PANTERA's final opus, "Reinventing The Steel", represented a recommitment to everything the band loved about heavy metal. Released in 2000 at the peak of nu-metal's popularity, the album's back-to-basics approach flew in the face of the trend and served as a potent reminder of the enduring power of primal metal. PANTERA's swan song turns 20 this year and Rhino will celebrate with two new versions that feature an unreleased mix of the album by longtime producer Terry Date.
The first is "Reinventing The Steel: 20th Anniversary Edition", a three-CD set that includes a newly remastered version of the original album and a selection of rarities. A major highlight is the new mix by Terry Date, the legendary producer who was behind the console for the band's previous four landmark albums: "Cowboys From Hell" (1990), "Vulgar Display Of Power" (1992), "Far Beyond Driven" (1994) and "The Great Southern Trendkill" (1996). The set will be released on October 30 and will also be available through digital and streaming services. Three of Date's new mixes ("Revolution Is My Name", "Death Rattle", and "We'll Grind That Axe For A Long Time") are available today digitally. Listen below.
"Reinventing The Steel: 20th Anniversary Edition" will also be released as a double-LP set on silver vinyl that features the new Terry Date mix on one album, plus eight rare bonus tracks making their vinyl debut on the other. Limited to 5,000 copies, the 180-gram audiophile vinyl collection comes in an embossed, foil jacket and will be available on January 8.
Philip Anselmo, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Rex Brown and Vinnie Paul Abbott had already earned a No. 1 album and several Grammy nominations by the time PANTERA began recording "Reinventing The Steel" in 1999. The album would prove to be a celebration of the skull-rattling strain of metal the quartet had cultivated through the years with songs like "We'll Grind That Axe For A Long Time", "Goddamn Electric" and "I'll Cast A Shadow". Certified gold and embraced by fans and critics alike, the album would unexpectedly become the band's last.
The three-CD and digital versions open with an unreleased mix of the album by Terry Date, who had been helping PANTERA perfect its piledriving sound since 1990. Date — who likes Sterling Winfield's original mix of the album — says he was initially apprehensive about remixing "Reinventing The Steel" for this reissue. Eventually, he agreed knowing that diehard fans would be curious to hear his take on the album. He says: "I'm just trying to remember what we used to do as I'm going through this stuff. But the riffs and performances are strong. It's just classic PANTERA."
The CD and digital collections also include a newly remastered version of the original album, which was co-produced by Darrell, Vinnie and Winfield. It's joined by radio edits for singles ("Revolution Is My Name", "Goddamn Electric"); covers (BLACK SABBATH's "Electric Funeral" and "Hole In The Sky", Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever"); soundtrack contributions ("Avoid The Light", "Immortally Insane"); and previously unreleased instrumental rough mixes for every album track.