Released May 22, 1996 Length 7:00 | Recorded 1995 - 1996 Label Eastwest | |
Genre Groove Metal, Sludge Metal Writer(s) Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, Phil Anselmo, Rex Brown | ||
"Floods" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Pantera from their 1996 album The Great Southern Trendkill. It is the longest song on the album, and the third longest song the band has ever recorded, after "Cemetery Gates" (7:02), and "Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks" (7:01).
Contents
Lyrics
The lyrics of the song tell about acts committed by mankind such as rape, murder, and war, and contain themes of a plea to God to flood the earth in a fashion like that described in the biblical Book of Genesis.
Guitar solo
The song features one of Dimebag Darrell's most popular solos. The solo was originally a riff written by guitarist Dimebag in the late 1980s. This is revealed in the first Dimevision DVD, which features a video from 1988 of the then 22-year-old Darrell playing what would later be the ending of the solo to "Floods". Guitar World magazine voted Dimebag Darrell's guitar solo in "Floods" as the 15th greatest of all-time.
Darrell on the solo:
That particular solo was thought-out in a more orchestrated fashion than some of the others I play where I just start ripping right off the bat”. “The thing that really makes the ‘Floods’ solo come across like it does is [bassist] Rex’s playing behind it. He’s using his fingers and he plays a whole bunch of cool licks and shit in there. He definitely adds to the vibe and feel of my lead because I’m playing off his part a lot—it was a great foundation for me to build on, man.