Rex Brown Names the Two Bands That Contributed to Pantera’s Sound

There’s no denying Pantera has their own sound, but every band has music that influences them, and during a lengthy chat with Rick Beato, Pantera’s Rex Brown revealed the two bands that he thinks directly can be traced to what his band called their “Texas Stomp Boogie” sound.

“If you take a look at this band and you had two bands that you had to pick, it would be Van Halen and ZZ Top sped up in that 6/8 in that ‘Texas Stomp Boogie’ as we used to call it, that’s what it was all about,” says Brown.

The bassist then went on to heap praise on fellow Texas ZZ Top, noting their immense influence on the band in their early days.

“It was all over Texas at the time,” recalls Brown. “ZZ Top, you gotta throw them in there somewhere fellas, because they influenced more in those first couple of records than [anyone]. For us, as a region of Texas, it was a big ass state. But when I first heard them, I was driving my bicycle about 8-years-old and I heard ‘La Grange,’ and something just happened. I lost my mind.”

Brown went on to add, “There’s nothing like Tres Hombres and there never will be. It’s just song after song after song and it’s the most magical record that I have in my collection,” says Brown.

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These days, Brown and Philip Anselmo are revisiting the music of Pantera with special guests and longtime friends of the band Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The Pantera celebration has been one of the more buzzed about tours of the past year. The band has been part of Metallica’s ongoing tour with two more stops scheduled for November. They’ll continue into 2024 with dates already book for August of next year. Stay up to date on their touring here.

Pantera’s Rex Brown, Charlie Benante + Zakk Wylde Speak With Rick Beato