Remember kids, Kurt Cobain changed the whole of music in the 1990's. He made birds sing differently and he made the pianos that fell from windows in comedy sketches sound different.

In reality, he made Bret Michaels grow a goatee, Vince Neil dye his hair and thrift shop owners rejoice in their golden years. Not Mudhoney, Kurt Cobain. Poster boy for yet another musical fad.

Y'know who really changed the face of music in the 1990's? Pantera. That heavy as fuck riffage on your favourite modern records - Pantera. That shifting from singing to screaming on your favourite modern records - again, Pantera. If you talk of the most influential rock bands to ever exist on this planet then you, before long, will talk of Pantera. And you will talk of Dimebag Darrell.

While Cobain slagged off the rock stars whose record sales allowed the major label that signed him license to provide him with money for heroin, many people applauded his deathly swipe at hair metal, his cock rock block. Pantera had their own swipe at hair metal but theirs was more personal as it was a swipe at their own past.

Before 'Vulgar Display Of Power' fucked up the world of heavy music beyond recognition, a finger-bang of an album laid down the metal markers for future reference. 'Cowboys From Hell' may be regarded as something of a transitional album but, knowing what we now do, knowing just how influential this band became, listening to this bonus-packed expanded edition of the album is done so with a great helping of reverence.

Sure, Phil Anselmo appeared to be at some kind of vocal crossroads, mixing his soon-to-be-legendary clean/cut-throat vocals with startling metal screams but all that pales into insignificance when that first monolithic riff threatens to separate your head from your neck. A few short years previously metal-hungry automatons were brainwashed into thinking that albums full of guitar wank by soulless fingerers like Joe Satriani were entertainment. They weren't. Suddenly, thanks to the barrage of earth-shaking riffmongery from a gentleman called Dimebag, the metal fans of this planet had a new breed of guitar album. 'Cowboys From Hell' was that album. Yes, the album's younger brother who would be born a couple of years later would turn out to be the more successful sibling but, c'mon, this bastard paved the way. And Dimebag changed rock guitar. Seriously, he changed the way Every. Fucking. Metal. Guitarist. Played. This is not something I say lightly. This is, also, not something I say because he was brutally taken from this world by a murdering motherfucker. I say it because it is the truth. When almost every other heavy band thought that faster was the only way to go to get more extreme, Dimebag went heavier....wonderfully, beautifully heavier and full of groove. His guitar sound was a white hot bullet to the heart of metal. Those that survived stole from him, copied him. Either way, the sound of rock music changed because of Dimebag Darrell and that is the greatest legacy of all.

But record companies want their legacies to be preceded with $ signs. Therefore, as I type this my speakers are creaking as they struggle to deal with the Expanded Edition of 'Cowboys From Hell'. A dozen tracks weighing in at just under an hour's worth of quality metal, if you have never owned this album then now, with this bonus-rammed edition, is the perfect time to educate yourself. If you have owned this album for the best part of two decades then there's a fair chance that you've worn out your copy - now is the time to buy it again.

Of course, this is also the time for completists to get their hands on some quality bonus material that has never previously seen release. Disc two of this essential set features, again, a dozen tracks; five from the 1991 Monsters In Moscow show that have been previously released and seven unreleased mofos from a 1990 show at Sheraton Plaza, La Reina, LA. Worth your hard-earned? Unreleased Pantera live tracks that are bass-heavy and menacing? What do you think?! 62 minutes of essential live metal.

Still not enough to tempt you into opening your wallet? Then how about the Deluxe Edition (and Ultimate Edition Boxset) which features an additional disc of demo material including the previously unavailable 'The Will To Survive'?

If you must look back to the Nineties searching for the star who shone a fresh new light onto the rock world, forget about that guy in the cardigan and look for the dude with the ridiculous beard and awful Ace Frehley tattoo, for it was he who really changed music. Essential.

www.myspace.com/pantera