March 11, 1964
Vincent Paul Abbott is born in Dallas, Texas

July 27, 1964
Rex Robert Brown is born in Graham, Texas

August 20, 1966
Darrell Lance Abbott is born in Dallas, Texas

June 30, 1968
Philip Hansen Anselmo is born in New Orleans, Louisiana

Late 1970's / Early 1980's
Vincent Abbott is chosen to play tuba in his high school band. His father, country songwriter Jerry Abbott, takes Vincent back to school and tells him that "You're gonna play drums. You can do really well with them". Vincent becomes attached to the drums and becomes heavily involved in the high school music scene. In the jazz band, he meets a like-minded bassist, Rex Brown. They become friends and spend their classtime performing cover tunes like 2112 by Rush.

Meanwhile, Vincent's younger brother Darrell starts to take up an interest in the drums. He soon gives this up and opts to emulate his hero, Ace Frehley of KISS. He spends his time in the bathroom, posing in the mirror with his guitar and Frehley-style makeup. After much time spent practising, Darrell offers to jam with his brother. They begin with a cover of Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water, and develop their skills together. Darrell enters several Texas State guitar contests and wins them all, which leads organisers to ban him from future participation.

One of the prizes Darrell collects is a Dean guitar, with a body that could be described as a cross between a Flying-V and an Explorer. Darrell trades it for a Flying-V to a friend who returns it to him later, saying that it should be with its rightful owner. While in the hands of the owner, the guitar is repainted in a blue finish, with lightning bolts.

1982
Darrell, Vincent and Rex form a band with Terrence Lee, named Pantego after a town outside of Dallas. The name is dropped in favour of Pantera, which translated from Spanish, means "Panther". They play live sets comprised mainly of Van Halen and KISS covers. They are encouraged by Jerry Abbott to write their own material.

1983
Pantera release their debut album, Metal Magic, on their own Metal Magic label. Credited as performing on the record are Terry Glaze, Diamond Darrell, Vince Abbott and Rexx Rocker. It carries a heavy KISS influence, and earns the band support slots with Dokken, Stryper and others.

1984
Pantera release album number two, Projects In The Jungle. The Pantera sound is defined with this record and results in the swelling of their underground following.

1985
Pantera's third album, I Am The Night, is released. It receives a lukewarm reception and is the swansong for Terrence Lee. Vince Abbott changes his stage name to Vinnie Paul for this record.

1986
Terrence Lee's replacement is Philip Anselmo, of New Orleans.

1988
Pantera release their first album with Philip at the helm. Power Metal represents a drastic change from the Pantera of old. The record is much more aggressive than the material recorded with Terrence Lee. The success of Power Metal brings Pantera to the attention of the major labels.

1989
Diamond Darrell is approached by Megadeth to join them as a guitarist. He declines, stating that he'd rather stay with Pantera and follow their new direction. Shortly afterwards, the band is signed to Atco Records.

1990
Pantera release Cowboys From Hell. The record thrusts them onto the national stage and Pantera earn support slots with Suicidal Tendencies and Skid Row, among other bands. They tour Europe with Judas Priest and cement a foreign fanbase. The tour is capped-off with the release of
Pantera's very first home video, Cowboys From Hell: The Videos.

September 21, 1991
Pantera open the 'Monsters of Rock' show in Moscow, Russia. The band perform before an audience of approximately one million people. They share the bill with bands such as The Black Crowes, Metallica and AC/DC.

1992
Pantera cease touring to record and release Vulgar Display Of Power, before hitting the road again to promote the record. The first single, Mouth For War, knocks over Metallica's Enter Sandman as metal's most successful single.

1993
Pantera release their second home video, Vulgar Video. Diamond Darrell changes his nickname to
Dimebag.

1994
Far Beyond Driven is released and immediately chart on Billboard, debuting at #1. This is the first time a heavy metal record has achieved such a feat. The band attribute it to the amount of touring that they do. They tour in support of the album on their first-ever headlining tour of the USA before embarking on a world tour.

1995
Pantera finally take some time off touring. Philip Anselmo uses his time to record an album with a few of his New Orleans-based friends, collectively named Down.

Mid-1996
Pantera release The Great Southern Trendkill. The record takes a stab at the MTV generation, the underground punk scene and other nuisances. The record doesn't match the success of its platinum predessor, but the fans lap it up nonetheless.

July 12, 1996
Philip Anselmo collapses after a show at the Coca-Cola Starplex in Dallas, Texas. It is discovered that he has overdosed on heroin. Philip later issued the following statement:

"I, Philip H. Anselmo, immediately after a very successful show in Dallas, injected a lethal dose of heroin into my arm and died for 4 to 5 minutes. There was no lights, no beautiful music, just nothing. And then after 20 minutes (From what I heard later) my friends slapped me and poured waterover my head, all basically trying to revive me. The paramedics finally arrived and all I remember is waking up in the back of an ambulance. From that point on I knew all I wanted was to be back on the tour bus, going to the next gig. Instead I was going to the hospital where I was released very shortly. You see, I'm not a heroin addict, but I am (was) an intravenous drug abuser. The lesson learned here is that every nightmare ever heard about OD'ing, and or, heroin is terribly true. And for my friends and family as well as myself and our fans (Pantera, Down, etc.). I since then have recovered completely, the Pantera tour uninterrupted. I intend to keep it that way! Special thanks to my family and friends who supported me, and the fans who pump me up to the hilt. One message to everyone in this fucking world. I am not a weakling groping for sympathy. I WILL NOT DIE SO EASILY! I'm here to piss off the music press for along time to come".

Very Sincerely,
Philip Anselmo

1997
Pantera begin the year by achieving a dream, supporting long-time heroes KISS on the Central
American leg of their world tour. Following that, Pantera join the Ozzfest tour and are billed second
only to Ozzy Osbourne and the reformed Black Sabbath.

July 29, 1997
Pantera release their very first live album, Official Live 101 Proof. It contains songs recorded
from shows across the USA from the 1996/97 Great Southern Tourkill. The record also features
two new studio tracks, Where You Come From and I Can't Hide.

November 13, 1997
Pantera release their third home video, the long-awaited Pantera 3: Watch It Go.

1998
Pantera embark on an extensive tour of South America and Europe, but are forced to cancel their
Brazilian shows due to circumstances beyond their control. The band make their long-awaited
return to England, to appear at the Milton Keynes date of the Ozzfest '98 tour.

September 1998
Pantera are recording their as-yet untitled tenth album.