Anselmo was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is of Danish, Italian and French heritage. He attended many schools across Louisiana and Texas, the last of which was Grace King High School located in the suburb of Metairie. Anselmo\'s father, Phil, owned and operated a restaurant in Metairie called Anselmo\'s, which closed following the wake of Hurricane Katrina due to financial troubles. Anselmo has said in various interviews that he was very quiet and secluded as a child. He spent some time working on fishing boats as a young man. As a teen, Anselmo accidentally started a fire in his parent\'s house while pulling a prank on his sister. The incident resulted in smoke damage to most of the furniture and part of the house needing renovation.\n', '

While a teenager, Anselmo joined the band Samhain (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig\'s band Samhain). From the early to mid-1980s, Anselmo was a member of the band Razor White. While they did have some original material, they played mainly Judas Priest covers.\n', '

Pantera released three albums via Metal Magic Records, but did not garner much attention, because the band wasn\'t signed with a major label record at the time, especially with Terry Glaze at vocals. Glaze was deemed to be primarily a glam metal singer, because they were heading in a different direction musically. Seeking a new frontman to continue on this heavier path, Glaze left the band. In 1987, after several meetings, the 19-year old Anselmo was officially added to the Pantera lineup. The band was so impressed with Anselmo, that they re-recorded some of Glaze\'s vocals for their latest release. Anselmo relocated to Texas to record Pantera\'s fourth album, Power Metal, which was released in 1988. Following the release of Power Metal, the band dropped its glam image and adopted a more casual look. In 1990, Pantera released their fifth album, Cowboys from Hell, which paved the way towards the band\'s stardom. As a tour unfolded to promote the band\'s latest album, there was documented portions of this tour on their first home video, Cowboys from Hell: The Videos, released in 1991.\n', '

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