This weekend, the world lost Vincent Paul Abbott, better known as "Vinnie Paul." A friend to the heavy metal world, entrepreneur, pioneer, and legendary drummer of Pantera, Damage Plan, Rebel Meets Rebel, and Hellyeah – his legacy will never be forgotten, as the effects of his playing continue to shift metal as we know it.
He was one of the most welcoming heroes I've been fortunate to meet over the years, but like many reading this, I began my journey as a Vinnie Paul fan in the early 90s with his iconic band, Pantera. Watching them tear the stage up countless times, I was always fixated on his approach to performing with such versatility in a near-constant aggressive band. Vinnie Paul's creative phrasing and never ending diversity became a driving force that shook the foundation of metal drumming, and forever inspired younger skinsmen like myself to take a completely new perspective.
As we mourn the loss of such an iconic drummer, let's take a look back at a few of the moments that made him such a bad ass musician.
Pantera – "Primal Concrete Sledge"
Pantera was a driving force no one saw coming in 1990 with the release of Cowboys From Hell. It would not only change music, but the intensity in which instruments were played. It's impossible to even talk about this album without a mention of "Primal Concrete Sledge" a song that serves as testament to what makes Vinnie such a great drummer in the first place. From his tribal hand approach above a bed of double kicks, his drum parts on this song stand out in such a memorable way, and continue on to apex at 1:27 with a ride and kick pattern so juicy, it became the Vinnie Paul beat to practice, play, and soundcheck with.
Pantera – "Becoming"
I spent nearly a year running home from school to jump on a drum set to try and learn the double bass part from “Becoming”. In an album filled with Pantera bests, this is one where Vinnie's fancy footwork really shines on a level of its own. Personally speaking, I always thought his creative double kick patterns not only made him the influential drummer he was, but played an essential role in escalating Pantera into the legends they became.
Pantera – "Slaughtered"
I’ve said it many times, but brothers in bands have this rhythmic bond you just don’t find anywhere else, and Pantera were simply the kings. "Slaughtered" was a prime example of the unmistakable lock between the Abbott brothers, and raised the bar in metal across the board. Aside from the crushing grooves through out the song, the track goes into overdrive at the interlude where Vinnie goes unhinged with a ghost note pattern (2:09 mark) that still gives metal drummers the goose bumps today. Showing that double kicks aren’t always needed to be a crushing drummer, but a little creativity goes a very long way.
Pantera – "13 Steps To Nowhere"
Once again, Vinnie Paul takes something not very metal, in this case a shuffle pattern, and builds an iconic groove so heavy and infectious, that metal bands around the world began scrambling to listen to other genres for inspiration. As if you needed another reason to respect his playing, he always wrote with an open mind. In fact, Vinnie Paul was the very first metal musician I ever heard talk about a brand new band called Nine Inch Nails way back in the early 90's. Even then he had the foresight to hear something cool before it ever was.
Pantera – "You’ve Got To Belong To It"
It’s absolutely mind blowing how many sounds are being created by just the drums and guitar alone in the main verse. Go ahead, dissect the Abbott’s parts, and you’ll have your work cut out for you. Being both technical and creative while sacrificing none of the groove, does anyone ever doubt why they were one of the greatest metal bands in history?
HellYeah – "Waging War"
Although his post-Pantera work continues to be a polarizing topic, you’d be mistaken to assume he took an easier approach when working with super group band, Hell Yeah. The track “Waging War” for instance was one where you can find the classic Vinnie intensity and creativity you might find on something like Pantera's "Fucking Hostile", but allowed him the freedom to play fills as if they were mini drum solos, mid groove. It showed a variation of Vinnie’s playing we never really heard in Pantera.
HellYeah – "Say When"
"Say When" was a blistering track found on Hellyeah's fourth album, Blood For Blood, and reaches back to an old school Pantera vibe of intensity. The track kicks off with a killer fast tempo Vinnie Paul solo intro, and crawls to a massive ritardando so heavy that you could feel the aggression fill your blood stream.
Without Vinnie Paul's career-long contributions, the landscape of metal would sound very different today, with many of the most popular bands right now taking a completely different angle. We're talking about Vinnie Fuckin' Paul, the guy that changed the sound of drum recordings forever by popularizing a much more cleaner "clicky" bass drum, as opposed to the natural acoustic thud of the time, and had every band in the market taping quarters to drum heads trying to mimic "the Vinnie Paul sound!"
R.I.P.
