Pantera The Great Southern Trendkill 25 (Cotton Rag XL Variant)

By the time they set out to make Trendkill in late ’95, Pantera were one of the lone remaining thrash-era metal acts that were still selling a lot of records (1994’s Far Beyond Driven debuted at Number One on the Billboard album chart). More crucially, they were one of the only ones doing so without diluting their sound. In fact, while Pantera were growing more successful by getting heavier with each record, most of Pantera’s peers had hit steep career drop-offs and were struggling to remain visible. Perhaps it’s understandable that they felt like the world was closing in on them.