Just two tracks into Reinventing The Steel, and it seems that Pantera--the godfathers of speed metal--have brightened up: "Don't waste your life / Embrace it" roars vocalist Phil Anselmo on "Goddamn Electric", an unusual sentiment to hear amid the pile driver drums and Diamond Darrell's crunching guitar riffs. Does this mean that Pantera have lost their brutal edge? Of course not. Reinventing The Steel is as vicious as they've ever been, it's just that now they're a bit more thoughtful and--after more than a decade--mature. Though for the most part the songs are as aggressive as ever ("We'll Grind That Axe For A Long Time", "Death Rattle" and frenzied album opener "Hellbound"), and display more depth than ever before, especially on standout tracks like "You Don't Belong To It" and "Uplift". Not since their breakthrough Cowboys From Hell has thrash metal sounded so fresh, and not since Vulgar Display Of Power have Pantera sounded so good. --Robert Burrow