Fancy Caravan

If Metallica is Led Zeppelin, then Pantera definitely is Black Sabbath. In fact, this weeks' fanciness comes courtesy of Pantera covering Black Sabbath. I really had my pick this week. I counld've gone with their ball-smashing rendition of "Hole In The Sky" or their Whiskey-soaked version of "Electric Funeral". I chose to stay as fancy as possible and honor "Planet Caravan", one of my favorite Sabbath songs, covered by one of my favorite metal bands.

The thing about Black Sabbath and Pantera that always pulled me in, was that beyond all the obvious heaviness and METAL, their softer side was eons darker and more tortured. Sure, "Iron Man" is heavy, but "Changes" pulls out your goddamn heart and crushes it with a baseball bat. God, I love that song. Pantera ran the same course. "Mouth For War" is pissed off and can make you pick up cars and throw them at old ladies, but "Floods" will literally make you feel like the walls are closing in around you.

Every time I saw Pantera (other than one Ozzfest slot in 2000), they played "Planet Caravan". The four dudes would set up shop in the middle of the stage with bongos and pot, fly swirly pot leaves out over the lights and turn the entire arena green (in color and smell). Even if you don't smoke the weed, you somehow got high as a motherfucker. Good music will do that...

"Planet Caravan":