Pantera Engineer, Producer Reflects On Band's Evolution

(Metal Hammer) Pantera engineer, producer and tour tech Sterling Winfield says he continues to be inspired by the work ethic the band showed in the studio and on the road.

Winfield, who co-produced Pantera's 2000 album Reinventing The Steel, says prior to their 1990 album Cowboys From Hell they were essentially "a cover band" but reports that in the years that followed, their work ethic was "off the charts" as they became one of the biggest names in metal.

Winfield tells Reverb: "Here's the number one rule - write good songs. It can't get much simpler. Write from your heart. Influences are great, but you've eventually got to be yourself.

"Before Cowboys From Hell, Pantera was a cover band. They did exactly what everybody else was doing. At some point, something snapped. Their last independent album, Power Metal in 1988, was their first with Phil Anselmo, and man, even that was starting to turn the corner. They had a lot more brutality and heaviness in them than they gave themselves credit for.

"They grew up and away from the tutelage of Dimebag and Vinnie Paul's dad, got real honest with themselves, and wrote from the heart. They started writing songs with groovy, heavy, badass riffs." Read more here.

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