Metal Family Tree

This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Pantera, love them or hate the, they were one of the most game changing bands in metal. With their album Cowboys from Hell in 1990 they reinvented the steel with groove metal. Metal has never been the same since. Prior to that they did several albums that are considered glam by many although musically it wasn’t far off from traditional metal most of the time. Writing has been credited as as a collaborative effort, so we will like at the influences of all members. That won’t be so hard since Pantera kept a consistent line up with the exception of their early years featuring Terry Glaze on vocals before Phil Anselmo which most people are familiar with. At the heart of Pantera were brothers, guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul. Rex Brown joined early on before the release of the first “glam” album.

Stevie Wonder

Merle Haggard

The Rolling Stones were a blues based rock band. As mentioned before, Rex named them as an influence. He says he loves any of their stuff from the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Deep Purple have been a huge influence on many. “Smoke on the Water” was the first song Dime learned and he said it taught him that simple can be awesome.

Led Zeppelin are one of the most important bands in rock history. Vinnie said that Bonham was the greatest drummer. Rex is a huge Zeppelin fan and named John Paul Jones as a huge influence. Phil named Robert Plant as an influence.

Humble Pie were a blues rock / hard rock band. Rex is a big fan.

Black Sabbath are the fathers of metal. Tony was a big influence on Dime and Sabbath is one of the reasons he waned to play in the first place. Rex also names them as an influence and actually is a big fan of the Never Say Die! album. He said when i… — Black Sabbath are the fathers of metal. Tony was a big influence on Dime and Sabbath is one of the reasons he waned to play in the first place. Rex also names them as an influence and actually is a big fan of the *Never Say Die!* album. He said when it comes to metal bass playing Geezer was is influence. Phil named them as an influence as well huge influence on him, both with Ozzy and Dio.

David Allen Coe

UFO was a huge influence on many bands with Michael Shenker on guitar. Dime named them as an influence.

ZZ top were a three piece Texas Blues Rock band. Dime said he was never a bluesy player but was exposed to ZZ Top growing up and they had an influence on him. Rex also names them as a big influence.

Aerosmith a blues based American Hard Rock band. Rex named them as an influence.

Kiss were one of the biggest American hard rock bands. They were a huge influence on Dime and Ace was one of the reasons Dime wanted to play guitar. They were also huge for Vinnie and the band that made him want to play. Alive was the first album he… — Kiss were one of the biggest American hard rock bands. They were a huge influence on Dime and Ace was one of the reasons Dime wanted to play guitar. They were also huge for Vinnie and the band that made him want to play. *Alive* was the first album he bought. Rex also names them as an influence but isn’t a fan of their more radio songs.

The metal gods, Judas Priest. They are one of Dime’s influences he said not only were Glenn and K.K. great lead players but knew how to be band oriented musicians which is something he strived to be in Pantera. Vinnie named Painkiller and British Steel as the most metal albums. Phil said in high school he practiced along to Halford on Unleashed in the East every day. He he dropped that style of singing because he thought it had been done to death and wanted to incorporate other influences.

Rush were a progressive hard rock band. Vinnie said despite it not showing in his playing, he is a huge Neil Peart fan.

AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Angus was a big influence on Dime.

Pat Travers Bad was blues rock band. Vinnie said that Dime would wear out their live album. Vinnie said he flipped after hearing Tommy Aldridge with Pat Travers.

Motorhead were a hugely influential hard rock / heavy metal band. Phil named Lemmy as an influence.

Van Halen were a hugely important band. Eddie was a big influence on Dime and likewise Alex was a huge influence on Vinnie. Phil named David Lee Roth as an influence.

The most influential NWOBHM band, Iron Maiden. Dime was a huge fan of Dave and Adrian. Phil names Paul Di’Anno as an influence as well.

Before Def Leppard went on to play terrible pop metal they were killer NWOBHM band. Dime was influenced by their original guitarist Pete WIllis. Rex was also a fan.

Ozzy was blessed with some incredible guitar players. Randy was a big influence on Dime. One of the things he picked up from him was how to double track the leads. Vinnie was also influenced by Ozzy’s band naming Tommy Aldrige as one of his favorite… — Ozzy was blessed with some incredible guitar players. Randy was a big influence on Dime. One of the things he picked up from him was how to double track the leads. Vinnie was also influenced by Ozzy’s band naming Tommy Aldrige as one of his favorite drummers.

Black Flag were hardcore punk pioneers and one of the biggest of the scene. Phil named them as an influence.

Venom were a huge influence on death, black, and even thrash metal. Phil said first hearing Venom had a big impact on him.

Mercyful Fate had a big impact on many bands. Phil was a huge fan both for their complex songs and King Diamond’s unique vocals.

Metallica are the fathers of Thrash Metal. They were a big influence on Dime and Vinnie. He loved Kirk’s leads and said that James was the god of chugging riffs. Phil names them as an influence.

Slayer are one of the most aggressive thrash bands of their time. Slayer were and influence on both Dime and Vinnie. Dime said they taught him how to play with guts and aggression. Phil says Slayer was very important to Pantera. He said at one time Kerry King came down to jam with Pantera and showed dime how he was riffing. Phil said this had a big impact and Pantera wouldn’t have been the same without that moment.

Agnostic Front were a hoardcore punk / cross over thrash band. Phil say they had a huge impact on him after seeing them open for Motorhead.

Hell Hammer were an influential band for extreme styles of metal. Phil is a huge fan.

Carnivore are best known as the band Peter Steel was in before Type 0. They sounded very much like Venom. Phil named them as an influence.

Celtic Frost formed after the disbandment of Hell Hammer. They are also very important for extreme metal styles. Phil is a huge fan.

Cryptic Slaughter were a crossover thrash band. Phil named them as an influence.

Sheer Terror were a hardcore punk / cross over band that were important for pushing hardcore into a heavier sound. Phil named them as an influence.

Soundgarden were pioneers of grunge. Rex is a big fan… I think he’s also thankful that the grunge scene came along so he didn’t have to dress glam anymore. Vinnie also said that Chris Cornell was one of Dime’s favorite singers.

Another pioneer of grunge, Alice in Chains. Phil named Layne Staley as an influence.

Righteous Pigs were a death/grind band. Phil named them as an influence.

King’s X were a hard rock / progressive metal band. Dime said he loved King’s X

Anal Cunt area grindcore band (no surprise there). Phil named Seth Putnam as an influence.

Eyehategod are one of the biggest Sludge metal bands. Phil named Mike Williams as an influence.

Suffocation are an important death metal band being how they are seen as the pioneers of brutal death. Phil named Frank Mullen as an influence.

Dime said he was listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd as a kid before discovering Van Halen and Black Sabbath.

Dime would have his dad show him how to play songs when he was young. His dad would show him multiple ways to play songs.

Vinnie got his drumming star in school and loved playing on the drum line.

Vinnie said Appetite For Destruction was a great album but didn’t name Guns ‘n’ Roses as an influence. He says he’s a huge fan of Enigma and that after touring and listening to slayer, they are good to relax to. Vinnie said he was blown away by Tommy Lee’s double bass drumming on “Live Wire” but he gives more credit to Tommy Aldrige for him wanting to play double bass himself. On another note, I’ve seen it stated Vinnie was influenced by Mikkey Dee, but I have dug for conformations and can’t find any. Nothing I could find supports this.

Vinnie and Rex met in high school jazz band. Vinnie said neither of them was that interested in jazz and would jam to “2112” together.

Rex said he listens to “all kids of crazy shit, from Sinatra to Slayer. His older sister gave him all her Beatles and Rolling Stones records, his parents listened to swing and his grandmother played piano for movies which he said he got boogie from. Rex played the tuba in school and said it wasn’t a big leap to bass but was already playing guitar since he was 9.

Phil talks about some bands he listened to as a kid such as: The Beatles, Kiss, Peter Frampton, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin. When asked about asked to name greatest singers he names Halford and Dio.

Phil is a big fan of early black metal bands such as Dark Throne, early Immortal and Emperor. Hell Hammer and Celtic Frost are his favorites though.

Terry Glaze was the original vocalist on most of the early Pantera albums. and contributed to the writing. I’m uncertain of his influences.

Bands influenced by Pantera!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

The Metal Gods themselves inspired Pantera who later inspired them to play in a more modern style.

Venom are the original extreme metal band. Later drummer Antton would be influenced by Pantera.

Bay Area heavy metal who would later be influenced by Dime.

Kerry named Dime as one of his more modern influences.

Finnish metal blending melodic death with other influences like that of Pantera.

One of the most popular New Wave Thrash bands.

Pantera Albums Ranked

Sources:

https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/dimebag-darrell-discusses-his-roots-gear-and-pantera-1994-guitar-world-interview
https://www.guitarworld.com/magazine/prime-cuts-dimebag-darrell-chooses-his-12-favorite-tunes-1993-guitar-world-feature
https://www.loudersound.com/features/dimeradio-dimebag-darrells-top-tracks-as-chosen-by-vinnie-paul
https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dimebag-darrell-final-interview-pantera-and-damageplans-guitar-hero
https://www.loudersound.com/features/vinnie-paul-the-10-records-that-changed-my-life
http://www.drumlessons.com/drummers/vinnie-paul/
https://www.moderndrummer.com/2018/06/vinnie-paul-the-king-of-thrash-metal-drumming/
http://blabbermouth.herokuapp.com/news/vinnie-paul-a-lot-of-newer-metal-drummers-play-too-much/
https://www.musicradar.com/news/rex-brown-the-10-records-that-changed-my-life
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-former-pantera-and-down-bassist-rex-brown-talks-gear-influences-and-kill-devil-hill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIHIQSZHy0Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=363&v=6X1zH9rNEYM&feature=emb_logo
https://web.archive.org/web/20130725031555/http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/phil-anselmo-only-a-fool-would-leave-out-black-sabbath/
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/pantera-phil-anselmo-beatles-kiss-influences/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_4nKosG0ZM
https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/phil-anselmo-picks-five-essential-metal-albums-580808
http://rockandrollgarage.com/phil-anselmo-says-who-is-the-best-vocalist-of-all-time-in-his-opinion/
https://performermag.com/new-music-and-video/interviews-and-features/exclusive-interview-with-phil-anselmo-and-jimmy-bower-of-down/
https://search.blabbermouth.net/news/philip-anselmo-sometimes-it-feels-good-to-be-miserable/