Review by Adam M on July 27, 2025.

This was a somewhat revolutionary album because it combined the old tactics of thrash with a more groove-oriented aura that would become a staple on later albums by the band.  It is also notable for containing the ballad “Cemetary Gates” which is now a staple in their catalogue and one heck of a stunning track. 

The musicianship of the album is quite solid with a nice display of guitarwork that is very old school and highly desirable.  Phil Anselmo’s vocals are still higher pitched than on other works and a highlight of the performances here.  Cap it off with a gritty production sound and you have a solid early metal work.

The flaw with the album lies in the fact that there would be greater groove oriented efforts such as their next work Vulgar Display of Power and this shows that the band is not operating at full capacity in some senses quite yet.  It is still really just as solid an album as that one and a stellar example of groove-oriented metal.

All in all, I found this album to be among the best of the band and a highlight for early groove-oriented thrash metal releases.  It is solid all the way through and a fine example of how to produced early albums in the genre.  I greatly enjoyed this album and think it is a shining beacon to the world of thrash metal.

Rating: 7.3/10

Review by Adam on August 2, 2001.

Call it the first Pantera album if you want, but truth is, it isn't the first Pantera album. Maybe what you should call it is the first one of any importance to your average metalhead. The band introduce their unique brand of metal with this cd and show off their true talent for song writing. "Cowboys From Hell" has basically all your qualities for a great heavy metal record with a little more than a bit to owe to their eightie's predecessors.

The album begins with the hard hitting title track and goes off into pure, unadulterated metal for much of the duration of the record. Songs like 'Heresy' brutally combine thrash with old school metal and create a massive and original sound. The production and quality of the recording itself is grade A with each passing album growing greater and greater in sound quality. One of the standouts on this disc is arguably the song 'Cemetary Gates' which begins with a mellow and luring introduction along with clean vocals and a clean, undistorted guitar line until it soon kicks into a full-on metal anthem.

"Dimebag" Darrel and Vinnie Paul shine on their respective instruments, and some of the guitar solos on this release are just amazing. This album helped pave the way to metal superstardom and pretty much launched their careers to help them further build on their sound and style. It is a must have for any Pantera fan and a great buy for all the metalheads out there who love their metal fast, loud, and extremly pissed off.

Bottom Line: Fans of Pantera should already have this, but for all you metalheads out there looking for some good old school metal, this album is for you!

Rating: 7.5 out of 10