REBEL MEETS REBEL 2006 (Big Vin)
- Standouts: 'Nothin' to Lose', 'Rebel Meets Rebel', 'Cowboys Do More Dope', 'One Nite Stands', 'Get Outta My Life', 'Cherokee Cry'
We've seen a ludicrous amount of metal subgenres over the years, but nobody seems to mix country with metal. Sure, Hank Williams III has made records that can only be described as metal over the years, but he never actively recorded a country-metal album. In 2006 however, we got Rebel Meets Rebel, by, uh, Rebel Meets Rebel. It's something of an attempt to throw country music and metal in a blender. This album was recorded between 1999 and 2003 and featured outlaw country legend David Allan Coe on vocals and Dimebag Darrell on guitar, his brother Vinnie Paul on drums and Rex Brown on bass... so, it's just David Allan Coe fronting Pantera then. Sadly, everybody except Rex have all passed away now, so rest in peace David, Dime and Vinnie (I still find it weird to think that Vinnie died in the past couple of years...).
Let's be honest here, mixing country with metal sounds like a dumb idea on paper, but people probably said that about folk metal, now look how many bands have emerged out of that subgenre. Frankly, I don't see why country doesn't have more of a presence in metal... I mean, lyrically country styles often discuss heavy drinking, shooting, hunting, gambling and, uh, pickup trucks. Either way, it's often quite masculine subject matter. I will admit that listening to this album sounded odd to me for quite a long time before it really clicked. Firstly, Coe sings in a very southern country-esque manner - which is obviously to be expected - it just isn't something I'm exactly used to. Plus, some of the songs mix fiddles and almost ragtime-style traditional pianos with Dime's heavy groove metal riffage, yet somehow I found it all to meld together quite well... eventually anyway.
The guitar playing and riffs are spot-on, as you'd expect from Dime. He isn't playing exactly like he would with Pantera - these riffs aren't really directly comparable to Vulgar Display of Power - but you can tell it's his playing. 'Nothin to Lose'' starts off the album on a fast note, and while Coe does at first sound out of tune with the speed metal guitars, it's only because you won't have heard traditional country vox fronting a metal band. In reality, it's fun! On the title song, the fiddle actually takes the front seat for a lot of the track, and Dime is just there in the background. It sounds pretty funny at first, to hear upbeat country fiddles over detuned metal riffage, but it's a very fun time once again! The same can be said for 'Cowboys Do More Dope', which features those good-time pianos, dumb lyrics and catchy, heavy riffs. You could easily have a very good time if cowpokes and metalheads were to unite in a bar, sing along together with a whole lot of beer flowing!
I must admit that not all the album is as country as some specific tracks. I mean, 'Time' and 'No Compromise' are basically just groove/thrash metal with no country instrumentation save for Coe's vocals. 'Cherokee Cry' is one of the better tracks on here I think, but again, it's not really that unusual musically in terms of metal, nor is the stupidly catchy 'One Nite Stands'. 'Get Outta My Life' features Hank Williams III doing backing vocals and 'Arizona Rivers' is a short acoustic number that is definitely country however. None of these songs are bad at all, but I do prefer the more experimental, country-driven tracks overall.
Despite 75% of this band consisting of Pantera members, musically this doesn't sound like Pantera. For that reason I don't flat-out recommend it to the average Pantera fan. It isn't anywhere near as heavy overall as an album like Far Beyond Driven, but it doesn't need to be. It honestly sounds like the members of Pantera without Phil Anselmo just having fun, rockin' out with a country legend - and not giving a damn about what anyone else thinks of the music they come out with. It feels like a passion project, and that's why it works. I doubt they cared what naysayers thought, even if the album did turn out to be good anyway in the end. So I do recommend it to fans of experimental music in general, or experimental metal for that matter. We never got another Rebel Meets Rebel album, but this one was more than enough - in a good way.
Adam's rating: 7.8/10
