By Eddy Metal

I hate it when something you had become used to changes to something not as good. (Van Halen, Judas Priest, Anthrax, etc.) Singers and their egos. Sheesh.

Apparently, heroin was more important than Pantera and the fans, because word is that that is the reason for the breakup. Vocalist Phil Anselmo was out of control. The last few times I saw Pantera, I admit I wasn't too happy seeing people pay big bucks to see a drunken heroin addict slurring songs. Buddy Fox, a good friend of mine, filmed Pantera live in Holland and hooked me up with a copy. Phil was s**tfaced beyond belief, even blacking out during a song! His attempt at "This Love" was pathetic.

It was kind of like seeing Jim Morrison in his final days in the movie The Doors, so I reckon the guys said "straighten up or get lost." Phil got lost.

Enough about Phil. Let's get to the new goods, Damageplan.

The bottom line is that rock stars Dimebag Darryl and Vinnie Paul are responsible enough to give a crap about giving the fans they're money's worth and I admire that! So here I sit listening to their new projects debut CD and, I must say, it's not bad at all. It is not as heavy or as good as classic Pantera, but in my eyes it's pretty good.

A little diversity and change can be a good thing.

Vocalist Pat Lachman can actually sing. And scream. Which is what I like. And he does quite a bit of it on this debut. I actually hear some high vocal notes like from the Eighties. Whoa!

It works well, but occasionally it seems that the lyrics are a bit rushed come across as cheesy at a few points. But there some cool lyrics, too, lyrics that sound directed at Phil Anselmo. Read this and tell me there are no hard feelings there! These lyrics are from the song " F**k You."

F**k your power trip/And f**k your attitude/And f**k your bloated ego too/F**k your history, your tragedy, your misery/But most of all...F**k You!

I'd say there are definitely some bad feelings there somewhere. lol.

There are some riffs that really stick out, such as the heavy as hell guitar in "Breathing New Life," " Reborn " and the cool vocal melodies in "Save Me " and "Crawl."

Although not Pantera, I say these guys will do well, nonetheless. I would go see them play. They are the epitome of heavy metal musicians. Dimebag Darrell is probably the #1 guitarist in metal today and brother Vinnie Paul is probably in the top 5 of metal drummers. Those two reasons right there are reason to go see them. And sadly, even on heroin I think Phil is the better singer.

But it is still a good first release.