bands Sepultura and Prong. The tour of Far Beyond Driven also took Pantera to Australia and New Zealand for the first time in November–December 1994. The tour ended in March of 1995 with another run through the United States, this time with Type O Negative opening.

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown except where noted

| title1 = Strength Beyond Strength

| length1 = 3:38

| title2 = Becoming

| length2 = 3:05

| title3 = 5 Minutes Alone

| length3 = 5:47

| title4 = I'm Broken

| length4 = 4:24

| title5 = Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills

| length5 = 2:52

| title6 = Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks

| length6 = 7:01

| title7 = Slaughtered

| length7 = 3:56

| title8 = 25 Years

| length8 = 6:05

| title9 = Shedding Skin

| length9 = 5:36

| title10 = Use My Third Arm

| length10 = 4:51

| title11 = Throes of Rejection

| length11 = 5:01

| title12 = Planet Caravan

| writer12 = {{flatlist|

• Geezer Butler
• Tony Iommi
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Bill Ward

}}

| note12 = Black Sabbath cover

| length12 = 4:03

| total_length = 56:19

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japanese edition bonus track

| title13 = The Badge

| note13 = Poison Idea cover

| length13 = 3:55

| writer13 = Jerry A

| total_length = 60:14

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 20th anniversary edition bonus disc – Live from Donington '94{{Cite web|title=Far Beyond Driven 20th Anniversary Edition – back cover|url=https://img.discogs.com/qEBS_8BZUrFTeXiDHePWOtn0ctw=/fit-in/600x467/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-8993688-1472927036-5487.jpeg.jpg|access-date=January 9, 2022|website=Discogs}}

| title1 = Use My Third Arm

| length1 = 4:04

| title2 = Walk

| length2 = 5:15

| title3 = Strength Beyond Strength

| length3 = 4:01

| title4 = Domination / Hollow

| length4 = 6:54

| title5 = Slaughtered

| length5 = 3:57

| title6 = Fucking Hostile

| length6 = 2:57

| title7 = This Love

| length7 = 7:16

| title8 = Mouth for War

| length8 = 4:01

| title9 = Cowboys from Hell

| length9 = 4:49

}}

Pantera

• Phil Anselmo – vocals
• Dimebag Darrell – guitars
• Rex Brown – bass
• Vinnie Paul – drums, congas in "Planet Caravan"

Production

• Terry Date – production, engineering, mixing
• Vinnie Paul – production, engineering, mixing
• Pantera – co-production, arranging
• Ted Jensen – mastering

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Australia|artist=Pantera|title=Far Beyond Driver|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=1994}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Canada|artist=Pantera|title=Far Beyond Driver|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=1995}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Japan|artist=Pantera|title=Far Beyond Driver|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=1995|certref={{cite web |url=https://www.backstageauctions.com/catphotos/editorfiles/The%20Rock%20Gods%20n%20Metal%20Monsters%20Digital%20Catalog.pdf|date=May 17, 2025|title=The Rock Gods 'n Metal Monsters Auction 1121 (Japanese Platinum Award) from Pantera 'Far Beyond Driver'|page=9}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Pantera|title=Far Beyond Driver|award=Gold|relyear=1994|certyear=2004|id=2222-2238-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|award=Platinum|title=Far Beyond Driven|artist=Pantera|salesamount=1,530,000|salesref={{Cite web |last=Blabbermouth |date=2014-04-02 |title=PANTERA: 'Far Beyond Driven: 20th Anniversary Edition' First-Week Sales Revealed |url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/pantera-far-beyond-driven-20th-anniversary-edition-first-week-sales-revealed/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=BLABBERMOUTH.NET |language=en}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Pantera}}

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Category:1994 albums

Category:Albums produced by Terry Date

Category:East West Records albums

Category:Pantera albums