ROCKET REVIEW: REX BROWN – “Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of PANTERA” (BOOK)

Former PANTERA bassist Rex Brown finally tells his side of the story as a member of one of metal’s most influential bands ever. Written along with acclaimed author Mark Eglinton (James Hetfield: The Wolf At Metallica’s Door), what the reader is treated to is hands down the most brutally frank rock memoir you will ever read in your life. Brown pulls no punches when it comes to telling his ‘truth’ about how things really went down in CFH camp, ultimately explaining why the biggest heavy metal group of the 1990’s disintegrated after the tragic events of 9/11 in 2001. He is particularly hard on Dimebag’s brother, Vinnie Paul, basically breaking the guy down to a totally predictable drummer that he easily got bored playing with so he would have to invent ways to play his parts different to make it fun for himself. Brown takes unmerciful swings at Vinnie’s sex life, saying the legendary drummer regularly ‘groped’ female groupies but would only get laid maybe “one out of ten times”. He always claims the ‘titty bar’ image Vinnie perpetuated was something that he absolutely hated and even goes on the record to say that Vinnie Paul was an utter embarrassment more times than not. One of the funniest sections of the book is when Rex describes Vinnie Paul snow skiing for the first time and knocking people down that got in his path, including families with kids.

Brown also points a finger at Dime and Vinnie’s dad, Jerry, for taking money from the band when it was not deserved. But the coolest thing about the book for me is that Rex is actually just as hard on himself, Philip and Dimebag. He explains in fine detail exactly how things transpired leading up to the breakup of CFH after the difficult studio production of Reinventing The Steel. He tells his compelling story of drug and alcohol abuse that nearly killed him and takes you down the path of Anselmo’s heroin usage around the days of Superjoint Ritual. I went to those concerts back in 2002/2003 and so while it was already apparent to me from Philip’s painful-to-watch performances that he was in big trouble, this clearer picture painted helps you understand how dysfunctional things truly were.

I really liked how Rex breaks down the album making process and finer details of the powerful collaboration between he and the other members of Pantera. No matter how much drama went down, the bottom line is they were always about the music and fans when it came right down to it. That’s what made them so special. Brown may be unrelenting in spilling the dirt but the one thing you come away with is how much he loved his band and how much he misses being in it.

This is a cautionary tale (beware of the ‘hangers on’) that will make you laugh out loud and wipe away a few tears at the same time, because while there’s a lot of comical shit in this book, it does become quite heartbreaking of a read by the last sixty pages. Brown went down a path of his own hell dealing with terrible addictions during the end of Pantera and the start of his other band Down (that he is no longer in) with troubled Anselmo. Crazily enough, Brown even ends up in a mental institution at one point. The Down band project is looked at by most as the main reason animosity started between he and the Abbott brothers. But I think Rex helps the reader understand why it all happened this way and that he even played his new project’s music to both Dime and Vinnie and seemingly got their approval. He never considered Pantera over until the brothers made it that way.

It’s clear that the media war – for which Brown blames metal gossip magazines & online site Blabbermouth.net – are definitely ‘partially’ to blame for the demise of Pantera. It’s like they took absolute glee in exploiting the escalating feud between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers, which made each man’s pride and anger swell to a new level. What is sad to learn the most is that what it boils down to is that being in a band for fifteen plus years with anyone simply takes its toll. Although had Dimebag not eventually got killed by a crazed ex-Marine… there is no doubt in Brown’s mind they all would have got back together in a room at some point and planned a reunion.

In the end, Brown is a survivor. That’s what this book means to me. He battles incredibly throughout destructive drug usage fueled by the biggest nightmare of them all: losing Dimebag to the fatal on stage shooting in December/2004 while the brothers performed in their new project called DAMAGEPLAN. It’s hard to fathom he would be blamed by Vinnie Paul for his brother’s death. But being such a strong, resilient character who believes in God and his family, Brown stands tall at the end of it all, ready to make new music with Kill Devil Hill and continue to proudly celebrate the great Pantera legacy.