"Floods" is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera from their 1996 album The Great Southern Trendkill. A ballad, it is the longest song on the album and the third-longest song the band has recorded, after "Cemetery Gates" (7:03) and "Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks" (7:01). An early mix of the song was released on the 20th anniversary edition of The Great Southern Trendkill.[1]
| "Floods" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Pantera | ||||
| from the album The Great Southern Trendkill | ||||
| Released | May 22, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995–1996 | |||
| Genre | Groove metal | |||
| Length | 7:00 | |||
| Label | East West | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Terry Date | |||
| Pantera singles chronology | ||||
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Background
editPantera bassist Rex Brown said about "Floods":
That was one of my favorite bass lines on that song. We'd rehearsed it a couple of times and Dime and I sat down for quite a while with that. It was more of trying to get yourself in a mellow mood. It's a blazing solo with a really cool rhythm section underneath it - I'm really proud of the bass line. I think that was Dime's favorite solo on that song.[2]
The lyrics of the song tell about atrocious acts committed by mankind such as rape, murder, and war, and contain a plea to God to flood the earth in a fashion like that described in the biblical Book of Genesis.
Guitar solo
editThe song features one of Dimebag Darrell's most popular guitar solos. The solo was originally a riff written by Darrell in the mid-1980s, and footage exists of him performing these licks as early as 1986. Guitar World magazine voted his solo as the 32nd-greatest of all time.[3] Darrell built the solo from his improvised solos he played in concerts, before the band was signed.[4]
Darrell on the solo:
That particular solo was thought-out in a more orchestrated fashion than some of the others I play where I just start ripping right off the bat. ... The thing that really makes the 'Floods' solo come across like it does is [bassist] Rex's playing behind it. He's using his fingers and he plays a whole bunch of cool licks and shit in there. He definitely adds to the vibe and feel of my lead because I'm playing off his part a lot—it was a great foundation for me to build on, man.[3]
Darrell also said:
I picked up the idea of doubling from Randy Rhoads. It seemed appropriate to start off in a slow, melodic fashion and then build and build and build to the climax with the big harmonic squeals at the end.
For that last big note I think there's four guitars going on. There's a squeal at the second fret of the G string, a squeal at the fifth fret of the G and then I used a DigiTech Whammy pedal on two-string squeals at the harmonics at the fourth and 12th frets of the G and B strings, I believe. That was one of those deals where I didn't plan it out.
I just sat there and fucked with it until it sounded right.[5]
Reception
editClassic Rock writer Stephen Dalton described "Floods" as "Pantera's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'". Dalton also described it as "a seven-minute, shape-shifting, post-apocalyptic epic featuring one of Dimebag Darrell's finest solos, an octave-vaulting baroque ejaculation that sounds like Brian May on steroids".[6]
Metal Hammer ranked "Floods" 9th on their list of the 50 best Pantera songs. They described it as an all-time classic.[7]
Guitar World ranked the song 20th on their list of the 25 greatest Pantera songs.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Hear Early Mix Of PANTERA's 'Floods' From 'The Great Southern Trendkill' Reissue". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. October 6, 2016.
- ^ "Floods by Pantera - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
- ^ a b "50 Greatest Guitar Solos". January 29, 2009.
- ^ Nick Bowcott (January 22, 2013). "From the Archive: Dimebag Darrell Discusses Pantera's 1996 Album, 'The Great Southern Trendkill'". Guitar World. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
- ^ August 2018, Guitar World Staff 20 (August 20, 2018). "Hear Dimebag Darrell's Isolated Guitar from Pantera's "Floods"". guitarworld.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Dalton, Stephen (2019). "Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill: 20th Anniversary Edition album review". loudersound.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ February 2019, Dom Lawson04 (February 4, 2019). "The 50 best Pantera songs ever". Metal Hammer Magazine.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Bienstock, Richard; April 2019, Chris Gill 26 (January 5, 2023). "The 25 Greatest Pantera Songs of All Time". guitarworld.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)