Jim Carrey Describes Hearing Pantera for the First Time: “It Hit Me On Such a Level of Extreme Stimulation”

When we think of metal back in the ’80s and ’90s, we don’t always imagine it intersecting with the mainstream world. Today, everyone can be reached on Instagram or what have you, but back then metal was a subculture, and the mainstream was as bloated as ever. But if there was any massive ’90s celebrity who had his finger on the pulse of metal, it was Jim Carrey, who got Cannibal Corpse to be featured in his breakthrough film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. And now, Carrey has talked about hearing Pantera for the first time…and then having a surreal meeting with the band.

In an interview with Fox News as transcribed by our curvier halves over at Metal Injection, Carrey spoke about the first time he heard the band on the way to a show:

“The first time I ever heard Pantera, I was driving down to San Diego [to check into a hotel before doing] a concert at a theater. Me and my manager, Jim Miller at the time, we put Pantera on. I had never heard anything like it and it hit me on such a level of like, extreme stimulation that I just started laughing uncontrollably for the entire trek. Just like, nervously laughing, like ‘what is happening right now?’”

“And then we went to check into the hotel, and the guys behind us in the line checking into the hotel were Pantera.”

Fucking bizarre. It makes you wonder if Pantera had any idea who Jim Carrey was at the time — maybe the dude was fresh off of his Fire Marshall Bill days, and hadn’t yet become a household name. That said, maybe they stanned out and began shouting, “LAHOO-SAHEERRR!” at him like a bunch of goons. Guess we’ll have to wait for Phil’s growled take on this story.

Check out Jim’s full interview about Pantera below: