"This Love" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...

by American heavy metal band Pantera. It was first released on the band's best-selling album, '' Vulgar Display of Power'', and later on the band's compilation album, '' The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!'' A live version was also included on '' Official Live: 101 Proof''.

Composition and lyrics

The song begins with a progressive chorus guitar riff played, and the song soon becomes heavier occasionally. Drummer

Vinnie Paul Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, 'Dimebag' Darrell ...

has said that this song was about a relationship vocalist Phil Anselmo had been in previously. "''This Love'' was pretty much the story of a relationship he had been in, and he was really mad about it!".

Reception

"This Love" is one of the band's most well-known songs. ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' ranked the song number 10 on their list of the 50 best Pantera songs, writing that it "starts in pretty, elegant mode before erupting into a mad-eyed bar brawl of a chorus." '' Loudwire'' ranked "This Love" number seven on their list of the 10 best Pantera songs. '' Guitar World'' ranked the song number five on their ranking of the 25 best Pantera songs.

Music video

The music video for "This Love" was directed by

Kevin Kerslake Kevin Kerslake is an American filmmaker and photographer. He has directed documentaries on Joan Jett ('' Bad Reputation''), DJ AM (''As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM''), The Ramones (''We're Outta Here!''), Nirvana (''Live! Tonight! Sold Out! ...

and shows the band playing on a rooftop while smoke drifts over them. The chorus shows the band inside, playing on a stage, cutting between this and the rooftop. Phil Anselmo can be seen wearing a Down T-shirt. In a subplot, prostitution is shown with several prostitutes are doing random activities (such as seducing a man and another taking off a wig). This culminates when a particular prostitute gets into a cab which is occupied by another man, who tries to rape her. From the last moments of the video, it appears that she kills him, because she is seen dragging him from the cab and leaving him by the roadside.

Track listing

Appearances in the media

*The 1994 computer game '' Doom II: Hell on Earth'' rearranges a portion of this song, used on Maps 18 and 27.http://www.doomworld.com/linguica/doomcovers/ *The music video for this song appeared on MTV's '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' and is available on '' The Mike Judge Collection, Volume 1''. *In 1994, comedy punk band

the Radioactive Chicken Heads The Radioactive Chicken Heads are an American virtual band formed in Orange, California in 1993. Operating anonymously under the guise of mutant chickens and vegetables, the Chicken Heads' music is primarily a mix of punk rock, heavy metal and ...

(then known as Joe and the Chicken Heads) recorded a parody cover called "This Lunch". *The song was released as downloadable content for ''

Rock Revolution ''Rock Revolution'' is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. The game was released on 15 October 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. As with similar titles, the game uses various ...

'' and ''

Rocksmith 2014 ''Rocksmith 2014'' is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 game ''Rocksmith'', but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plug ...

''.

Personnel

* Phil Anselmo – vocals *

Dimebag Darrell Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), best known by his stage name Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside hi ...

– guitars *

Rex Brown Rex Robert Brown (born July 27, 1964) is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Pantera, from 1982 to their disbandment in 2003. As of their reunion in 2022, he is the band's only constant member. Brown i ...

– bass *

– drums

References

{{Authority control 1992 singles Pantera songs 1990s ballads 1992 songs East West Records singles Heavy metal ballads Song recordings produced by Terry Date Songs written by Dimebag Darrell Songs written by Vinnie Paul Songs written by Phil Anselmo Songs written by Rex Brown Music videos directed by Kevin Kerslake