The Will to Survive

Album: Cowboys From Hell 20th Anniversary Edition (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • This track is included on the 20th anniversary edition of Pantera's landmark album Cowboys From Hell. The song was recorded during the original album sessions but had never been released before.
  • Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo told Rock Radio's Paul Anthony that the song hadn't been released before as it didn't represent what Pantera were about to become when the 1990 record changed the metal landscape. Said Anselmo: "You listen to that song and you can tell it was written before I was in the band. We performed it early in the days of me being there. It didn't really fit the previous lineup who recorded the Power Metal album. So it sure as hell wasn't going to rest well with the tracks on Cowboys From Hell. It was kind of a sore thumb sticking out. It showed we had a willingness for diversity – but there was no way any one of us was going to replace that song with any of the new ones. We'd been playing the Cowboys material for what felt like a long time, so they had to go on that record."

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