Floods (Pantera song)

1996 promotional single by Pantera

"Floods"

Promotional single by Pantera
from the album  The Great Southern Trendkill
Released| May 22, 1996
Recorded| 1995–1996
Genre| Heavy metal[1]
Length| 7:00
Label| East West
Songwriter(s)|

* Dimebag Darrell
* Vinnie Paul
* Phil Anselmo
* Rex Brown

Producer(s)|

* Terry Date
* Vinnie Paul

"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.[2]

## Background

[edit]

Pantera 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.[3]

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

[edit]

The song features one of Dimebag Darrell's most popular guitar solos, and is regarded as one of his greatest. 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.[4] Darrell built the solo from his improvised solos he played in concerts, before the band was signed.[5]

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.[4]

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.[6]

## Reception

[edit]

Classic 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".[7]

Metal Hammer ranked "Floods" 9th on their list of the 50 best Pantera songs. They described it as an all-time classic.[8]

Guitar World ranked the song 20th on their list of the 25 greatest Pantera songs.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Pasbani, Robert (August 10, 2017). "These Are The 100 Best Metal Songs of the '90s According to Metal Hammer". Metal Injection. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
2. ^ "Hear Early Mix Of PANTERA's 'Floods' From 'The Great Southern Trendkill' Reissue". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. October 6, 2016.
3. ^ "Floods by Pantera - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
4. ^ a b "50 Greatest Guitar Solos". January 29, 2009.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ 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)
7. ^ Dalton, Stephen (2019). "Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill: 20th Anniversary Edition album review". loudersound.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
8. ^ 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)
9. ^ 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)

* v
* t
* e

Pantera

* Rex Brown
* Phil Anselmo

* Vinnie Paul
* Dimebag Darrell
* Terry Glaze

Studio albums|

* Metal Magic
* Projects in the Jungle
* I Am the Night
* Power Metal
* Cowboys from Hell
* Vulgar Display of Power
* Far Beyond Driven
* The Great Southern Trendkill
* Reinventing the Steel

Live albums|

* Official Live: 101 Proof

Extended plays|

* Walk
* Hostile Moments

Compilations|

* The Singles 1991–1996
* Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!

Singles|

* "Cowboys from Hell"
* "Psycho Holiday"
* "Mouth for War"
* "Walk"
* "I'm Broken"
* "Planet Caravan"
* "5 Minutes Alone"
* "Drag the Waters"
* "Revolution Is My Name"
* "Hole in the Sky"

Promotional singles|

* "Cemetery Gates"
* "This Love"
* "Hollow"
* "Fucking Hostile"
* "Becoming"
* "Suicide Note Pt. 1"
* "Floods"
* "Cat Scratch Fever"
* "I'll Cast a Shadow"

Other songs|

* "Domination"
* "The Art of Shredding"
* "A New Level"

Video albums|

* Cowboys from Hell: The Videos
* Vulgar Video
* 3 Watch It Go
* 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell

Related bands|

* Arson Anthem
* Damageplan
* Down
* Gasoline
* Hellyeah
* Kill Devil Hill
* Necrophagia
* Southern Isolation
* Superjoint Ritual
* Viking Crown

Related articles|

* Discography
* Columbus nightclub shooting
* Rebel Meets Rebel
* For Those About to Rock
* Terry Date
* Jerry Abbott
* Elegant Weapons

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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