Originally Posted by crash_override

Pantera is the single most important metal band of the 1990's. Yes there where bands doing similar things before, but Pantera took it to the next level and perfected the art. Maybe the age gap between us is something that is actually hindering your view on the band. I can't think of any band that defines the 90's era of metal more than Pantera does. If you could provide a band more influential to the genre, yet as accessible at the same time, I'm all ears.

In my personal opinion, if you take Pantera out of the picture, then metal from the 1990's and beyond would not only suffer, but be completely wiped out in a popular sense. While the argument can be made that Pantera lacks in innovation, they more than make up with it by being extremely accessible and relate-able to the metal fan base.

Maybe I just like more bands that were influenced by Pantera than you, who knows. All I can say is I obviously have a lot more respect for this band than you do, which is fine. At the end of the day, Pantera has more than enough positive opinions held about them amongst the knowledgeable metalhead public to more than counteract your negative one.