Biography
Born on July 27, 1964, in Graham, Texas, Rex Brown helped establish Pantera as a founding member and left a lasting mark on hard rock and metal throughout the 1990s and 2000s before stepping out as a solo artist in the following decade. Piano served as his introduction to music, with ragtime pieces passed down by his grandmother. Hard rock captured his attention during adolescence, sparking a deep admiration for ZZ Top, Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. At age 12 he picked up the bass guitar and joined his high school jazz ensemble, where he played alongside drummer Vinnie Abbott. The two musicians joined Vinnie’s brother Darrell Abbott and vocalist Terry Glaze in 1982 to launch the heavy metal outfit Pantera. National attention arrived in 1990 with the major-label release Cowboys from Hell, at which point Phil Anselmo had taken over lead vocals, the Abbott siblings performed as Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell, and Brown had abandoned the early stage name Rex Rocker. Four additional studio albums followed before Pantera disbanded after issuing Reinventing the Steel in 2000.
While Pantera was still active, Brown contributed bass to Jerry Cantrell’s 1998 solo effort Boggy Depot. He later rejoined vocalist Anselmo in Down, appearing on the 2002 album Down II (A Bustle in Your Hedgerow) and the 2007 release Down III: Over the Under before exiting the group. In 2004 he produced and performed on Crowbar’s Life’s Blood for the Downtrodden. Material he had tracked with Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, and outlaw country figure David Allan Coe between 1999 and 2003 surfaced in 2006 as the album Rebel Meets Rebel. Two years later he added guest work to Inflikted, the Cavalera Conspiracy debut fronted by Max Cavalera. Brown next helped form Kill Devil Hill, whose self-titled first album arrived in 2012. His own debut solo record, Smoke on This…, emerged in 2017—more than thirty years into his recording career—and featured him on both guitar and bass.
While Pantera was still active, Brown contributed bass to Jerry Cantrell’s 1998 solo effort Boggy Depot. He later rejoined vocalist Anselmo in Down, appearing on the 2002 album Down II (A Bustle in Your Hedgerow) and the 2007 release Down III: Over the Under before exiting the group. In 2004 he produced and performed on Crowbar’s Life’s Blood for the Downtrodden. Material he had tracked with Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, and outlaw country figure David Allan Coe between 1999 and 2003 surfaced in 2006 as the album Rebel Meets Rebel. Two years later he added guest work to Inflikted, the Cavalera Conspiracy debut fronted by Max Cavalera. Brown next helped form Kill Devil Hill, whose self-titled first album arrived in 2012. His own debut solo record, Smoke on This…, emerged in 2017—more than thirty years into his recording career—and featured him on both guitar and bass.
Albums
Singles
