Far Beyond Driven, Far Beyond Just Being Remastered

On March 22, 1994, Pantera released Far Beyond Driven, an album which conclusively proved that, although grunge might’ve helped put to rest the musical scourge known as hair metal a few years earlier, real heavy metal was alive, well, and not going anywhere.

Not only did Far Beyond Driven debut at the top of the Billboard album charts, making it the fastest-selling album of Pantera’s career and their second consecutive platinum album, but it also helped shape the definition of heavy metal for a new generation, thanks to songs like “I’m Broken,” “Five Minutes Alone,” and its opening track, “Strength.” Is it the band’s best album? That’s all a matter of opinion. But it’s certainly a landmark album by just about anyone’s definition of the phrase.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this seminal release, we here at Rhino have taken great pains to remaster the material and make sure that it sounds as clean, crisp, and kick-ass as possible, but we’ve done more than that: we’ve also added a bonus disc, Far Beyond Bootleg – Live from Donington ’94, which features Pantera’s full 40-minute set from the Monsters of Rock Festival in Donington, England, including “Use My Third Arm,” “Strength Beyond Strength,” “Walk, “Mouth for War,” “This Love,” “Cowboys from Hell,” and a medley of “Domination” and “Hollow.”

Both discs are available for streaming on Spotify, so you can get a feel for what to expect from this new release, but we know you want to actually own it, which is where Amazon and iTunes come in…although if you’re looking to expand your wardrobe, too, you may want to consider a trip to Best Buy, where they’re offering a bundle that includes the 2-CD set and a Pantera t-shirt, too.