The Metal Den's Randy "Rocket" Cody has issued a following Q&A; session with vocalist Bruce Corbitt of Texas-based pioneering thrash metallers RIGOR MORTIS.

The following is an excerpt:

Q: It's well known that Phil Anselmo is a big fan of Rigor Mortis. Do you recall the first time you saw PANTERA live? Everyone has their own way of expressing what seeing them for the very first time was like...

A: "Surprisingly I never went to see Pantera until early 1989. Of course I knew about them like everyone else around this area. But, in the early-to-mid 80s they were just part of a different scene than I was. When I joined Rigor in 1986, this area had like 3 big scenes going on at the time. There was the underground Thrash scene I was part of… with bands like Rigor, Gammacide, Rotting Corpse, Sedition and Hammer Witch. There was also the Glam scene that was going strong. Pantera was always the biggest band around here and they pretty much had their own scene all to themselves. With a few exceptions most of the bands and fans stuck to the scenes they were into back in those days.

Then Phil started coming to see Rigor Mortis and going to the underground shows in 1987. He was into heavier music and so he sort of bridged-the-gap between bands like Rigor Mortis and Pantera. After I was fired from Rigor in early 1989, one night he invited me out to see Pantera at a club called The Basement. The rest of the Rigor Mortis guys showed up at this show too, and I met their new singer Doyle Bright for the first time that night. Anyway, all the guys in Pantera were very cool to me and made me feel welcome to be there.

Then when I watched them jam that night I knew immediately what everyone saw in those guys. By this time they were already in the new direction and style that would make them the biggest metal band in upcoming years. They were tight as hell, intense... hell they were something special and a professional band on the brink of conquering the world. I admit that I was blown away and I wondered that night why it took me so long to check them out. But now looking back on it, I think I got to see them at the right time... I might not have liked the earlier versions of the band as much."

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