VINNIE PAUL Repeats Debunked Story Of How PANTERA's 'Vulgar Display Of Power' Cover Was Created

Former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the twenty-fifth anniversary of the band's classic "Vulgar Display Of Power" album.

"Well, it's one of those milestones that I never thought about when I was 27 years old when we were making that record, or whatever it was," he said (hear audio below). "It was just one of those things that we were in the moment. We were non-stop touring, and we really never realized the impact that that record had on the whole heavy metal genre and everything. And looking back at it, man, it really was a groundbreaking record and it really kind of set the tone for what heavy metal turned into."

He added: "It's a record that modern-day heavy metal bands still A-B their records to. They love the guitar sound, they love the drum sound. And the thing about the record that really made it great were just the songs. They had the groove, they had the attitude, they had amazing lyrics. It was just something that was really ahead of its time in 1992."

Vinnie also talked about the "Vulgar Display" cover, which consisted of a real photograph of a fist unashamedly belting a man's face in the most outrageous, yet expressive way possible.

"When we first described the concept to the label, they brought us all these pictures of all these boxers and stuff, and we were, like, 'No. It's gotta be street, man. It's a street-level thing,'" Vinnie said. "So they did the pictures, and then, obviously, that was the one we wound up using. And it really did work — it was perfect for what it was."

According to Paul, PANTERA's record label, Atlantic, paid the man on the cover — an alleged fan of the band — "ten dollars a punch, and from what I understand, they hit this guy, like, thirty times, so he made three hundred dollars and disappeared back onto the streets of New York, and his face has been pasted on about ten million records around the world, man," he said.

The drummer added that he has "never seen the guy" or "met the guy" that ended up being on the front of "Vulgar Display". "Hell, who knows if he's even still alive," Vinnie said.

Back in 2012, Canadian web site PureGrainAudio successfully debunked the popular legend of how the "Vulgar Display" cover was created after contacting photographer Brad Guice, who set the record straight about the photo shoot that resulted in the iconic image.

"[The man on the cover] was never punched. The legend is totally false," the New York-based artist said. "Someone made that up and had a good laugh about it, I am sure. The real image was professionally produced in a photo studio with it being well thought out and executed."

Regarding how the man for the photo shoot was chosen, Guice said: "I called every model agency looking for a long-haired model. They were very popular back at that time. They were so popular that they were all booked on shoots, traveling on editorial jobs to the Caribbean etc... None available! At the last second, I believe it was the Ford model agency that called and said they had a model flying in from Los Angeles and could come by my studio for a casting. He showed up and was perfect. The model's name was Sean Cross."

Guice added that the actual session required plenty of technical preparation and planning. "It was a very rehearsed setup... with the fist moving and pushing the model's face hard to achieve the look, but not at all punched," he said. "I shot the image in color. First, I used strobe (lights) in the foreground to stop the motion, and tungsten spots in the background and hair for the dramatic movement through a drag/time exposure. I had a strong fan to help blow the hair to help with movement. I needed to play with the camera's shutter speed, and my own moving the camera with the so-called punch to get the desired effect of movement and a feeling of reality. I also used a lower camera angle to make for a more powerful dramatic view."

"Vulgar Display of Power" was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2004, signifying shipments of more than two million units in the U.S. since its February 1992 release.

Interview (audio):