Editing Cowboys from Hell (section)

==Writing and recording==
Writing sessions for ''Cowboys from Hell'' took place throughout 1988 and 1989. Seeking a record label to release their album, the group received firm contract offers from both [[Epic Records|Epic]] and Roadracer, who had expressed some interest in signing them. However, they were ultimately recommended to music producers with a "more commercial type" of approach, as explained by drummer [[Vinnie Paul]].<ref>{{cite magazine|date=August 1990|title=Hell Bent For Texas|magazine=[[Metal Forces]]|issue=53|page=20{{ndash}}22|publisher=Rockzone Publications Ltd.|location=Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England}}</ref> After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth", Atco Records representative Mark Ross was asked by his boss, [[Derek Shulman]] (who was interested in signing Pantera), to see the band perform after [[Hurricane Hugo]] stranded him in Texas. Ross was so impressed by the band's performance that he called his boss that night, suggesting that Pantera be signed to the label.<ref name=":0" />

Ross on the performance:
<blockquote>
"By the end of the first song, my jaw was on the floor. The sonic power of it all — the attitude and the musicianship — blew me away. Basically, you had to be an idiot to not think they're amazing. I mean, how could you see these guys and not think, 'Holy shit!'?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/pantera-cowboys-from-hell-the-demos-to-be-released-on-limited-edition-vinyl/|title=Pantera: 'Cowboys From Hell: The Demos' To Be Released On Limited-Edition Vinyl|website=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=November 11, 2010|access-date=November 27, 2018}}</ref></blockquote>

Atco Records accepted but the band had to wait a six month period before they commenced recording at Pantego Sound Studio in [[Pantego, Texas]]. Accounts vary as to how long the recording sessions of ''Cowboys from Hell'' lasted; bassist [[Rex Brown]] stated in a 2010 interview with ''[[Metal Hammer]]'' that the recording sessions took place from February to April 1990,<ref name=":0" /> however vocalist [[Phil Anselmo]] has also claimed that the album was recorded in 1989.<ref name="theskinny" /><ref name="bravewords" /> Pantera's initial choice as the producer for ''Cowboys from Hell'' was [[Max Norman]] based on his work with [[Ozzy Osbourne]]. Norman, who flew to Houston to watch the band perform, initially agreed to work on the album, but right before the recording sessions started, he was offered to produce [[Lynch Mob (band)|Lynch Mob]]'s debut album ''[[Wicked Sensation]]'' instead.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/pantera-cowboys-from-hell-facts/|title=Pantera's 'Cowboys From Hell': 9 Facts Only Superfans Would Know|work=[[Loudwire]]|access-date=July 26, 2020}}</ref> Pantera then proposed [[Terry Date]] to produce the album on the strength of his work with [[Soundgarden]], [[Metal Church]] and [[Overkill (band)|Overkill]], the latter of whose latest album at the time ''[[The Years of Decay]]'' had influenced [[Dimebag Darrell]]'s guitar tone, as well as the band's transition away from [[glam metal|glam]]/[[heavy metal music|traditional heavy metal]] to [[thrash metal|thrash]]/[[groove metal]].<ref name="Revolver 2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/pantera-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-cowboys-hell|title=Pantera: 10 Things You Didn't Know About 'Cowboys From Hell'|publisher=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]]|date=December 28, 2020|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/updated-tributes-from-metal-musicians-pour-in-for-dimebag-darrell/|title=Updated: Tributes From Metal Musicians Pour In For Dimebag Darrell|date=December 9, 2004 |publisher=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ex-overkill-guitarist-bobby-gustafsons-satans-taint-listen-to-desecration-song/|title=Ex-Overkill Guitarist Bobby Gustafson's Satans Taint: Listen To 'Desecration' Song|date=June 13, 2019 |publisher=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indymetalvault.com/2019/10/14/thirty-years-of-decay-overkills-finest-moment-revisited/|title=Thirty Years Of Decay: Overkill's Finest Moment Revisited|work=indymetalvault.com|access-date=October 26, 2019}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rockhard.gr/somewhere-back-time/day-remember-1310-overkill|title=A Day To Remember ... 13/10 [Overkill]|work=[[Rock Hard (magazine)|Rockhard Greece]]|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-date=October 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025003311/http://www.rockhard.gr/somewhere-back-time/day-remember-1310-overkill|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Pantera adopted a new sound and attitude, and the writing of what would become ''Cowboys from Hell'' saw the band exploring darker subject matters, while the guitar would be notably heavier. Influences and inspirations to the making of the album, as well as its musical direction, were [[Black Sabbath]], [[Judas Priest]], [[ZZ Top]], [[Metallica]], [[Slayer]], [[Megadeth]], [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]], [[Testament (band)|Testament]], Overkill, [[Faith No More]], [[King's X]], Soundgarden, [[Minor Threat]], [[Mercyful Fate]], [[Savatage]], [[Voivod (band)|Voivod]] and then-upcoming band [[Exhorder]].<ref name="kylethomas" /><ref name="Revolver 2020" /><ref name="Loudwire 2022">{{cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/pantera-cowboys-from-hell-album-anniversary/|title=32 Years Ago: Pantera Find Their Voice With 'Cowboys From Hell'|date=July 24, 2022 |publisher=Loudwire|access-date=December 2, 2022}}</ref><ref name="ultimateclassicrock">{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/pantera-cowboys-from-hell/|title=How Pantera's 'Cowboys From Hell' Became a Post-Thrash Moment|date=July 24, 2015 |publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=December 2, 2022}}</ref><ref name="VH1">{{cite web|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/5s1gm0/pantera-cowboys-from-hell-facts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819044734/https://www.vh1.com/news/5s1gm0/pantera-cowboys-from-hell-facts|url-status=live|archive-date=August 19, 2022|title='Cowboys From Hell': 25 Facts About the Pantera Classic|publisher=VH1|access-date=December 2, 2022}}</ref><ref name="ultimateguitar 2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/panteras_cowboys_from_hell_album_has_been_certified_double_platinum_in_the_us.html|title=Pantera's 'Cowboys From Hell' Album Has Been Certified Double Platinum in the U.S.|publisher=[[Ultimate Guitar]]|date=June 1, 2023|access-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref> The band recorded a self-produced demo album in 1989 which featured 11 tracks, 10 of which would make the album cut.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theprp.com/2010/08/31/news/pantera-elaborate-on-the-will-to-survive/|title=Pantera Elaborate On "The Will To Survive"|work=theprp.com|date=August 31, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2020}}</ref> "The last tracks to be written were  "Primal Concrete Sledge" and "Clash with Reality" whilst a song titled "The Will to Survive" was discarded early in the recording sessions."<ref name=lil>{{cite web|url=http://love-it-loud.com/making-of/pantera-cowboys-from-hell/|title=Making of the Album: Pantera – Cowboys from Hell|website=Love It Loud|date=November 11, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713234147/http://love-it-loud.com/making-of/pantera-cowboys-from-hell/|archive-date=July 13, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> During recording sessions, the band chose an unorthodox method: Paul recorded the drum tracks first, then Darrell recorded the guitar, and Brown recorded the bass with the guitars only. This resulted in a tighter sound; slight inaccuracies were fixed by manually editing the tapes.<ref name="guitarworldrex">{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/magazine/rex-brown-recalls-making-panteras-cowboys-hell-vulgar|title=Rex Brown Recalls the Making of Pantera's 'Cowboys from Hell,' 'Vulgar Display of Power' and More|author1=Jon Wiederhorn|date=July 24, 2015|website=guitarworld}}</ref>

The band were feeling confident about their material and themselves, finally feeling that they were making the kind of album they believed in. One key track to emerge during the writing was "[[Cemetery Gates (Pantera song)|Cemetery Gates]]", a seven-minute [[power ballad]] that would be the first song to show both their diversity and Anselmo's vocal range; the acoustic intro was written last by Brown.<ref name="guitarworldrex"/> Although they had already recorded four albums prior to ''Cowboys from Hell'', the members of Pantera have since acknowledged this as their official debut album, working with a professional producer and a major label for the first time and creating music that was not simply stealing from other similar bands in an attempt to attract attention.<ref name=lil/>