Code Orange's Reba Meyers Picks Favorite Pantera Song | Revolver

Code Orange's Reba Meyers Picks Favorite Pantera Song

"Phil Anselmo's voice cuts through you to your damn soul"
rebameyerscreditedbates.jpg, Ed Bates
Code Orange's Reba Meyers
photograph by Ed Bates

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Code Orange guitarist Reba Meyers was not always a Pantera fan — in fact, growing up as a punk kid she had an active disdain for what she considered to be the Texas crew's brand of "popular mainstream metal shit."

The only problem was that she never really heard Pantera. But when she did, she fell hard for the groove-metal icons.

"I was sitting in the van with Dom [Palmero, Code Orange guitarist], who grew up on metal — I think he put on 'Floods,'" Meyers told us of the first time she really listened to Pantera. "I was like, 'Holy shit, this is actually really good! I've been tricked for all these years!' … So I went back and listened to the rest of their stuff. I was really taken aback by how talented they were. They're a legendary band and have so many amazing albums."

Below, Meyers expands on her love of Pantera — and explains why that first song she heard became her favorite.

"Floods"

Heavy. Brooding. Sulking. Dark and depressive, but powerful. Makes you want to just dig into your own skin. Relatable. These are feelings the song gives me every time I listen that made me fall in love with it.

Phil [Anselmo's] voice cuts through you to your damn soul. He's being fully himself, and fully vulnerable, and it's addictive to the ear.

Guitars: tonally perfect and imperfect. You can hear the immense personality in each note. Dimebag [Darrell] guides the melody of the song and establishes the mood for the vocal to explore and build upon.

Drums/bass: clear, sharp, groovy, breathing. Grounding the song and creating the true power of it all. Bringing that to life and reality. There is the perfect amount of space, but simultaneous fullness, in this song.

Trajectory: builds beautifully. Sucks you in slowly and then pulls you along, gaining power as it goes. Right up to the end where it's most cathartic and climatic. Amazing fucking song and band. Blending the absolute heaviest shit with melody and catchiness and realness in the absolute best way possible. The mood is so palpable. Using technical skill when it serves the song, not as a crutch. Relying on their musicality first and foremost, then using their skills to back that up with intention. Flowing part to part, but in a way that is their own, that no one else could bring to the table, because they stuck true to their individuality, and their collective sound.