In the summer of 1991 Pantera were hard at work on the follow-up to their creative and commercial breakthrough album, Cowboys From Hell, when an offer came in that they could not refuse: to open for Metallica and AC/DC at the Monsters of Rock festival in Moscow, Russia. So Phil Anselmo, Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown and Vinnie Paul packed their bags and jetted over to the former Soviet republic to test their mettle in front of 500,000 fans. Amenities were few — their dressing room was just a tent in a field — but the brash Texan band didn't give a fuck. Their set still stands as one of metal's great moments, as captured in the live videos for "Cowboys From Hell" and "Domination" (above), as well as the photographs by esteemed photographer Joe Giron, below. And it would invigorate the group, who returned home and completed the work-in-progress album, which would become known as Vulgar Display of Power and be widely hailed as their masterpiece.
Pantera in Russia: See Amazing Photos From Iconic 1991 Monsters of Rock Appearance
Texan upstarts took a break from recording 'Vulgar Display of Power' to play in front of 500,000 fans in Moscow
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