Pick up the new Down Ep here: Digital Download: http://smarturl.it/downIVepII Physical copy (US and Canada): http://smarturl.it/down-iv-ii-cd

Classic Rock Magazine reviews DOWN IV - Part Two. Check it out!  

GuitarWorld.com [caption id="attachment_2203" align="alignnone" width="638"] Pepper Keenan[/caption]   Guitar World recently caught up with Down guitarist Pepper Keenan to discuss the group’s upcoming EP, Down IV—Part Two (on sale May 20), the departure of longtime guitarist Kirk Windstein, and the possibility of a reunion with his Keenan’s former band, Corrosion of Conformity. When did you start working on the upcoming Down IV—Part Two EP? We were touring a lot, and we did a bunch of killer shows in Europe and the band as a whole was very excited about where we were heading. And then we had some issues with Kirk [Windestein] and him wanting to focus more on Crowbar—and that happens sometimes in bands, you’d be a fool to deny it. We were just going in separate directions, and that’s okay—I mean, we only wanted the best for Kirk, but Down wasn’t going to waste one second, and he understood that. But I understood where Kirk was coming from—Crowbar is his baby. So, during that period, me and Jimmy [Bower, drums] and Pat [Bruders, bass] were just in the jam room constantly, coming up with ideas and running them past Phil [Anselmo, vocals] to make sure that we were all on the same page. And then basically our ace in the hole became Pat. He had been in Crowbar all these years, but he never really had a chance to write much of anything. And he started coming up with some amazing ideas, and that took some of the pressure off of us. We do it pretty old-school—just beatin’ it out in the jam room. What are some of the pros of doing four consecutive EPs? Usually when you do a full length album, the record company throws it out there and maybe you get a couple of months out of it—but we wanted to do something that would stretch that out for a couple of years. Down likes to tour a lot, and doing the EPs will allow us more freedom to do that and get more music out to our fans more frequently. Plus we have different types of songs in this band, and doing EPs will let us bring out some of those songs that didn’t fit on an album before. Like the next EP will probably have more campfire-type, acousticy songs. It’ll give us an opportunity to show a different side of Down without having to do another whole album, or take those few acoustic songs and jam them into full album. We just like the idea of splitting the material up into four EPs and making it work to our advantage. From a songwriting perspective, what did it mean to lose Kirk Windstein? I knew we were losing something, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. I just knew that something was going to be gone. I’m pretty prolific when it comes to riffs and songs, so it wasn’t that much of a concern—but Kirk and I had been doing this together for 20 fucking years, so that aspect of it was gone. How did your stage manager, Bobby Landgraf, come to be Kirk’s replacement in the band? We were gonna go on a nationwide search for guitar players and all that, but sometimes that ends up biting you on the ass. The truth is we’re really not the easiest band to get along with—we kind of have our own language and way of doing things—so we wanted someone we knew we could hang out with, and Bobby was right there. After we got him in the game, everything started rolling. It reinvigorated us to have some new blood in the band. We’re happy as clams right now. Everybody’s heads are clear—nobody’s stumbling around, and we’re ready for the next couple of years for sure. The new EP isn’t a huge departure from the first one. No, it isn’t, but that was kind of the intention. I think it’s really gonna shift on the third and fourth EPs. The first one we just kinda ham-fisted it out, and the second one has a little more trickery going on—the riffs aren’t quite so simple and easily digestible, and at the end there’s this little acoustic thing that I think is gonna fly into the third EP. There’s some really crafty guitar stuff happening on this EP that we’ve never ventured into before. Your last recording with Corrosion of Conformity was 2005’s In the Arms of God. Are you open to reuniting with C.O.C.? I talk to Woody [Weatherman, guitar] and Mike [Dean, bass] about it often, and it’s definitely on the radar—but those guys are fully capable of doing it as a three-piece on their own for now, and they have been for a while. It’ll happen sooner or later, but only when I could give C.O.C. the utmost respect and attention that it deserves. But the truth is, doing both of those bands full-time is too much. "Down IV - Part Two" track listing: 01. Steeple 02. We Knew Him Well 03. Hogshead/Dogshead 04. Conjure 05. Sufferer's Years 06. Bacchanalia  

[caption id="attachment_2191" align="alignleft" width="480"] Jimmy Bower[/caption] Examiner.com On May 9, the year’s most blistering metal lineup will crash into the tri-state area for two nights of headcrushing overdrive. Black Label Society, Down, Devil You Know and the Butcher Babies are on this year’s Revolver Golden Gods tour, and your eardrums may never be the same again. In anticipation of the show at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey, followed the next night with another show at Best Buy Theater here in Manhattan, I spoke to drummer Jimmy Bower of Down. Read our interview below for Jimmy’s thoughts on the new Down EP, jamming with Zakk Wylde, and even playing Free Bird. Examiner: Hey Jimmy, how are you today? Jimmy: I’m doing good man, how you doing? Examiner: Pretty well myself. Down is coming to New York City in about a month and a half, where are you hanging out today? Jimmy: I’m in downtown New Orleans right now. Examiner: How do you gear up for going on tour? Jimmy: Put some clothes in a suitcase! (laughs) We usually try to get a bit of rehearsal in before we leave, and just kinda go over the songs that you wanna play. Say goodbye to the family, and get going. Examiner: One of my favorite things about a Down tour is that you don’t stick to one exact setlist night after night. Do you figure out the night’s songs that same day? Jimmy: You still gotta write a setlist. We usually talk out a couple of hours before what we’re going to play. It depends on the type of touring, if we’re gonna be on a headlining tour you have more time to shuffle the songs around. If you’re doing an opening set you kinda wanna go full force like a fight, you know? Examiner: Let’s talk a little about that. This is going to be the Revolver Golden Gods tour, and you guys will be opening for Black Label Society. I’m not sure how I feel about that, because you guys are more of a headlining kind of band. Jimmy: Yeah but I think it’s cool man, because Black Label has a really good following, and I think that our fans and their fans are kinda the same, so I think it will be really cool to get all those people together for one giant celebration. We’re really looking forward to touring with them. Examiner: I guess what makes it feel weird for me is because after you play Bury Me In Smoke, I’m spent. It’s like Free Bird - I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd opening for Kid Rock, and after they played Free Bird I went home, because after that experience I’m done. It doesn't get better than that. I don’t feel like listening to another set. Jimmy: (laughs) Well hopefully a couple of the Black Label guys will come jam it with us and that should freak some people out. Examiner: I can already picture Zakk Wylde shredding all over it. Jimmy: Hell yeah man, hell yeah. It’s really exciting and it should be interesting and, I don’t know, maybe we should end with a different song, you know? Maybe we can learn Free Bird. Examiner: Honestly, I would pay any amount of money to see Down jamming out on Free Bird. Jimmy: I’m sure something jam-wise is gonna happen, man. Between both bands everyone loves music too much for that not to happen. It should be fun. Examiner: Well, you know every Pantera fan in the world is watching and thinking, Philip and Zakk on the same stage, maybe that Pantera with Zakk Wylde fantasy is finally going to happen. Jimmy: Don’t ask me to do it, I can’t do that double bass stuff. Examiner: Damn. Jimmy: But if something like that happened... I mean, put yourself in the fans’ shoes. Going to see a concert with people that have jammed together and for something like that to happen, just wow. I think it would be really cool, from a fan’s standpoint, I think they would sh*t themselves. Examiner: I think that’s already happening just thinking about it. Jimmy: It’s a pretty extensive tour, pretty long, and we got a new record out we’re pushing, so we’re looking forward to it. Examiner: That new EP will be coming out within a few days of the New York and New Jersey shows in May. I got to listen to it a couple of times yesterday and this morning, and you guys rocked that sh*t. I gotta say great job. Jimmy: Thank you man. Examiner: Do you have a favorite track yet? Jimmy: I like Conjure a lot. The third song, real slow. Examiner: It’s an awesome song. What do you think the fan favorite will be? Jimmy: I don’t know man. I think the whole EP speaks for itself in terms of quality. We’re really happy with how it turned out and the whole recording process, this was actually one of the smoothest records we’ve ever made. It was like two weeks and we had all the drums tracked, and moved onto the guitar and bass and Phil came in and everytime he comes in and starts singing, it’s like a bolt of lightning. Examiner: This is the second of what’s supposed to be four EPs, is that still the plan? Jimmy: Yep. Examiner: When this four EP plan was first announced a couple of years ago, there was tentatively going to be a really mellow or acoustic EP. Is that still in the works? Jimmy: Yeah, that was the whole idea. We have a bunch of different styles, and like you said, we got mellow songs, we got rock songs, we got straight up heavy songs, so the whole idea was for each EP to reflect a style. On this EP, Kirk left the band last year so with Bobby in the band we just wanted to write songs with Bobby and it worked, man. Bobby’s such a great songwriter and such a good dude to have in the band, we kind of feel like it’s a fresh start. It’s nothing we haven’t been through before, but for some reason this album we feel really strong about everything. And hopefully maybe the next record will be your mellow and trippy one. Examiner: I gotta tell you, of course I love the heavy songs, but Jail and Learn From This Mistake and Nothing In Return have always been favorites of mine because no other band makes heavy but also mellow music like that. Jimmy: You gotta have some baby-making songs in there, brother! Examiner: And weed-smoking songs. Jimmy: Of course. That leads to the baby-making. Examiner: There’s actually some real mellow stuff at the very end of the last song on this EP, it caught me by surprise, almost like it was a different album. Jimmy: That song was actually tracked and written in like 15-20 minutes. It was pretty crazy, Pepper’s got this ukulele that he plays for his daughter. And he just started messing around, and it was like throw a microphone on that, and next thing you know Phil was singing and that was a wrap, bro. It’s that Planet Caravan, Solitude kind of song. Examiner: Is there room in this upcoming tour for any of the slow stuff, or it’s full speed ahead heavy? Jimmy: I don’t know, that’s pretty much up to Phil. He does the song list. Just get ready for whatever he’s gonna throw our way. But it just happens to be on this run, we’re doing an opening set so I think we play 45 minutes a night, which is maybe nine, ten songs. Examiner: Bury Me In Smoke on its own is just about ten minutes. Jimmy: Bury Me In Free Bird, bro. Examiner: Don’t tease me Jimmy. Don’t get my hopes up. Jimmy: That would be awesome man, so awesome. Examiner: Let’s finish with an easy question, what’s the most important thing you bring on tour with you? Jimmy: Baby wipes. You see some of these bathrooms... Examiner: That’s good to know. Thanks for speaking with me today, and I’m looking forward to these shows. And you’re gonna pull Free Bird through for me, right? Jimmy: Bury Me In Bird. You got it. Tickets are still available for both concerts right here. Read my last live review of Down in Las Vegas here, and my summer interview with Philip H. Anselmo himself here.

[caption id="attachment_2100" align="alignleft" width="350"] DOWN IV, Part II EP - Pre-Order TODAY from iTunes[/caption]   Metal supergroup Down has unveiled their new track "We Knew Him Well" from their upcoming EP Down IV - Part Two, out May 13th via Down Records/ADA Music. Stereogum premiered "We Knew Him Well," calling it "a titanic, bludgeoning deep-head-nod groove...it's gloriously messy but locked-in in the way that only New Orleans metal bands can pull off." The track is now available for immediate download with pre-order of the album or as an individual download on iTunes HERE, and is also available for streaming and embed HERE. In support of the upcoming record, Down will take their renowned live show on the road this spring, joining Black Label Society and Devil You Know on a North American tour. The tour, which also includes Down headlining shows and festival appearances, begins at Iron City in Birmingham, AL on May 2nd, and ends at Rocklahoma in Pryor, OK on May 25th. The run also includes an appearance on May 24th at Emo's in Austin at the "Rock the Heart" concert, a benefit for the late Mike Scaccia's (Rigor Mortis/Ministry) "Heart Rock" Foundation, with the goal of raising awareness about heart disease. Full tour dates are below, and tickets and VIP packages are now on sale here. With a collective resume encompassing Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, and Eyehategod, Down puffed out its first haze of sonic smoke from the belly of gritty old New Orleans on the 1995 platinum-selling classic, Nola. At that moment, they naturally summoned something akin to a ritual, continually partaking in it with critically revered offerings - Down II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow in 2002, Down III: Over the Under in 2007, Diary of a Mad Band live CD/DVD in 2010 and Down IV - Part One in 2012. Their shows built a certain live lore with unforgettable runs alongside Metallica and Heaven & Hell as well as coveted spots on Download, Soundwave, and OZZfest. On 2014's Down IV - Part Two, the boys once again deliver passionate, powerful, and pure heavy music. For the future, Down's sights are set on endless touring. Longtime "family" member, stage manager and Honky guitarist Bobby Landgraf made his formal stage debut when the band headlined vocalist Philip H. Anselmo's first annual Housecore Horror Film Festival in front of a packed audience of the faithful in October 2013. Now, it's just about bringing that inimitable sound everywhere possible. You can pre-order DOWN IV Part II EP today from iTunes for only $6.99. Buy it today and get "We Knew Him Well" instantly!

stereogum.com   Check out a sneak peek of DOWN's new EP with the premiere of "We Knew Him Well"!!! Down is the New Orleans sludge-metal supergroup led by Pantera’s Phil Anselmo and Corrosion Of Conformity’s Pepper Kennan, and later this spring, they’ll release their new EP Down IV – Part Two. The first track we’ve heard from it is a titanic, bludgeoning deep-head-nod groove called “We Knew Him Well,” and it’s gloriously messy but locked-in in the way that only New Orleans metal bands can pull off. Listen to it below.     The self-released Down IV – Part Two is out 5/13.    

Blabbermouth.net During this year's Soundwave festival in Australia, Metal Hammer editor Alexander Milas conducted an interview with DOWN guitarist Pepper Keenan for the "Metal Hammer" radio show on TeamRock Radio. You can listen to the chat using the SoundCloud player below. DOWN will release a new EP, "Down IV - Part Two", on May 13 via Down Records/ADA Music. Tracked at Nodferatu's Lair — iconic vocalist Philip H. Anselmo's home studio — and produced by Michael Thompson, Anselmo and DOWN, the new EP is the eagerly anticipated sequel to "Down IV - Part One". The new offering from DOWN is packed with the quintet's signature gargantuan riffs, swamp blues leads, crashing drums and hypnotic howls, upholding a certain tradition that countless fans celebrate, expanding their own musical mythos as they leave its pillars intact and untouched. In support of the upcoming record, DOWN will take their renowned live show on the road this spring, joining BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and DEVIL YOU KNOW on a North American tour. The tour, which also includes DOWN headlining shows and festival appearances, begins at Iron City in Birmingham, Alabama on May 2, and ends at Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma on May 25. The run also includes an appearance on May 24 at Emo's in Austin at the "Rock the Heart" concert, a benefit for the late Mike Scaccia's (RIGOR MORTIS, MINISTRY) "Heart Rock" foundation, with the goal of raising awareness about heart disease. When Anselmo, Pepper Keenan, Jimmy Bower, Pat Bruders, and Bobby Landgraf retreated to Nodferatu's Lair at Anselmo's Lousiana home in the fall of 2013, things had changed a bit. For the first time in the band's storied career, Kirk Windstein wouldn't be handling guitar duties alongside Keenan. Instead, longtime "family" member, stage manager, and HONKY guitarist Landgraf took the reins. "He was immediately at home," affirms Anselmo. "Bobby had always been that guy in case of anything. Knowing his personality, he really locked in with what we do and took it to heart. He made himself belong. Honestly, the first day he came down he contributed a very strong riff to a key song. There's that Southern element, which is imperative. I also catch a real old heavy metal vibe from this record. I can't stress this enough. He took it all on, and he did a fucking awesome job." Keenan adds, "Even with the lineup differences, it's interesting how the songs still sound very DOWN. Bobby and I have always locked in. It's not just physically either, but mentally as well. We see eye-to-eye, and he's been watching for a long time." "It was a big deal for me," beams Landgraf. "I drove ten hours up from Texas that first day, cracked a beer, and plugged in. We jumped right into the room, and I played this part. They all smiled. That was the moment for me. I'm a longtime fan, and I knew we were friends, but being a part of the writing and working towards something together was just incredible. As a guitar player, one of my goals was to be in a group like this. I want to make everyone proud." The fans will undoubtedly take pride in this collection as well. Making good on DOWN's promise of a series of EPs, the second installment sees a pronounced progression amongst the individuals themselves as well. "We wanted to back up our word as far as releasing these EPs," Anselmo goes on. "Everybody was fixated on that. This is the shortest period of time between our releases, and every one stepped it up and upped his game. Keenan, Bower, Bruders and Landgraf all contributed some excellent riffs. Having all of this fresh input makes for a different listen and a new perspective on what DOWN should and does sound like. All of that yields a unique record off the bat." For the future, DOWN's sights are set on endless touring. Landgraf made his formal stage debut when the band headlined Anselmo's first annual Housecore Horror Film Festival in front of a packed audience of the faithful in October 2013. Now, it's just about bringing that inimitable sound everywhere possible. "Down IV - Part Two" track listing: 01. Steeple 02. We Knew Him Well 03. Hogshead/Dogshead 04. Conjure 05. Sufferer's Years 06. Bacchanalia  

Blabbermouth.net Legendary New Orleans gods of sludge, excess and mayhem EYEHATEGOD will release their new, self-titled album on the following dates: * May 27 in North America on Housecore Records * May 26 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand on Century Media Records * May 21 in Japan on Daymare Records A song from the CD, "Agitation! Propaganda!", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. Mixed by Sanford Parker, "Eyehategod" will feature the final recordings of EYEHATEGOD drummer Joey LaCaze, who passed away last August of respiratory failure. He also suffered from severe long-term asthma. He has since been replaced by Aaron Hill, who comes by way of New Orleans' local acts MISSING MONUMENTS and MOUNTAIN OF WIZARD. In a recent interview with NPR, EYEHATEGOD frontman Mike "IX" Williams stated about the band's forthcoming CD: "We started out the recording with Billy Anderson. He recorded the drums, bass and some guitar, but that was a mess. There was a documentary crew in there filming, and it was distracting away from our time recording. Jimmy [Bower, guitar] was having a couple problems at the time too, waiting for his kid to be born, so it was a weird time to be in the studio. We ended up using just Joey's drum tracks from Billy. He's awesome — I love him and there's no hard feelings, but we just wanted to finish it somewhere else. We got Steve Berrigan to come out to where I live two hours outside of NOLA, and redid the bass and the guitars. Phil Anselmo [PANTERA, DOWN] gave me some ideas for the vocals, like how we did the ARSON ANTHEM record; me and him work well together." Asked if EYEHATEGOD ever considered giving up following Joey's passing, Mike said: "It was never an option as far as I'm concerned. I don't think it was for anybody else either. "This all happened at the end of September, when we'd just gotten back from a six-week tour of Europe. He's had pretty bad asthma ever since I've known him, and in Europe he was having these weird sleep apnea things when he was sleeping. It was a breathing issue, a respiratory thing, but I don't know; I'm not a doctor. So when we got back, that's when he passed away, so there was a little bit of time in there when we had to think — 'We've got shows booked. What do we do?' We did have to cancel probably 50% of them, but we still just said, 'Let's keep going, that's what he would want us to do.' We'd even had conversations before, when Joey and I would talk, and he'd ask me, 'Who would you get to replace me?' Things like that, and just be honest with each other. He knew the band would keep going, and he wanted it to. "To me, it's just part of life; it's just the way things happen, what cards you're dealt, how life treats you. "We don't know how to give up. That's been the story of our entire career, our lives, even without the band. We just don't know when to quit. It's just a matter of moving forward."  

by Rick Florino Down exist on a plane of their own. Remnants of Black Sabbath and Witchfinder General float through the black waters they sail, but Down IV - Part Two comes to life as a distinct, dynamic, and devilish beast. That's the first reaction to this hulking opus from Louisiana's finest metal outfit. The spirit of the band's classic influences remains preserved, yet it becomes resurrected into something much more powerful than homage. Where other artists stay content with regurgitating that blueprint, Down rewrite the motherfucker and emerge as new gods in the process… It certainly may sound funny to refer to Down as "new" given the fact that their legendary debut NOLA is nearly twenty-years-old after all. However, they've got their eyes opened to the future and towards the creative cosmos in a rather ponderous manner here that suggests the future holds their brightest and boldest chapter. That cognizance of the greater expanse is enough to make H.P. Lovecraft proud as well. Down IV - Part Two builds on the group's legacy and expands it in a rather epic fashion. "Steeple" encroaches with a calculated Jimmy Bower beat wrapped up with Philip H. Anselmo's haunting howl and airy swirling riffs from Pepper Keenan and Bobby Landgraf. Pat Bruders exorcises a throbbing bass stomp as Anselmo proclaims, "And the steeple will fall". The melodies only mirror that as the distorted throttling kicks back in. After the ominous "Steeple", "We Knew Him Well" and "Hogshead Dogshead" signal a Southern swamp death march bathed in gnashing guitar grooves and massive hooks from the singer. Stretching past the eight-minute mark into a "Hand of Down"-style bliss, "Conjure" casts one of Down's most potent spells to date. You've got to just slip into its hazy hum, and you'll get it quite instantly. The soloing on "Sufferer's Years" augments the intensity of the refrain, "And I hate this time of year". However, "Baccahnalia" may be codified as Down's finest hour to date. Nearly nine minutes and punctuated by an ethereal outro, it's a rapturous ride through the musical excesses praising the Greek God of wine and "ritual madness". Anselmo's lyrics will get you thinking too, and that practice elevates the genre. Ultimately, this is the perfect gateway into Down's world. Once you're there, you're never going to want to leave either. —Rick Florino  

CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS FROM THE TOUR DOWN UNDER HERE!

TOURING THIS SPRING WITH BLACK LABEL SOCIETY

Down IV - Part Two tracklist

1. Steeple 2. We Knew Him Well 3. Hogshead/Dogshead 4. Conjure 5. Sufferer's Years 6. Bacchanalia

[caption id="attachment_2111" align="alignnone" width="531"] DOWN[/caption]   Down speaks with Soundwave TV:

http://www.beat.com.au/music/down

[caption id="attachment_2078" align="alignnone" width="881"] DOWN[/caption] For over 27 years, former Pantera and current Down vocalist Phil Anselmo bruised himself for metal. Broke bones for metal. For four fraught minutes, even died for metal. In 2014, Phil and his many scars are celebrating anniversaries left, right and centre. "I guess it makes me feel old," he starts. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pantera's Far Beyond Driven, the first extreme metal album to top both the US Billboard and Australian ARIA charts. Next year ushers in the 15th birthday of Down's first record, NOLA, also the initials for Phil's adoptive home of New Orleans, Louisiana. "I guess I feel accomplished to a certain degree," Anselmo continues, recognising what's passed before. "But on the other hand, I feel absolutely ignorant." Even the master has more to learn. "But I think as a musician I can always strive for a different spirit. Because music is vast. All the tools are there, it's up to you whether to make the tools coincide with each other." Phil banged his head to metal since his school days. Fronting both Pantera and Down in the ‘90s, two of metal's most influential groove-thrash bands, Anselmo played a pivotal role pushing metal into its second age, the age between what's classic and now. Tastes since have spiced up and changed. "When I was growing up, heavy metal was going through a lot of different phases," Anselmo says. "One of the phases was younger bands becoming more technically proficient and out of nowhere comes a band called Hellhammer. They were primitive as fuck, and many people scoffed at the time but now they're considered legends." What about right now? Anselmo's adamant new bands are jamming up the works and some rather generic tunes. "I think there's some good bands in the world and there are some bands that need to identify themselves more," Phil advises the new breed. "They need to strive for something more original, to stop being copycats. As a veteran of the scene, I've experimented a lot. But it's up to new bands to step out of the shadow of genre. They need to create something that's brilliant and stimulating and different instead of wanting to sound like some fuckin' subgenre, or whatever." Phil matches snarl with action owning his own label, Housecore Records, a stable for bands shattering the mould. Bands like fellow New Orleans psycho-sludgers Eyehategod, doom crushers haarp and his own 'anti-music' act, Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals. Is the label owner life one of cigar-puffing behind marble desks? Is it glamorous? "Glamorous!" Anselmo scoffs. "I've never heard that word used to describe it. Not my record label, at least," he laughs. No glamour, but upsides abound. "It gives me an ability to help bands out. I believe in bands making a different mark. For me, that's what it's about. It's about giving back. It feels very natural. Believe me. There's no illusions of grandeur, here. We're not getting rich off this at all. It's a real money pit," he remarks casually. "If I can help out, in any way, shape or form, my younger brothers out there and if it feels right? Well, I'm gonna do it." Anselmo's overcome heroin overdoses, alcoholism and the death of Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, cruelly killed ten years ago. Will the thrill of touring ever wear off? "Sometimes," Anselmo answers in a broad Southern drawl. "Maybe one day that day will come. The lamest thing for me is the travelling part. If I could teleport myself from gig to gig, that would work out great. Because once the microphone's in my hand, any broken bones or mended cartilage or fuckin' bumps ‘n’ bruises or scars I've accumulated along the way go by the wayside. Being onstage is a very powerful thing." BY TOM VALCANIS DOWN play the Soundwave Festival on Friday February 28 at Flemington Racecourse alongside Avenged Sevenfold, Mastodon, Rob Zombie and more. They also play with Alice In Chains at the Palace Theatre on Thursday February 27.

Music Feeds conducted an interview with DOWN guitarist Pepper Keenan earlier today (Sunday, February 23) at the Sydney stop of this year's Soundwave festival in Australia. You can now watch the chat below. DOWN recently completed work on its new EP for a spring release. The CD was recorded at singer Philip Anselmo's New Orleans studio, Nodferatu's Lair and is the second in a series of EPs to be released over the next few years, each touching on a different aspect of the band's sound. Speaking about the band's new material, Pepper Keenan told the "Metal Hammer" radio show: "It's kind of slight continuation of the first EP, but it's a little bit more… It's hard to say, man… It's more… I wouldn't say 'aggressive,' but it's definitely got some freaky guitar stuff on it. And it's definitely got a pretty good groove factor. And we spent a lot of time trying to make all the songs [fit together stylistically]. We had several songs that didn't quite match it, so we kind of [set them aside] and we're gonna move them to another EP. But it's got a super-heavy vibe to it, man. I mean, I'm really excited about it. Everybody in the band is excited about it." He continued: "We wrote it kind of like we did the 'NOLA' record. Each one of us had some riffs and we got in a room and we just hashed it out like the old days — just going off each person's experiences and ideas. Everybody's ideas were valid, and it really ended up being well rounded and slamming. It was [a] very creative [process], let's put it that way. Actually, it was surprising some of us how much we really still got it." Pepper also spoke about the cover theme for the next DOWN EP and how it will be connected to last year's "Down IV Part I - The Purple EP". "When the second [EP] comes out, you'll see it as being an extension of the last cover," Pepper said. "So number 2 is gonna connect sideways to number 1, and you'll start to see a morphing kind of process. There's some kind of liquid light kind of thing that's kind of melding across as you go… I hate to quote the overall color, but I believe it's something like orange. I haven't looked at it in a while. It might not be orange yet, but it's heading in that direction." Released in September 2012, "Down IV Part I - The Purple EP" sold 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart. Guitarist Kirk Windstein left DOWN last fall and was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, the band's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER), and HONKY. "I couldn't feel more blessed," Landgraf, 48, said in an interview. "Phil could've gotten anyone to play guitar, but I've been jamming with them during soundchecks, so they know we can play together." "It's really a dream come true," added Landgraf. "It's what you're working for all those years."

http://www.kulturalive.com/compra.php?len=cas&id=2195

Loudwire.com

DOWN will be joining Black Label Society on the REVOLVER Magazine Golden Gods Awards tour May 2-23! VIP upgrades are available for most May shows. Swing over to the DOWN official tour page HERE and click the "VIP" button next to the show date of your choice to purchase a VIP Experience upgrade. Meet DOWN, get a photo with the band, autographed litho and more! You must have a ticket to attend the VIP experience. Don't have tickets yet? Click the "TIX" button on the tour page to purchase tickets! DOWN has several headline dates on the tour. Here's the current May schedule:  

Blabbermouth.net In the three-minute clip below, former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo gives Fuse News an exclusive tour around his spacious, isolated Louisana property and explains why he needed to get away from New Orleans. Anselmo kicked off the second leg of his first-ever solo tour, dubbed "Technicians Of Distortion", on January 10 in Houston and headed westward, trampling through over a dozen cities with additional support provided by HYMNS. On this trek, Anselmo was once again being joined by his backup band THE ILLEGALS — guitarist Marzi Montazeri (ex-SUPERJOINT RITUAL), drummer José Manuel Gonzales (WARBEAST) and bassist Steve Taylor. Anselmo's recently released, limited-edition two-song "Housecore Horror Fest" 10-inch vinyl EP was available for purchase on all tour dates. Anselmo's career-first solo album, "Walk Through Exits Only", sold around 8,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart. Produced by Anselmo and Michael Thompson, and recorded over the past couple of years at Philip's New Orleans studio, Nodferatu's Lair, "Walk Through Exits Only" is abrasive, aggressive, anthemic and 100% Anselmo.

Loudwire.com   Rock Titan of 2013   If we have a category for Rock Goddess of 2013 in our 3rd Annual Loudwire Music Awards, then it’s only fair we have one for Rock Titan, as well. This one is all about the dudes. These five musical figures have impacted 2013 in a multitude of ways. Along with albums released and lots of shows played, some of these men wrote books, reunited with old friends + and showed unwavering bravery in the face of diversity. Vote for the Rock Titan of 2013 in the poll below! Corey Taylor Slipknot / Stone Sour Although Corey Taylor is best known as the singer for Slipknot, the musician made his 2013 impact with Stone Sour. 'House of Gold and Bones - Part 2' captivated fans as a monumental sequel to 'Part 1,' while Corey Taylor brought his 'A game' to the stage throughout the year. Taylor also released the book 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven' about his experiences with the paranormal, as well as a comic book series in conjunction with Stone Sour's two recent albums. Lemmy Kilmister Motorhead Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister may have been the walking wounded in 2013, but despite his health issues, the icon kept the rock coming. The legendary band released the album 'Aftershock,' which was well received as a powerful, pull-no-punches record filled with signature Motorhead gems. Lemmy also played as many shows as he physically could before taking a break to focus on his health. Philip Anselmo Down / Solo Philip Anselmo put some grunt work into 2013. The Pantera / Down vocalist released his debut solo album, 'Walk Through Exits Only,' with backing band the Illegals this year, playing a bunch of shows on top of that. Anselmo also hosted his inaugural Housecore Horror Film Festival, which brought together heavy music and horror films for a unique four-day fright fest. Randy Blythe Lamb of God Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe showed bravery and honor this year by returning to the Czech Republic to stand trial for manslaughter. Blythe was found not guilty, bringing an end to a highly controversial case. Following the trial, Blythe hit the road once again, performing to masses of fans who couldn't have been happier to see the vocalist back onstage where he belongs. Tony Iommi Black Sabbath Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was voted Rock Titan of 2012 in last year's awards, and the iconic metal pioneer is a favorite to win in back-to-back years. Iommi laid down some amazing licks on Black Sabbath's '13' and toured heavily this year, all while fighting off lymphoma. Iommi is truly the 'Iron Man' of metal and he's an inspiration for all musicians.Voting for the 3rd Annual Loudwire Music Awards closes on Feb. 11 at 10:00AM EST. Fans can vote once per hour, so keep coming back to make sure your favorite song wins! Click Here to Vote for 2013 Rock Titan of the Year

DOWN has just added two more dates to their Australia tour. Feb 25th Sydney, Australia at the Enmore Theatre with Alice In Chains and Feb 27th in Melbourne, Australia at The Palace with Alice In Chains. Tickets on sale at ticketek.com.au Friday, January 31st 9am AEDT

Blabbermouth.net On January 27, Jay Nanda of San Antonio Metal Music Examiner conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo in San Antonio, Texas. You can now watch the chat below. Anselmo kicked off the second leg of his first-ever solo tour, dubbed "Technicians Of Distortion", on January 10 in Houston and headed westward, trampling through over a dozen cities with additional support provided by HYMNS. On this trek, Anselmo was once again being joined by his backup band THE ILLEGALS — guitarist Marzi Montazeri (ex-SUPERJOINT RITUAL), drummer José Manuel Gonzales (WARBEAST) and bassist Steve Taylor. Anselmo's recently released, limited-edition two-song "Housecore Horror Fest" 10-inch vinyl EP was available for purchase on all tour dates. Anselmo's career-first solo album, "Walk Through Exits Only", sold around 8,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart. Produced by Anselmo and Michael Thompson, and recorded over the past couple of years at Philip's New Orleans studio, Nodferatu's Lair, "Walk Through Exits Only" is abrasive, aggressive, anthemic and 100% Anselmo.  

June 12, Interlaken SWITZERLAND Greenfield Festival June 13 Nickelsdorf AUSTRIA Novarock Festival June 15, Donnington UK Download June 19, Loreley GERMANY Metalfest Open Airs June 21, Clisson FRANCE Hellfest June 27, Helsinki FINLAND Tuska Metal Festival June 28, Raplamaa ESTONIA Hard Rock Laager For a full rundown of Philip’s 2014 appearances: http://www.philanselmo.com/tour/

DOWN has been added to the line-up at this year's Rock On The Range. DOWN will perform on Friday, May 16th. Get more info here.

GearGods.net

Sacurrent.com By: Enrique Lopetegui Phil Anselmo has survived it all—Pantera’s success and tragedy, the bitter ending of Superjoint Ritual, drug abuse and back and knee surgery. Now, he’s a practical man. “I just felt inspired,” he told the Current from his home in New Orleans, explaining why he decided to embark on his first-ever solo tour behind 2013’sWalk Through Exits Only, the album he released as Phillip H. Anselmo & The Illegals. “If I feel inspired, I’m going to act on it. So I felt inspired, I did a record, and now we play shows. Nothing too scientific there.” Neither pure death or black metal, Walk Through Exits Only is Anselmo’s straightforward attempt to disassociate himself from the average metal band out there. “I sing about real things that happen to me and I carry no fucking invisible ideology around on my shoulders at all,” he said. “I see a million bands copying black metal over and over, and even some death bands do the same thing to some degree, so I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to record speed for the sake of speed or double-kick for the sake of fucking double-kick.” One of the things he sings about is the media, as exemplified by opening track “Music Media is My Whore.” Or is it? “Look, in this album I was going very absurd with a lot of my lyrical content and titles,” he said. “The absurd thing about it is that, if you look at the lyrics, it’s nothing about the media. It was just something to grab attention. I have a great relationship with a lot of the press, but some are only interested in grabbing a juicy headline and write about fictional things or things that are controversial. So that’s my little kick back to the press, so to speak. It’s all a joke, really…” When I move on to the next question, I can hear him say, “…but not really.” On Monday at Backstage Live, Anselmo and his Illegals (Superjoint Ritual’s Marzi Montazeri on guitar, 16 Horsepower’s Steve Taylor on bass and Warbeast’s Joey “Blue” González on drums) we’ll see Anselmo in apparently his best shape in years. During the interview, his mind is sharp and his body, he says, is ready to roll. “I’ve been through a lot,” said Anselmo, who underwent back surgery in 2005 and knee surgery in 2009, and who, in 1996, was clinically dead for “four to five minutes,” after overdosing on heroin following a Dallas concert. “But physically, besides the obvious pains and aches of getting older, I’m fine and good to go,” said the 45-year-old. Drugs are not a problem this time around either. “It’s been 11 years [and] I haven’t used any hard drugs at all,” he said. “Honestly, the hardest thing I use these days is probably beer. Fucking beer is enough, man. I probably can’t finish a six-pack without having a fucking hangover.” Despite his past physical and addiction problems, nothing was harder to overcome than the death of former Pantera guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, who was killed onstage by an imbecile named Nathan Gale during a Columbus, Ohio, Damageplan concert (Abbott’s band). Gale was killed by police at the scene. Abbott and Anselmo had a public feud ever since Anselmo was blamed for the breakup of Pantera (Anselmo claims the band never contacted him to return); Metal Hammer magazine quoted Anselmo stating “Dimebag deserves to be beaten severely” in 2004 (the same year of Abbott’s death), and that was just too much for some fans and Abbott’s family. Even though Anselmo claimed his comments were tongue-in-cheek and that he was furious the “goddamn magazine” put his quotes on the cover, Abbott’s family requested that Anselmo not attend the funeral. Some even speculated that Abbott’s death was related to his fights with Anselmo, but the connection was emphatically denied by police. “There is no evidence leading detectives to believe Nathan Gale was communicating with Phil Anselmo or any other individual ... in an effort to hurt Dimebag Darrell Abbott,” said a police detective report cited by the Columbus Dispatch in 2004. After Abbott’s funeral, Anselmo posted a teary video on YouTube in which he repeatedly says “I’m sorry” to Abbott’s family, band members, fans and friends. “Bless his family and all of his close friends,” a visibly moved Anselmo said in the video. “I never got to say goodbye in the right way, and it kills me.” Last September, Anselmo seemed finally ready to make amends with his former Pantera bandmates. “For me, really, I think it would mean a lot for [bassist] Rex [Brown] and [drummer] Vince [Abbott, Dimebag’s brother] and myself to sit down and, I guess, bury the hatchet where we can be on more friendly terms,” he told Fuse TV. “And, you know, I think it would mean a lot to the fans. Without Vince, there’s not any Pantera reunion at all; it’s useless. But he damn well knows my door’s wide open. He needs to bust out the keys and unlock his, man. I’m waiting, but I’m not holding my breath.” When asked by the Current, all Anselmo said is that he lamented the fact that Pantera “will never happen again.” In any case, Phil Anselmo in 2004 looked and sounded completely different than Phil Anselmo in 2014—now, he’s on. After a New York show in September, The New York Times described Anselmo’s set as “remarkable.” “The Illegals make a much more complicated, splintered-groove, quick-change kind of metal than his other bands of the last decade,” wrote Ben Ratliff. “Lots of breaks, sequential or alternating riffs and strains and rhythms powered by double bass drums.” The man behind the drums, Fort Worth’s “Blue” González, met Anselmo when he was 18. “He just turned 22, 23 recently,” Anselmo said (González will be 24 in July). “He’s a baby, and I had to teach him, or re-teach him, the structure of extreme music the way I saw it, because there [are] a lot of time signatures changes within the music that are not concurrent with everyday black metal.” The second leg of the tour started in Houston on January 10 and, depending on his mood, SA fans may have a chance to listen to a handful of Pantera and Down classics. “I think every night should be different,” Anselmo said. “We’re definitely going to play most of our stuff but, as far as blasts from the past, I’m going to leave it up to how I feel that night. Anything is possible, really.” Playing in SA means he’ll be returning to a place he knows well. “I tour all over the world and in SA there’s always, always, always a gigantic Hispanic, Mexican presence, and they’re always some of the greatest heavy metal fans ever, anywhere,” he said. “Don’t ever think I don’t remember SA. I love SA and it’s going to be great to come back.”

[caption id="attachment_2005" align="alignnone" width="550"] Phot By: Brandon Marshall, Westword[/caption] blogs.phoenixnewstimes.com By Lauren Wise Nowadays, Phil Anselmo is mostly an open book. On one hand, he's creating a "brand," even though much of his time is dedicated to representing everything that doesn't want to be branded. On the other, it's an underground brand of being fucking hostile, and he finds a way to somehow stay under the radar while being the biggest advocate of all that is underground. During this interview, we talked about his Housecore Horror Film Festival EP, one of the most extreme projects he's been involved with, and how the new Down album sounds like old, obscure Black Sabbath. He also details his feelings about playing Metal Masters 5, the three albums he would take to a deserted island, how he gave up on good tattoos a long time ago. Anselmo even got a little choked up talking about how emotional the holidays can be when recalling memories of Pantera, and what it will be like to play those songs with the very guys who influenced him in his youth. And when asked what personality trait he could change about himself, his reply was a little surprising. "I'm going to go with laziness, man." Really? Anselmo has contributed vocals to more than three-dozen bands and projects over nearly as many years. He's best known for fronting sludge-metal outfit Down and the stoner-metal act Superjoint Ritual -- oh, yeah, and for shaping one of the most prolific, influential metal bands of all time, Pantera. His several-thousand-strong collection of horror movies sparked him to launch Housecore Horror Film Festival in October 2013, which reps the Housecore Records brand that he established more than 10 years ago. In 2013 he also released his first solo record, Walk Through Exits Only, with his band Philip Anslemo & The Illegals, and is on the cusp of releasing a new Down record in early 2014. This week, he's playing Metal Masters 5, a jam session with other heavyweights like Slayer's Kerry King, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Megadeth's Chris Broderick, Kill Devil Hill's (and former Pantera) Rex Brown, and many more. From my vantage point, it looks like Anselmo isn't suffering from being lazy. More like he doesn't know how to wind down and relax. Not that I'm complaining; anyone who reads Metal Mondays already knows that Pantera is my favorite band--in fact, I think I may have scared more than one guy off by having the song "Floods" on my sexcapades playlist. There's just something about that "Die! Die! Die!" chant at the end of the song that makes them a little uncomfortable, I guess. Up on the Sun talked to Anselmo about new music from Down, touring as a solo act, how he's going to spend 2014. So tell me how everything went with the Housecore Horror Film Festival. In my opinion it was a blast, man. It was surprisingly well set-up, all the bands were great... I had a blast. It was... moving at times, even. You know, EyeHateGod were incredible, the Melvins were incredible, and of course, Goblin was off the charts, man, they just... their individual set was amazing. You had said before that it would all come down to the execution, and I know with all the little technical details it can be stressful. Yeah, you know, I was really stressed out--until I got there. And then I saw it was really well organized and that everyone was happy. It seemed like everyone who attended was there for the long haul, and I saw them all throughout the entire weekend. It was the same familiar faces that people bought the tickets to be there, for the long haul. And the whole vibe was so laid back, man. Do you think it's too soon to mention the word "annual"? I think right now it being... it being [a week before Christmas] I think everyone's gathering their wits about them, but I think it went positively enough to where we are definitely... I would guess by January we will start talking about the next year. I'd say it's very probable, so to speak. I just saw the video for "Ugly Mug." Tell me a bit about the two songs that you released as the festival EP. They are, in my opinion, another expression of extremities within heavy metal music. Very different than any of the material on Walk Through Exits Only. "Ugly Mug" is very straight to the point, whereas the other song...what is it...I've been doing the new Down record so much! [Laughs] "Pigs Kissing Pigs." Yes. That song is one of the more epic songs I've ever been a part of, so I'm really pleased with it. I love it. It was also the day before your release of Walk Through Exits Only when we last talked. It seems like it's been really well received. After all the performing you've been doing, playing the songs over and over on tour--is there any realizations you've had about the album that you would have done differently? I don't know if I would've done anything differently but you know it's uh, still... I guess kind of a trip for people? So they are very studious, so to speak. They watch us. Towards the end of the tour people started knowing the words a little bit better, and we're pretty interactive, so to speak. Still, I--it's a different experience. Shit man, I have no regrets. It's music and I'm going to keep trudging on, man. And it's going to find its audience one way or another. No complaints. You like to do music "in mood." Do you think back to what you were feeling while writing those songs during your performances? Or does that fire come from different places now? Well you know, when I get the microphone in my hand and there's a stage, and an audience, there's definitely a different type of vibe than when I'm trying to get a point across or singing about something that's a concrete or absolute. Either way, a lot of the songs on the record are definitely taking the piss out of myself, so I don't mind rehashing that part, because it's kind of funny and comical. Either way, I guess when you perform it live there's more of a knack for performing it as aggressively as possible, from a vocal and overall sound standpoint. Attitude is probably the most key thing here. As long as I keep that edge and that chip on my shoulder it feels right. So you just finished tracking vocals for a new Down album, correct? I think I'm about 95 to 98% finished with the vocal part of the record, but then of course I will be a big part of the mix as well. We will be ready to release this next Down within the first quarter of 2014. That was something I was pretty dead set on. It's turning out pretty well so far. Even though The Purple EP was just released in 2012, it seems like so much has happened since with Down and also your own musical ventures. How will this album compare to the last Down record? Well Down is Down, and the music we make isn't rocket science. You put us in the same room together, man; with Pepper and Jimmy, especially, you're going to get Down. But what I have caught on this record--it's kind of ridiculous to say--but the vibe I catch is a heavy heavy dose of Black Sabbath, almost like Technical Ecstasy [Sabbath's seventh album]. Or something like that. A little more obscure Black Sabbath. And also Witchfinder General. It's a little ridiculous, because we did start the band because of our Black Sabbath-worship, and same with Witchfinder General. It influenced the hell out of us. But that's what I take away from this record. It's going really back to our roots. I wanted to ask about Witchfinder General, and also about the new blood in the band, Bobby [Landgraf], and how the transition from Kirk to Bobby has been inspirational for you. Bobby's great. He came right in and contributed right away. He knows the drill; he's been with us... whether it was guitar teching or stage managing for like 18 years, he knows. He's very well-versed and his style of music coincides with us to a certain degree, playing the blues. And he's an incredible guitar player. And when you talk about infusing new stuff, heck man, even Pat [Bruders, the bass player] wrote a lot of killer stuff on this new record. I can't say enough about how we pushed it--especially me for sure, vocally--but we pushed it toward that Witchfinder General feel. A lot of people would pick Witchfinder's first record, Requiem....oh no, Jesus Christ I'm still talking about the second album. God, I'm stupid. Fucking... the Friends From Hell [1983] record for me really grabbed, because when I was a kid it felt like a Black Sabbath record that Sabbath never did, in my young mind. It felt like it was Black Sabbath's little brother. It has a special spot in my heart. I really took those influences and applied them, which is something I've done in the past but not so drastically. Kerry King previously stated that his motivation to do Metal Masters is to get you involved as well, because the world misses you. How are you feeling about heading to Metal Masters this January? It's always fun to get back together with that group of guys. I've known the Slayer guys and the Anthrax guys since like '85, '86. And Slayer and I have been tight since like '89. I've known them for a long time. They are dynamite guys, and Lord knows I have the most respect for all of them. Jesus, it's like getting together with a bunch of brothers and sisters, man. There are a lot of ladies that work behind the scene that help really facilitate this thing. I get to see everyone! And it's like a family reunion. Inside jokes up the ass for the whole thing. We can be in the middle of a song and I'll glance over at Charlie (Benante) and we'll crack up because we're on the same wavelength. And I appreciate Kerry King. I'm not sure if he see things the way I do. He thinks I should be doing stadium shit constantly, but honestly, I've done all that. It was fun and a great time in my life, but I love... I guess the more intimate shows and smaller clubs personally. But I guess that comes down to where my heart is as far as where heavy metal music goes. I have always tend to dig within the underground to find the stuff I really really like. It's a personal preference that overrides everything. I'm not saying tomorrow I could start a mega band and immediately walk right into the stadiums anymore. I don't even think about shit like that. But I see where he [King] is coming from when he says stuff like that. We jam and do Slayer songs, and then we go back and revisit the Pantera songs. That group of guys on stage is like an ultimate honor. They influenced me when I was growing up and I bought all their records. To have them play the old Pantera song with the passion that they do--it warms the old heart. Obviously playing Pantera songs brings you back to an emotional, very powerful place. Especially this time of year... It doesn't get any easier. Realizing that... you know... it's impossible to happen again. But you know, I guess that's why the spirit of doing the Metal Masters, part five now... [big sigh]. It's fulfilling to a certain degree, and it does get emotional. But when you're on stage it feels natural. At the end of the day, it's fun and I accept it. And I love the guys for it. What three albums would you take to a deserted island? Oh God. You have to go there? I have to sometimes. That's a roughie....All right. This could be interchangeable within every 15 minutes. I'd take the Beatles Abbey Road... Slayer Hell Awaits. And Portal's Outre. Out of all your tattoos, which is favorite and which do you regret the most? I gave up on great tattoos awhile back. Figuring I have some Paul Booth work on me, I guess anything Paul is cool, and everything else, is what it is. Take it or leave it. I don't really have a least favorite. Say they are all terrible! I'm not into cool tattoos, I guess. They are too trendy now. The last couple tattoos I got were Slayer, Dark Throne and Portal [band logos]. I might just go with band tattoos from now on, because at least they mean something to me, you know? What do you think about the Cooking with Anselmo animated videos that came out awhile back on YouTube? Oh God, yes. Genius. Hilarious. Fucking A+. I actually saw something today...I can't remember what it fucking was. Let me find the link and I'll tell you exactly what it's called. Ah! Phil Anselmo's Face on Tumblr. That shit is hi-lar-ious. I love all that shit, man. If you can't laugh at yourself there's a problem. One more questions: which one of your character traits frustrates you the most? You know, I'm going to go with laziness, man. Honestly, you know, I guess after back surgery there was such a frantic grind as far as physical rehabilitation, and it just got monotonous. The stretching and working out the core. It was something I had to do; it was a must. You had to keep on it. And lately I've been lazy as heck, trying to relax and take my mind off everything. I get annoyed by my laziness and it's definitely well documented on Walk Through Exits Only, like on "Bedroom Destroyer" and "Bedridden." [Laughs] But laying around not having anything pending to do sometimes feels great. But in the back of my mind I know there's always something I should be doing, whether it's band work or physical rehabilitation. Well I don't know if anyone would call you lazy. I know that video for the song, "Bedroom Destroyer?" You're on your couch with your dog? You did say it was all about your laziness. That was actually my bedroom on my bed, and that's the "Bedridden" video. A very realistic peek into my life. You know people don't get to live in my household or in my brain; they can only assume and take what they get from interviews and seeing me on tour. I definitely have a great enthusiasm there. But when I'm at home, sometimes the laziness overstays its welcome, so to speak. Like, 'today's' the day. I gotta off my ass and do something about this gigantic beer gut that I built over football season." And I blame it on the NFL! Damn NFL. Oh I know; my team is the Chiefs and they did pretty well, so beer comes into play there... Yeah man, y'all must be going crazy. You were 2-14 last year and now you've got a totally different team and Andy Reid. That's the thing I've noticed: 40-something years of watching the Saints lose, and then out of nowhere--especially after Hurricane Katrina hit--we got a great coach, a great, quarterback, went to the Superbowl and won a Superbowl, and now, it's a whole different psychology because you expect to win. You expect this great team. And when it doesn't happen you feel big-time let down! Whereas in the past you never... you wouldn't look forward to "what if." So I can see where, your team has success and what not, it builds you up to let you down every fucking year. Especially after winning a Superbowl. All right; always a pleasure talking with you, Phil. You too sweetheart; take care.

Loudwire.com Philip Anselmo and his backing band the Illegals have just embarked on the 2014 winter leg of their Technicians of Distortion Tour in support of the 2013 album ‘Walk Through Exits Only.’ Prior to the trek, Anselmo and his Illegals drummer Jose Manuel ‘Blue’ Gonzales took some time to chat with Loudwire about the album. In the video above, Anselmo discusses his mindset going into making ‘Walk Through Exits Only,’ how his everyday life is addressed in the tracks ‘Bedridden’ and ‘Bedroom Destroyer’ and what influences him musically. Meanwhile, drummer Blue briefly talks about working with Anselmo. Anselmo’s current trek features his band performing songs of the debut disc, along with favorites from Pantera and Superjoint Ritual. You can check out the full list of tour dates here. And be sure to pick up ‘Walk Through Exits Only’ at iTunes.

Interview by Corri. Philip H. Anselmo is a man who has conquered, and will continue to conquer, so much in his career and in his personal life. Talking to him was intimidating, at the least, but he was truly awesome.

In the wacky world of heavy metal, there ain't a whole lot that Philip Anselmo hasn't seen, heard and done. In addition to helping change the sound of mainstream metal as front man for Pantera, the outspoken singer has toured the planet with sludgy supergroup Down, released records with a slew of side projects and even started his own label, Housecore Records, to help shepherd the careers of up-and-coming bands like haarp and Warbeast. The only thing he hadn't done, until recently, was perhaps the most obvious move of all for a stone-cold, certified metal god: put out a solo album. He accomplished that feat last year with the help of a new backing band, the Illegals, which features longtime Houston axe-shredder Marzi Montazeri on guitar. Far from the slick, over-produced moneymaker that many of his rock star peers gone solo have opted to record over the years, Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals' Walk Through Exits Only is a brooding, introspective and challenging record -- not to mention brutally heavy. Houston fans will get their first taste of the new material live on Friday when the band bangs into the Warehouse Live studio room. Last year, Anselmo had no trouble filling the venue's much bigger ballroom with Down. It's clear he isn't doing this tour for the money, so why bother stepping down to the smaller stage? "I like the small stages," says Anselmo in that deep, crackling voice that has always seemed to belong to a man hundreds of pounds heavier. "Matter of fact, on this particular run, that's what I begged for. I said, 'Let's play some very small, intimate places,' because it's just a different experience, and it's really something I enjoy. "I've played on every size fuckin' stage in the world over the years, and it's good to get back on the smaller stages because it's where I started," he adds. "And honestly, it's something that's just a good reminder of where you came from." Staying in touch with his roots in the heavy-metal underground has always been important to Anselmo, even when he was riding high in the '90s as arguably the genre's biggest star.Walk Through Exits Only was never designed to sell even a fraction of the units thatVulgar Display of Power moved 20 years ago, or even match the rather more modest sales of Down's last EP. But that doesn't mean that the Illegals are just another side project. Anselmo wrote the entirety of Walk Through Exits Only himself. These grim and gritty tunes are the only music the singer has seen fit to slap his own name on, so don't expect the band to disappear once this leg of the tour is over with. "We've got a lot of European dates going, too, in the summertime of 2014, so our work is hardly done," Anselmo says. "Really, I'm going to feel it out. Of course, I have the new Down record that's just about wrapped up, and I'll be doing some touring once that sucker comes out. I do believe, as long as I concentrate on Down and the Illegals, specifically, there's going to be time for both." Time enough, Anselmo hopes, to help introduce the world to another Texas guitar wizard in addition to Montazeri. The forthcoming Down EP, set to be released before the spring, will feature the talents of Austin's Bobby Landgraf, who replaces Crowbar axeman Kirk Windstein in the group. Landgraf and his band Honky, which also features ex-Butthole Surfers bassist Jeff Pinkus, opened for Down on their last trip through Warehouse Live. "We are looking at it as a permanent situation," Anselmo says. "Down is Down, but still when you have a talent like Bobby, of course you want to show it off and let him be him. He's a great Southern-rock guitar player, and if anything, all we've done is to put into his mind, I guess, the Black Sabbath of it all. "With this new EP, man, all I can think of is Black Sabbath and the other bands aside from them that are really responsible for Down even existing, which are these early '80s bands that were influenced by Black Sabbath -- Witchfinder General and St. Vitus," he adds. "So, that's the vibe I'm catching: a very old metal vibe with this new Down." When the Illegals tour wraps up in Europe, it'll be just about time to go back on the road with Down. Did we mention this guy runs his own record label and is already tinkering with ideas about the second iteration of his Housecore Horror Film Festival? With so many active projects requiring his attention these days, it's a wonder how Anselmo finds the energy to attempt it all, let alone accomplish everything -- particularly since he's been suffering from chronic back pain for more than a decade. The key to keeping up, he says, is knowing when to take a break. "These days, you've got to tone down on the hours that you keep, those late hours that you keep," says the singer. "You've got to get your rest and say goodnight to the after-show party way before everybody else. You do what's smart for the next show and you try to do your best to maintain. "All this comes with age and experience, for God's sake," he continues. "It's the nature of the beast, man, so you just gotta roll with it." 2014 will be another extraordinarily busy year for Philip, but that's the way the man likes it. There's too much fun to be had out there to slow down now, even if the travel and the back pain and the non-stop screaming threaten to kill him. "I just want to put these records out, especially the new Down record," he says. "I want to tour that sucker. I want to tour parts of the world with the Illegals that we have not covered yet; cities throughout America that we passed over. "The worst part about touring for me is gettin' there; the traveling part," he continues. "So I'm going to try to chill out, relax, take the trip, not stress out on that, and just get to the gigs, perform to the best of my ability and have fucking fun with it, man. Because this is not rocket science: This is something I've done since my teens. Once I'm there at gigs, no matter what it is, man, I have a fucking blast. So I'm really just going to concentrate on having fucking fun this year." The fun begins 8 p.m. Friday at Warehouse Live with Author & Punisher, Hyms and Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals.

ECollegetimes.com Former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo isn’t in the mood for any small talk. He wants to cut to the chase and talk about “Walk Through Exits Only,” his first release with Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals. Called his debut solo record, “Walk Through Exits Only” is laced with brash, brutal guitars that cut through punishing percussion. Anselmo screams with uncompromising ferocity. Anselmo—who’s also a veteran of Down and Superjoint Ritual, among others—wanted to make music at its hardest. “I wanted to dabble in something a little more harsh than Down or anything else I’ve done lately,” Anselmo says via telephone from his New Orleans home, stressing the word “lately.” “It’s just something I did. It felt natural and that’s about it.” “Walk Through Exits Only” was inspired by “real-life events, down-to-Earth true events” and “real stuff” that Anselmo deals with daily. Although he had been working on the album for years, he just kind of went with the flow. “I had some time,” says Anselmo, who brushed off the much-written-about notion that he’s writing an autobiography. “There was no real fucking big master plan or anything. It felt natural so I did it.” Produced by Anselmo and Michael Thompson, and recorded over the past couple of years at his New Orleans studio, Nosferatu’s Lair, the collection features his Illegals—Marzi Montazeri on guitars, and drummer Jose Manuel “Blue” Gonzalez. They are guys that the formidable frontman has known for years. “I’ve known the guitar player for almost 20 years,” he says. “The drummer’s from Warbeast and they’re one of my bands on (Anselmo’s label) Housecore Records. He’s a talented, good kid. The bass player, who played on the record, is a local New Orleans guy, Bennett Bartley. The guy we tour with is Steve Taylor. Sweet guy, tight, tight tight musician and really, really easy-going guy. He’s easy to work with.” When he’s not working with Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals, he’s recording the new Down album. “It’s cool,” he says, describing the new material. “I’ve finished my vocals on that sucker. We got all the basic tracks down.” The new Down record should be ready to drop in the first quarter of 2014, Anselmo says. Now that he’s wrapped his part, Anselmo and his band will hit the road again, playing Pub Rock Live in Scottsdale on Friday, January 24. “I feel like in live situations, I’m really most comfortable as far as pumping the thing up,” he says. Anselmo could play larger theaters or even, maybe, arenas. But he chose to perform in small clubs like Pub Rock Live. “It’s my choice, man,” he explains. “The smaller the better. It’s fucking real. I don’t prepare for it any differently—not from a musical standpoint, not from anything I’m going to personally do or say or anything like that. Not at all. We just fucking buck up, get in there and jam the set and really that’s how I’ve thrived really over the years. I just go with the flow and feel it out when you get there. And let things be off the cuff. Same old, same old every single night is boring. I let the situation dictate itself and deal with it from now on.” The show at Pub Rock Live should attract a virtual who’s who of the Arizona metal scene, he says. “Arizona’s always been fantastic—always, always, always,” he explains. “No matter what band I’ve been with. We have a lot of excellent friends in Arizona. Shit, man, the Sepultura guys used to live there—or maybe they still do. The Slayer guys used to live there. Phil from Sacred Reich always comes out. It’s a blast. The audiences are always really receptive and they’re great heavy metal fans. I’m looking forward to it.” Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals w/Author & Punisher, Hymns, Pub Rock Live, 8005 E. Roosevelt Street, Scottsdale, 480.945.4985,pubrocklive.com, Friday, January 24, 7 p.m.., $25-$30

metalinjection.net In an interview with The Rock Pit, Eyehategod guitarist Jimmy Bower spoke out about the band going on now that drummer Joey Lacaze had passed in August of 2013. Lacaze has since been replaced by drummer Aaron Hill.

"Joey would have never wanted us to quit playing; we knew that for a fact. So as opposed to sitting around bummed out, we just got into a room pretty fast with Aaron and started learning as much as we could. We got 22 songs down, so we're stoked, man. It's good to be playing shows again. We miss Joey bigtime — we will always miss Joey — but we're also excited about the new chapter in the band."

"No. Joey did. We recorded it last year right after we got back from Australia, but it's taken us a year to get it all finished up and everything. That's another reason we are super excited about it too. But we've been writing too; we've already got two new songs and almost another one, so it's good, because the band has been the most active than we've ever been."

  ArtistDirect.com Hot off last year's phenomenal Walk Through Exits Only, Philip H. Anselmo returns to the sludgy Sabbathian swamps of Southern groove with Down for the group's second EP and follow-up to the mind-blowing 2012 Down IV Part I - The Purple EP. Recording has been wrapped back at Anselmo's home studio, Nodferatu's Lair, and it's only a matter of time before listeners get to take another transcendent trip back to the heart of Nola for some real heavy metal. Nobody comes close to Down when it comes to grooves. Pepper Keenan is a riff lord! Nobody matches Anselmo as far as cinematic lyrics either. Simply put, hold on to your hats because you're going for one hell of a ride yet again. —Rick Florino ArtistDirect.com Features the top 10 most anticipated hard rock metal albums of 2014. Check out the full list below. 2014 is going to be a hell of a year for metal and hard rock. There are a slew of anxiously awaited releases on the horizon from the genre's heaviest hitters. We've compiled a list of the biggest and best monsters looming on the horizon. Without further pomp and circumstance, check out each one below! The Top Ten Most Anticipated Hard Rock & Metal Albums of 2014 Slipknot Tool Metallica Slayer Down Mastodon Gojira Harlot Of Mice & Men King 810 —Rick Florino 01.07.14

Down are finished… with their new EP! On the heels of Down IV Part 1: The Purple EP, which was released in September 2012, the band just completed work on a new EP with promises of a release in early 2014. This will be the first EP without the aid of Kirk Windstein, who left the band late last year to focus on his main project Crowbar. As you'll notice in the photos, he's been replaced by Honky guitarist Bobby Landgraf, who brings a new style of beard to the bearded group. Here are some new promo photos the band released, shot by Josephpdorignaciv: The band will be back in the saddle touring Soundwave Festival in Australia in late February and early March. Tour dates here.

Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals Technicians Of Distortion Tour 2014 with “Author & Punisher” and “Hymns” begins January 10! Check out some videos recorded from Philip's “Nodferatur’s Lair” studio. His band (aka The Ilegals) includes Marzi Montazeri, Steve Taylor and Jose Manuel “Blue” Gonzalez, and they’ll be hitting the road with Author & Punisher and Hymns. Tour Promo Video 1: Tour Promo Video 2:

Here are the current 2014 Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals Tour dates:

MetalInjection.net

[caption id="attachment_1948" align="alignnone" width="500"] Philip H. Anselmo[/caption] Check out Philip H. Anselmo's inclusion in Metal Hammer's February 2014 Star Wars Themed cover. In Metal Hammer February Issue 253: On Sale 7th January Available to pre-order now Packed with an exclusive, 2014 preview that's too big to be a space station, this issue promises to be the most powerful magazine in the galaxy.

Philip H Anselmo on DO YOU KNOW JACK? RADIO SHOW Dec. 22nd/2013 by Jack Antonio on Mixcloud

Loudwire.com Pantera legend Philip Anselmo released his debut solo album, ‘Walk Through Exits Only,’ with his backing band the Illegals earlier this year. More music from the band was unveiled at Anselmo’s inaugural Housecore Horror and Music Festival held in October in Austin, Texas. Now, the video for ‘Ugly Mug,’ one of the two songs from that recent 10 inch release, has been unveiled via Revolver (watch above). The murky black and white clip flashes between shots of the band members and signs for detours and canceled flights. To download the album from Scion AV with ‘Ugly Mug’ and ‘Pigs Kissing Pigs,’ go here. Meanwhile, work is progressing nicely on material from Down. He revealed that he has completed vocals for the EP, which will be released in 2014. As far as the vibe of the Down material, Anselmo says, “The way I’ve been feeling about it is Black Sabbath, man, and if it ain’t Black Sabbath, it’s … it really kind of yanks me back to old heavy metal in the Sabbath vein, like the Witchfinder Generals and Saint Vitus-type bands of the very early ’80s. It just takes me back to that man, and that’s the vibe I’ve been feeling on this thing the whole time.” Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals will be back on the road in January. The next leg of the ‘Technicians of Distortion’ tour kicks off Jan. 10 in Houston. Opening bands will be Author & Punisher and Hymn.

PHA & The Illegals are adding more dates in Europe! The latest: Greenfield Festival in Switzerland (June 12-14, exact date coming soon) www.greenfieldfestival.ch, and NovaRock in Austria (June 13) www.musicticket.at. Tickets for both events are on sale right now! Check the links for more details/ticket purchase. Here are all of the 2014 PHA & The Illegals dates as it stands right now: 1/10/14 — Houston, Texas — Warehouse Live/Studio Room (Tickets) 1/11/14 — Shreveport, La. — Riverside Warehouse (Tickets) 1/13/14 — St. Louis, Mo. — Pop’s Nightclub (Tickets) 1/14/14 — Omaha, Neb. — Waiting Room (Tickets) 1/15/14 — Denver, Colo. — Summit Music Hall (Tickets) 1/17/14 — Seattle, Wash. — El Corazon (Tickets) 1/18/14 — Portland, Ore. — Hawthorne Theatre (Tickets) 1/20/14 — Sacramento, Calif. — Ace of Spades (Tickets) 1/22/14 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Metal Masters (This is not with the Illegals, this is an all-star clinic/concert) (Tickets) 1/24/14 — Scottsdale, Ariz. — Pub Rock (Tickets) 1/25/14 — Albuquerque, N.M. — Launchpad (Tickets) 1/27/14 — San Antonio, Texas — Backstage Live (Tickets) 1/28/14 — Dallas, Texas — Trees (Tickets) June 12-14 (Exact date coming soon), 2014- Interlaken, Switzerland – Greenfield Festival(Tickets) June 13, 2014 – Nickelsdorf, Austria – NovaRock (Tickets) June 21, 2014 – Clisson, France – Hellfest (Tickets)

Interview took place on Dec 6, 2014. Covers; Eibon, the next Down EP, keeping busy, Housecore Records, autobiography…

PHA & The Illegals are making their first trek over to Europe to appear at the mighty Hellfest on June 21, 2014! Before that, PHA & The Illegals will be touring the West Coast in the USA. Scroll Below the poster to see those dates and links to buy tickets. Philip H Anselmo & The Illegals continue on in 2014 supporting their debut release “Walk Through Exits Only”. On Tour with them will be “Author & Punisher” and “Hymns”. In the middle of this tour on 1/22 is a performance Philip will do at the Metal Masters Clinic 5. For more on that click here. Click here to check out footage from the first PHA & The Illegals tour diary. 1/10/14 — Houston, Texas — Warehouse Live/Studio Room (Tickets) 1/11/14 — Shreveport, La. — Riverside Warehouse (Tickets) 1/13/14 — St. Louis, Mo. — Pop’s Nightclub (Tickets) 1/14/14 — Omaha, Neb. — Waiting Room (Tickets) 1/15/14 — Denver, Colo. — Summit Music Hall (Tickets) 1/17/14 — Seattle, Wash. — El Corazon (Tickets) 1/18/14 — Portland, Ore. — Hawthorne Theatre (Tickets) 1/20/14 — Sacramento, Calif. — Ace of Spades (Tickets) 1/22/14 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Metal Masters (This is not with the Illegals, this is an all-star clinic/concert) (Tickets) 1/24/14 — Scottsdale, Ariz. — Pub Rock (Tickets) 1/25/14 — Albuquerque, N.M. — Launchpad (Tickets) 1/27/14 — San Antonio, Texas — Backstage Live (Tickets) 1/28/14 — Dallas, Texas — Trees (Tickets) 6/21/14 – Clisson, France – Hellfest (Tickets)

Check out more pro-shot videos of DOWN taken in NOLA at the House of Blues in 2013. Videos pro-shot by Mike Holderbeast. Hail The Leaf Stone The Crow

Goldmine December Issue 2013 WITH HOUSECORE RECORDS, PANTERA’S PHIL ANSELMO TAKES A SHOT AT LAUNCHING A LABEL AS THE LEAD SINGER fronting the popular heavy metal bands Pantera and Down, Phil Anselmo has always been a supporter of underground music — particularly the experimental and extreme forms. So it seems like it was predestined that Anselmo would channel his support into creating his own record label, Housecore Records. Independently run by Anselmo, Housecore pushes its bands to take full advantage of their creative liberty. “I wanted to start a label that was musician-friendly, first and foremost,” explains Anselmo. And he wanted to give underground music fans the choice to enjoy tangible album releases that promote collectibility —"whether it be colored vinyl records or intense artwork. Recently, the record label put out “Walk # rough Exits Only” by Anselmo’s own band, Phil Anselmo and the Illegals, and it is the epitome of what Housecore stands for: music at its most extreme —"borderless and unrestricted. Goldmine spoke with Anselmo about Housecore Records and his passion for underground music. GM: What made you think about starting your own record label? PHIL ANSELMO: Well, I’ve been through all the major record-label contracts. You know, when you’re a young guy and you get signed to a major label — at least to me as a youngster — it was believed and felt in the Pantera camp that when a major label asks you to sign with them and they want you for seven albums and this and that, at first, you feel flattered. And then three of four records into the contract that chewed up a great deal of years of your life, you realize maybe this is a curse, not a blessing here. This is tough work, and they’re asking a lot of you. Plus they put so many restrictions on you. It’s not like you can turn around and really be what I consider myself to be: an exploratory type of musician. I love so many different styles of music. I love making a lot of different styles of music and enjoy releasing it. So, for me, I wanted to start a label that was musician-friendly, first and foremost. A very basic and simple contract, one album at a time, and, honestly, as long as you deliver said album to me after signing a contract, you have the freedom as a musician to turn around and record with whoever you want. It’s for musicians with similar aspirations that I have, who delve into different territories and stuff like that, to find the right record label for any project. A contract that you’ve signed with Housecore for, say, a heavymetal album, and the next album you want to put out is acoustic rock or folk rock or something like that, we might not be the best label to choose. So I want the artist to have, honestly, the freedom to do what they want to do — without restraints, without legalities, without too much bullsh*t, you know. Perhaps best known as the lead singer of Pantera (right), Phil Anselmo’s passions for artistic freedom and underground music promted him to start his own record label, Housecore Records. GM: How do you feel about vinyl making a comeback? Do you think it’s for real or just a fad? PA: Well, I think to a certain degree, it’s very “for real.” Especially for those of us who really, really enjoy collecting it. I love vinyl. I don’t know why; maybe because of the household I was raised in where there was nothing but vinyl. I was always a vinyl-first kind of guy. I didn’t even consider buying cassettes until it became more convenient to bring cassettes on tour, or I would take my vinyl and make mix tapes, you know. It may be a fad to a certain degree with the new school or today’s generation, but, truth be told, vinyl sounds better — way more explosive off the needle. For me, the sound quality is so much better. So if you really want top-notch sound and stuff you can really delve into, vinyl’s the way to go, as far as I’m concerned. GM: Do you fi nd that Housecore Records gets a lot more requests for vinyl than anything else? PA: It’s interesting you ask that, because we do get a lot of requests for vinyl. And presales on vinyl are just about equal with CDs — maybe a little bit more. Time will tell, but right now, vinyl is going pretty well. GM: And you put out colored vinyl and stuff that gives more of an experience for the listener. PA: Absolutely, because I believe in vinyl. I really do. And once again, it’s hard to deny when the vinyl is neck ’n’ neck with the CDs in the presales. And I’m a firm believer, man. GM: Obviously, you get into the collectibility of it. Does Housecore Records ever print up only a certain amount of copies so it becomes a collector’s edition? PA: Let’s put it this way. I’m very prudent about bands that I sign. I haven’t signed a band for a very long time, partly because I’ve been very busy with Down, but I do have my eyeball on four to fi ve bands where it’s them themselves that say “You know what? we just want to do a limited-edition vinyl.” And if it turns over and people still want it, then we can reprint. But there are bands that just want that limited vinyl, and I respect that greatly. GM: What’s your opinion of Record Store Day? How does the label take part in that? PA: Well, I just did an interview with Forbes magazine about Record Store Day, and I think it’s a great idea ,and I think it’s a great thing. I have been busy out of my mind when it comes to Record Store Day (laughs) in the past. But I know for a fact that it’s one of the high priorities in the near future, for sure. GM: It’s taken off. You see people standing in line for hours, trying to get these limited editions that may never be seen again. It draws a lot of excitement. PA: For me, growing up — and I guess for yourself, as well — you can identify with actually wanting to hold a tangible copy of something in your hands. And when you’re growing up with bands like KISS, where you can get something extra with the vinyl — if you get a poster or something a little bit special from the band, that’s not even expected, that’s a winner. That’s a thumbs up, and I’ve always loved that. Even with Venom on the “Black Metal” record — that came with an awesome poster which is obviously today a big collector’s item, so ... And not to mention, just the packaging in general! Bands like The Rolling Stones had fantastic packaging with albums like “Some Girls” and then Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti” with its interslideable windows. Everybody’s kind of touched upon it, but to me, it’s just having hat thing I can hold in my hands, and look at and read the lyrics and having this awesome package, always meant a lot to me. GM: Something easy to hate about “Oh, I think I’ll just get the MP3.” It’s kind of boring. PA: You know what? I think it almost deters from being able to actually get into a record in a complete way. When you have vinyl, you could sit there and skim through everything haphazardly but still eventually get into the whole thing in time, whereas today with MP3s, you don’t have the artwork to hold in your hands. You don’t have a booklet to flip through. You don’t have the specialty. It’s not as realistic as holding that damn album jacket and having everything right there in front of you. GM: Would you ever think of Housecore having its own record store, like Jack White has with Third Man Records? PA: If I did, it would have to be something way in the future. That’s an interesting prospect, but, you know, fi rst off we would have to build up our library a whole lot more, and we don’t have that many bands that are in existence any more, which might work to my advantage when you talk about collectibles. Maybe in the future, but right now my hands are friggin’ full. GM: Your own latest release “Walk Through Exits Only” is out on vinyl and in different-colored vinyl. Do you think it will come out with something even more collectible? PA: We’ll see how sales go and how people receive the record and whatnot. Honestly, I’m a pessimist to the max when it comes to whatever releases coming out, and I’ve always been this way since the Pantera days, and it’s not anything to do with lack of confidence or anything like that. These days I don’t like to count the ol’ chickens before they’re hatched. It’s just not my style. GM: You should feel good about this release, though. PA: I appreciate that, but you never know what the youth of today are really after and stuff. I just did a bunch of award shows, and there are so many bands out today that I’m not even aware of on, I guess, a more popular level. I’m more of a type of guy who really thrives in the underground, because it’s just my style. I love extremities, and I love intense — and I’m talking about heavy metal here, or extreme music. I’m the type of guy who’s not very interested in very high-dollar, glossy production and sh*t like that. I prefer records to be very creative within their own genre. No matter how beat to death some of the genres may be, there are still bands out there that are doing things that are extremely innovative. That’s kind of where my concentration lies. I can’t care less about popularity contests or who’s selling what or whatever. It’s pretty f**king boring, actually. I know people hold me to a certain standard, but in a way I’m here to break that myth. Although I’ve had some damn good success in the past with Pantera and various bands — none moreso than Pantera — I’ve always touted the underground. I was a champion and still am a champion of the underground bands out there, and I’m gonna stay true to it.