PANTERA’s final record, 2000’s “Reinventing The Steel” arrived amidst the powerful wave of music that was known as nü-metal
In a recent talk with Gibson, PANTERA bassist Rex Brown explains why he thought the record suffered, having been the group’s only album (from “Cowboys From Hell” onward) to not sell 1 million copies in the United States.
“When that record came out it was the start of all these nü-metal bands coming on the scene,” said Brown. “Sometimes it’s all about timing. Did it come out at the right time? Did it get the push it needed? I think this one didn’t get a fair shake.”
Rex also made note that he couldn’t listen to the album for a long time, saying: “I couldn’t listen to it for a long time, because that was the last thing we did. So it was rough. Going back and listening to that record man, Goddamn…it’s a sledgehammer, man. Some people call it our weakest record. I disagree, I put it up there with Vulgar any day.”
“Reinventing The Steel” was the only album after “Cowboys From Hell” to be produced by Sterling Winfield instead of Terry Date. A 2020 reissue of the record however, would release a version remixed by Date.