Song · Pantera
“Cemetery Gates” by Pantera
From the album Cowboys From Hell (1990)
“Cemetery Gates” by Pantera appears on 11 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1995 and 2025. It was first released in 1990 on the album Cowboys From Hell. Its best result is #6 on the KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,845 classic rock song of all time.
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Buried fifth on Cowboys From Hell, Pantera's 1990 album and their second with Phil Anselmo at the mic, "Cemetery Gates" is a power ballad and the longest song the band ever recorded. Anselmo mourns a lost lover and weighs following her into death, and he has pointed to real grief behind it: friends lost to suicide, and a death in New Orleans that hit his circle hard. The title nods to the Smiths' "Cemetry Gates", a band he adores.
Terry Date produced it with the band, and Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown and Vinnie Paul keep the slow burn steady until the finale turns into a duel, Anselmo shrieking high notes and Dimebag firing back on guitar.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 16 | 97.1 The Eagle Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | KEGL The Eagle's Top 97 Songs of 1997 | 97 |
| 1997 | 29 | WRCX Rock 103.5 Chicago, IL | WRCX Top 103 Songs of 1997 | 103 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 715 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) | 1000 |
| 1996 | 841 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) | 1000 |
| 1998 | 969 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) | 1000 |
| 1999 | 916 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) | 998 |
| 2002 | 525 | KISW | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) | 999 |
| 2010 | 51 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2010) | 70 |
| 2011 | 68 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2011) | 70 |
| 2013 | 6 | KBPI | KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time | 200 |
| 2025 | 266 | 102.5 WDVE | DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) | 500 |
Also listed as: Cemetary Gates.
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