Tuesday Metal Mania – Pantera “Cemetery Gates”

Remember when MTV stood for Music Television? They actually showed videos all day. Of course, the negative side to this is they also ushered in an age of music where it mattered more about how you looked than how you sounded, but for the sake of this article, that’s a moot point.

Every Tuesday, I give you classic Metal video featuring bands you know, some you may have forgotten about, and others that just bring back good memories. Have a suggestion for a video you want to see or share? Lay it down in the comment section, and your video may be next week’s featured tune. And now, today’s video:

Pantera - Cemetery Gates

WIKIPEDIA-

"Cemetery Gates" is the fifth track from Cowboys from Hell, the band's fifth album and second with lead singer Phil Anselmo (though the band considers it their first "true" album, officially ignoring their earlier independent releases as it was their first album with the groove metal genre). "Cemetery Gates" showcases Anselmo's vocal ability and range, concluding with screaming high notes answered by Dimebag Darrell on guitar in a trade off.

The lyrics lament the death of a female lover and the prospect of dying or committing suicide and rejoining her in the afterlife.

Phil Anselmo has credited numerous inspirations for the song. He stated in an interview in 1991 that the song was written about his good friends that had committed suicide. He also stated in a Ustream.tv live Q&A that "there was a friend who had died in NOLA and it had a real heavy impact within my group of friends. When I wrote the lyrics I did not want them to be too personal, because that can be cheesy. I also had to make sure that the lyrics would not take away from the song, because that was one of our best songs."