Anselmo talks back injury, addiction, animals & more By Neil Shumate, ootb646.com

Photo: Miikka Skaffari

via Braveworlds.com Vocalist PHIL ANSELMO (PANTERA) is featured in a new audio interview with Pablo at Minneapolis-based radio station 93X. Check out the audio clips below: On May 15, Rhino will be releasing the 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Pantera's Vulgar Display Of Power. The CD/DVD features the debut of 'Piss', an incendiary blast of vintage Pantera from the original recording sessions. It remained lost until drummer Vinnie Paul rediscovered the track while going through the band’s vault. Along with the unreleased song, Vulgar Display Of Power (Deluxe Edition) also features unreleased video of the quartet performing six songs at the Monsters Of Rock show in Reggio Emilia, Italy on September 12, 1992. The set list draws almost exclusively from Vulgar ('This Love', 'Rise', 'Mouth For War'), but also includes the title track from their previous album, Cowboys From Hell, and a melding of Vulgar’s 'Hollow' and Cowboys’ 'Domination', which was a live staple of the band. Video of Pantera performing live during this era is extremely rare, making the DVD one of the few ways to see them in their prime. Noisecreep spoke with singer Phil Anselmo about the deluxe reissue. Here are a few excerpts from the chat: Noisecreep: Phil, what is it about this band that endures like it does? Anselmo: "I don't know if you saw Pantera back in the day but the way we connected with the audiences was so unique, to say the least. We were just guys that were fans of music, too. So when it came to fans, our stage was their stage and vice versa. Our ace in the hole, I think, was our absolute identity with our audience. Fuck, we had the best audience and we still do!" Noisecreep: And the album Vulgar Display of Power – it's also something that endures. Any thoughts on what is so special about this record? Anselmo: "It's hard to say. Man, it feels just like yesterday that we did that. Maybe it's all the anthems on the record. I love that we knew how to do anthems. But time goes so fast. I'd have to say as far as that album, it was just the attitude that we put into it. So much of the shit we put into that record was attitude, just a ton of attitude in the music." Read more at Noisecreep. Vulgar Display Of Power (Deluxe Edition) tracklisting: CD 'Mouth For War' 'A New Level' 'Walk' 'Fucking Hostile' 'This Love' 'Rise' 'No Good (Attack The Radical)' 'Live In A Hole' 'Regular People (Conceit)' 'By Demons Be Driven' 'Hollow' 'Piss' – Previously Unreleased DVD 'Mouth For War' – Live In Italy 'Domination/Hollow' – Live In Italy 'Rise' – Live In Italy 'This Love' – Live In Italy 'Cowboys From Hell' – Live In Italy 'Mouth For War' – Video 'This Love' – Video 'Walk' – Video

Full Metal Rock caught up Philip - discussed the new record, tours and more. Check out the interview below! Be sure to check out DOWN on tour! Get tickets!

via FallenBlue.org We have interviewed some incredible bands over the last couple of years, and more often than not, we always speak with the drummer! Maybe its just our luck, since we named AJ Pero (Twisted Sister) our National Spokesperson, but we have been fortunate to meet and speak with some truly unique drumkit masters. Well, we can also add Down's, Jimmy Bower, to that mix. Jimmy is one of the most laid back musicians in the business, and just a great guy to speak with. Armed with his wooden hammers, Jimmy can be seen behind the kits of not only Down, but Eyehategod, Crowbar, and Superjoint Ritual. In our interview, we discussed everything from the bands appearance at this year's Rock On The Range, the status of Down's new album, and how he is able to balance all the different styles of music he plays. With this year at least, the Rock On The Range festival, held in Columbus, Ohio, on May 18-20, looks like it will be throwing some old school rock and metal to the masses. With acts like Megadeth, Anthrax, and Down, Jimmy couldn't be even more excited to share the stage with not only those legends, but some of the newer bands as well. "You know, its going to be a great weekend. We love to play festivals and shows that have a great mixture of hard rock and metal, as the fans get to see and hear some pretty cool stuff. When Down hits the stage, our ultimate goal will be to destroy anything in our path. There are some great bands playing at the show, so everyone should leave with their ears ringing!" If you have followed Down through the years, you know that the band likes to take their time between albums. So it comes of no surprise, that the band's latest album will be dropping sometime in the Fall, which is about a four year gap. There has been some songs mentioned in an EP that will be released later this year, to include Levitation, Witchtripper, and Open Coffins. When asked what the plans were for the new album and touring, Jimmy said that "as a band we like to take our time. There is no rush to write or record. We all have our own little side projects that keep us focused. Forcing yourself to make music is never a good thing, however, we plan on forcing this record down everyone's throats! This is no doubt a fresh sound for the band, and our goal is to really hit the road with it [Album] and play it for the fans! My favorite song is Witchtripper, which just sounds so sweet live. We have some dates leading up to and after Rock On The Range, so it should be a great time." Jimmy is well respected in the music community, not only for his genuine persona and work ethic, but for his ability to infuse and balance all of his playing styles into the music is playing for that show. With nicknames like "Bower Power" and 'Godfather Of Southern Metal", Jimmy must be doing something great: "I love to play as many styles as possible. It could be jazz, metal, blues, it doesn't matter because it keeps me fresh, and I always love to learn. I think that new Down album will really blow some people away with how musically diverse it really is." As we wrapped up the interview, we talked about why we started Fallen Blue, and Jimmy said he fully endorses what we are doing. "We often meet cops at shows which is great thing, seeing them rock to our music, but let me tell you...it is a scary thing when some of them board our bus when we come back over the Mexican Border, from playing shows. We don't do anything too crazy, but when they are on there, its intimitating as hell. At the end of the day, we respect them for what they are doing and have to do on a daily basis."

ArtistDirect.com

Photo: Germán García

via ARTISTdirect.com ARTISTdirect.com is pleased to share our exclusive photo gallery from the Metal Masters 3 event held in Los Angeles last Thursday, April 12 by Corey Soria. We were there, front and center, and now you will feel like you were at the event too, taking it all in. The event was a "who's who" in the heavy metal world, featuring former Pantera singer Philip Anselmo and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler along with Megadeth bassist and guitarist David Ellefson and Chris Broderick, Antrhax drummer Charlie Benante and ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Check it out now!

via Loudwire.com

Photo: Marcos Hermes

Philip Anselmo was interviewed on this past Sunday's (March 18) edition of "Dead Dave's Internet Radio Show". You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. (Note: The Anselmo interview begins around the 37-minute mark.)

Congratulations Jimmy and Dana! via Blabbermouth.net Congratulations are in order for DOWN drummer and EYEHATEGOD guitarist Jimmy Bower, who married his girlfriend Dana Kieferle yesterday (Saturday, March 3) in New Orleans, Lousiana. DOWN entered the studio last October to begin recording the first in a series of four EPs, to be released over the next few years (with a year between EPs), each touching on a different aspect of the band's sound. The first six-song EP, which heralds the sound of DOWN going back to its roots, with influences from BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and WITCHFINDER GENERAL, is described by singer Philip Anselmo as "a very pure doom metal record."

Target Audience Magazine Down Drummer Talks Down IV and Rock on the Range Interview by Jerel Johnson On February 10 at 1:00 p.m., I was fortunate to talk with legendary NOLA metal musician and current Down drummer, Jimmy Bower. Down finished mixing its fourth record the previous night, and Jimmy was happy to give me the skinny on how the record sounded and the concept of the record. The new record is scheduled for a May release, coinciding with the band’s performance at Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio. It was obvious from our chat that metal heads will not be disappointed with the record. Target Audience: When’s the new Down record coming out? Jim Bower: We finished last night (February 9 at time of interview) with the mixing and everything. So, all we have to do now is get it mastered and the artwork is all done. So I think maybe early May. It takes a while to get everything together; it took us a little longer with the recording process so it’s done. We finished it last night. It sounds killer. TA: What does it sound like compared to your previous albums? JB: We went for a really raw sound and went back to NOLA. The songs are really Sabbathed-out. I’m really happy the way it came out. It’s really aggressive and raw. All them rock n’ roll adjectives in there bro. It’s doomy! TA: Any songs similar to “Stone the Crow” or “Jail” or is it pretty much an all-out blitz? JB: No, the idea is we’re doing four EPs and the first one is pretty much cut-throat. The third one is supposed to be the acoustic one. But we’re releasing four EPs within the next year and a half. They all coincide with one theme. Like the artwork and everything. It’s like a big story. TA: Like a concept record? JB: Exactly. A concept with 4 EPs. TA: What’s the theme? Is there a back story? JB: No. Well, it’s kind of like end of the world kind of shit. Just the times we’re in. it reflects on how humanity is going apeshit. As far as concepts I don’t know. TA: What’s the name of the record? JB: Down IV, I think. I saw the artwork last night. There wasn’t an album title or anything. The artwork looks great. TA: What’s the picture of? What’s the cover? JB: I’m not gonna say anything man. Pepper usually does all the artwork; he does a really good job. TA: Pepper is a good artist? JB: Yeah, he does all the artwork for Down. TA: I didn’t know that and I’m a COC fan. JB: He did all the artwork for those records he was on as well. TA: From Blind on? That’s excellent. So how have the shows been? JB: They’ve been good. We haven’t been playing much. We’ve been pretty much busy with the recording process. But we have a festival in Ohio (Rock On The Range) and we’re going to do a couple of shows around that. We’re pretty much waiting for the release so we can get out and start working a little harder. TA: When the new record comes out, are you going to do a national or world tour? JB: Yeah. Probably start in the U.S. and work our way to Europe, and hopefully go to Japan and Australia, and hopefully back to South America. Continue Reading...

Get your Mardi Gras party started earley and join friends of Down, Clearlight, at The Hangar at 1511 South Rendon, NOLA.  

via Blabbermouth.net The first six-song EP, which heralds the sound of DOWN going back to its roots, with influences from BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and WITCHFINDER GENERAL, is described by Anselmo as "a very pure doom metal record." The track listing for the effort is as follows (in no particular order):

• Levitation
• Witchtripper
• The Misfortune Teller
• The Curse Is A Lie
• Open Coffins
• This Work Is Timeless

Shit's going Down. One of the greatest supergroups of all time are back and they're on the cover of the new Metal Hammer! Something's brewing in New Orleans... and it's a goddamn monster. Down are back on the cover of Metal Hammer, and best of all, they're finally getting ready to unleash some new material! Metal Hammer travel all the way to New Orleans itself to rendezvous with reborn Phil Anselmo and find out the truth behind the most ambitions project yet from one of the greatest supergroups of all time. Order yours today!

GAZETA DO POVO NEWSPAPER - Juliana Girardi



After playing in Argentina, Chile and other cities of Brazil, Paulinia (at the SWU festival) and Porto Alegre, Down ended its first South American tour with a memorable concert in Curitiba. Despite the small audience for its history and importance – less than one thousand people attended the Curitiba Master Hall –, the supergroup from New Orleans succeeded in setting fire on the place and performed one of the most intense and loud concerts of the year.



Led by the insane Phil Anselmo (ex-Pantera), the band (which also features members of Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar and Eyehategod) opened the night with the marijuana anthem "Hail the Leaf" of their first and great album "NOLA" (1995) – which set the tone for the show and was even played in full a few days before at the SWU festival. With a set list of about 15 songs, the group revisited tracks throughout its career and still presented, for the general joy, an excerpt from the classic "Walk" by Pantera.



In addition to the extremely high and heavy concert – that overcame Slayer and Motörhead who played recently in the same Curitiba Master Hall – it´s necessary to highlight the good humor of the band, that made jokes and played the whole time with each other and the audience. During the famous "Stone the Crow", they even called to the stage a fan that looked a lot like the guitarist Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) – the guy ended up singing a snippet of the chorus with Anselmo.



Although still very intense on stage (he even opened his forehead with a mic on SWU), Phil Anselmo appeared more relaxed than usual at these shows in South America and even said during the presentation that the concert in Curitiba was the best on the Brazilian tour, leading the audience to even higher levels of delirium. To reward all this effort of the audience, who even saw one fan broke his knee in a circle pit, the band played the sensational "There's Something on My Side", present on their second album, and that was not being included on the tour.



As usually, the closure was made with the ultra-heavy "Bury Me in Smoke", with Down members giving place to their roadies and the members of Loaded (which opened the night with a boring concert), on the last and mesmerizing riff of the night.



Now we can only hope for Down to come back to Brazil soon with their new EP on luggage and bring together their other bands, such as Crowbar and Eyehategod – currently, Pepper Keenan is no longer playing with the COC. And the next time the fans should do as Phil Anselmo asked and fullfill the concert.

As if they were waiting for the sunset, the band Loaded took the stage in the beginning of the Wednesday night (16). Led by Duff McKagan, ex-bassist from Guns N 'Roses, the group began playing for the happiness of gauchos fans.



The first song of the evening was "Executioner's Song". It brought all the fans near to the stage and started a small marathon of Hard Rock that would continue for the next hour, with the band playing covers and hits from the two studio albums. The band, that is Mike Squires (guitar), Jeff Rouse (bass), Isaac Carpenter (drums) and, as we already said, Duff McKagan (vocals and rhythm guitar) was invited by Down to their tour. They showed huge cheer and happiness to the chance to present their work. Always moving around the stage and calling the public to participate to the concert, Duff was weaving a pleasant atmosphere on the Pepsi Stage with a mix of blues rock and punk rock that has earned them comparisons to bands like the Ramones, the ex-band from Duff, Guns Duff N 'Roses and the solo projects of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.



The band played the hits "Seattlehead" (Dark Days), "Sick" and "Sleaze Factory" (Sick), from The Damned "New Rose" and "Attitude" from The Misfits. The most avid fans also had the opportunity to see two Guns N 'Roses covers. The first was "So Fine", which Duff immediately changed the guitar he was playing for a bass, and in the end of the concert they played "It's So Easy". A gift for everyone who was there for the band itself and also to the nostalgia of the old Gun's bassist.



Almost an hour passed over until the equipment were replaced and the preparations for Down to get on stage were set. And to announce the arrival of the band, a song was played (something about going down, southern folk), making direct reference to the band's name. Everything was all ready. As the band took the stage, people were screaming in anticipation, but seeing Phil Anselmo - who had come at last - covered by Rio Grande do Sul flag made the noise triple.



Energy was between stage and the public. Anselmo didn’t stop all the time, while he wasn’t singing, he was talking to the people and even compare Porto Alegre to New Orleans (the city where the band are from). Both are southern towns, so he said that the band and the fans should be related in some way because of this. But not only the strong energy from the band was remarkable at the concert, the emotional value was too, where almost all the songs were dedicated to somebody (either the public, sometimes to the people who suffer depression, or to the Alsemo ex-partner - Dimebag Darrell - even to the band itself). And it was in this mixture of strong emotions, overflowing energy and heavy riffs that the band played a set that mostly belonged to the first album - "NOLA." - With hits like "Temptation's Wings", "Lifer", "Stone The Crow", "Bury Me In Smoke", and music from other recordings, such as "Ghosts Along," "The Mississippi" and "New Orleans Is A Dying Whore ". For the encore, after many requests, "Walk" (Pantera) was played. Tempers calmed and the concert was closed with "Bury Me In Smoke".

Philip, how did you first discover Slayer and how did they fit into what you – as a musician – were doing at the time? Philip Anselmo: I remember watching heavy metal closely as it evolved. I was about 15 years old or so and Metallica's Kill 'Em All really set the tone for that kind of metal, with the crunchy axe sound. Slayer's Show No Mercy was a great LP but it still posed a lot of questions as to where they'd go next. Then, Haunting The Chapel was a much more relentless offering, but still, it was only an EP. Finally, when Slayer released Hell Awaits, I, like many others, was sold. That record is still my favourite. Very Mercyful Fate influenced riff-wise but the point is: Slayer became more extreme, where bands like Metallica were heading in a more acceptable direction. I was a Slayer kid 100%. Do you remember when you first heard Reign In Blood? Set the scene and tell us what your first thoughts were... PA: I bought Reign In Blood on vinyl when it first came out. I really had no cash to do much of anything but getting that record was essential... Shit, I probably would have stolen it if it weren't for a friend lending me the cash to buy it. Anyway, all I had to listen to it on was my buddy's shitty turntable at the apartment I was living in and it skipped constantly – I was furious! But I eventually got the cassette and all was, well, crushing! There wasn't a single show I'd go to where RIB wasn't the talk of the night; it killed everything else even considered 'heavy'. Which tracks stand out most and why? PA: Where do I start? 'Angel Of Death', 'Piece By Piece', 'Altar Of Sacrifice', 'Jesus Saves', 'Criminally Insane', 'Raining Blood'. All of them are still brutal masterpieces. Slayer had trimmed down their riffing a tad on RIB, but still, they were complex enough to keep my attention and innovative beyond words. Extreme drumming, extreme vocals, extreme concepts, insane riffing and blistering out of key leads... like Black Flag possessed by a Catholic Satan. Gotta love it... Did you – consciously or otherwise – take any aspect of RIB forward to Pantera material and if you did, which songs or feels are most heavily influenced? PA: Of course. But there was a bit of influential magic here. I was the Slayer fan out of the Pantera boys – they were into Metallica, Motorhead and Def Leppard etc, so I was a bit of an outcast. But there was no denying Slayer's power and their popularity was growing, so it was tough for the fellas to ignore. Slayer was playing on a Saturday night in Dallas on the South Of Heaven tour and they'd gotten into town the night before. My great friend and boxing coach, Mad Maxx Hammer at Z-Rock (who was a DJ at that time) suggested to the Slayer guys that they should come to see us play on that Friday. Well, Tom, Kerry and Jeff came out, and to cut a very long story short, Kerry and I hit it off well. Kerry and Jeff even got up and jammed Reign In Blood with us that night. Several months later, Kerry called me and said that he wanted to come hang out (he was in between legs of touring) and jam with us. That jam session... teaching Dimebag Slayer riffs and Dime teaching Kerry our stuff was stupendously influential. Look no further than the end of 'Domination' to hear the Slayer influence, it's fucking obvious! Slayer supported Pantera in 2001, what were your emotions having them support you given how you felt about their music? PA: All I knew was that we had better jam our asses off every night. We really had to be on point. Playing after Slayer is no easy chore and dammit, when they'd kick into 'Angel Of Death' or 'Raining Blood'... my adrenaline still gets going just thinking about it! I'd get so pumped-up watching Slayer that I'd have to catch a second (or third) wind just to get up and play our set. It's true! Slayer was the craziest motivator ever... and I mean EVER. Sum up where you think RIB fits into the overall fabric of heavy metal? PA: It still stands the test of time and still kills – a pure, classic LP. To me, Slayer invented the style of heavy metal I adore: odes to Satan with discordant axe harmonies and thundering drums. They invented the style - that says everything. There may have been other great bands out there – great influential bands – but Slayer stands alone in my heart till I croak, period. And I think history will be kind to them. They're legends under my roof anyway. Read the FULL article here.

DOWN guitarist Pepper Keenan joined reunited grunge legends SOUNDGARDEN on stage this past Friday, October 28 at The Voodoo Experience in New Orleans' City Park to perform the SOUNDGARDEN classic "Gun".

Like his bandmates — vocalist Philip Anselmo, drummer Jimmy Bower, bassist Pat Bruders and guitarist Pepper Keenan, guitarist Kirk Windstein has never been one to mince words. Whether it’s discussing the band’s musical partnership, his working relationship with Keenan as a guitar team, or his overview of the state of the music industry, Windstein pulls no punches. Shooting straight with uncensored honesty is part of Down’s credo: in their music, their band ethics and their interviews. Windstein, also recognized for his work with Kingdom of Sorrow and Crowbar, is still taken aback — and humbled — by the impact Down’s music has on their fans. “The style of music we play gets a bad rap as far as the image of what we do,” he says. “The lyrics are dark subject matter, but the lyrics themselves are positive and about finding strength and getting through the tough times in life. It’s amazing; I’ve gotten handwritten letters from people all over the world that say, ‘Can you please sign this picture?’ and they write a deep letter about how the music affects them in a positive way. It’s a great feeling to be able to do that for somebody. I know what music did for me when I was growing up. I fell in love with KISS when I was 10 years old in 1975, and I can’t say that they have deep lyrics or anything, but it really pulled me through my adolescence and into the teen years, which are really tough. Then I discovered Van Halen in the late ’70s, and all heavy metal music, and I would literally run home from the school bus, put on music and practice guitar. So it’s very important to a lot of people.” Why the longevity? If it weren’t for taking breaks, sometimes long sabbaticals and doing other things … we toured ourselves silly in the past at times. We now know how long of a tour we can do without wanting to kill one another and how long we can go until we need a break. It’s difficult because we’ve got five very strong personalities, very talented guys that have all been successful in other bands, and it can get to be a bit much. I will say that we’ve mellowed with age. It’s helped a lot, not only as in partying and stuff like that, but our whole attitude. We realize that we’re blessed to be able to do what we’re doing, which is make a living playing the music we create, and we have a great diehard fan base and we’re grateful for that. As we get older, we realize how fortunate we really are to still be doing this and at some level of success. We all appreciate the band, and ourselves in general, more than we did ten years ago. This band has outlasted most marriages. You’re right. It’s absolutely a relationship. Everyone’s got a different personality, everyone’s got different quirks and different moody things, and you really have to learn to put up with each other and cut someone a little slack when they’re having a bad day. We’ve talked about it quite a bit. Like in any band, there are ups and downs, you get burned out on each other. Sometimes we tour for months and months with very little time off, and we’d joke but we’d be serious — we’d literally get to the airport and be like, “Yeah, I’ll call you,” and we’d get home and not talk to each other for a month because you need to get back to your life and your own thing and just break from one another. When the creative juices start flowing, you get ready to jam again. We all consider ourselves brothers and great friends, but we’ve tried to remedy what happened in the past, which was being burned out from over-touring. Now we pick and choose the touring, and the way we want to do our music, and it seems to be working out great. What do your other projects bring to Down when you come back to this band? Nothing, and that’s the beauty of it. Crowbar — I’ve been doing that for over twenty years. That’s my baby. I’m the lyricist, the chief songwriter, the singer, all of that. Kingdom of Sorrow is a partnership between me and Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed, and I just got off of a tour with that project this summer. I like all styles of music, so I’m thinking about starting a fourth band for my own pleasure that would be different in style from the other three. I don’t think I bring anything to Down from Crowbar and Kingdom. Down is a completely different beast. It really doesn’t have anything in common with the other two and that’s the way I like it. You can get burned out on one. Look at Phil — he’s got so many things going on: his independent label, his solo record that’s coming out, his punk band, he’s done black metal. He just loves music, and when you’re an artist and a musician, and you really do create and your life is creating music, it’s healthy to branch out and do things that are completely different. Down is my main band, it’s my breadwinner, always has been and always will be, but I enjoy doing other things when we’re taking breaks. Conitnue Reading at Examiner.com

Dividing his time between Down and Corrosion of Conformity, guitarist Pepper Keenan has little time for anything else, save a few causes that are dear to his heart. With Down back in the studio and preparing for a sold-out tour of South America — where he plans to “hit the streets and shop!” — Keenan is solely focused on making music with his guitar partner, Kirk Windstein, bassist Pat Bruders, drummer Jimmy Bower and vocalist Philip Anselmo. Shortly before taking the stage in Texas during a recent string of Down dates, Keenan called to talk about the band's upcoming EP series and share his uncensored opinions about the music industry, the state — as in environmental state — of Louisiana, and the real meaning of tone. How has your relationship with Kirk grown and how do you continue challenging each other? We know each other’s playing styles and we’re pretty different guitar players. Kirk is more finesse-oriented and I’m more ham-fisted, pretty much of a hammer, downpicking kind of thing, so we play off of those things. I’ll come up with a riff and Kirk will come up with a melody or harmony behind it or on top of it. As we’ve gotten older, playing guitar together, we use it as a starting point where the songs launch. Kirk comes up with riffs all the time. There’s no leader; we’re more focused on the song, the end product, rather than the sum of its parts. In the studio, generally I’ll do the rhythm tracks first. Kirk goes after me and we double things that way. On this particular new stuff, we want to do Kirk in one speaker and me in the other speaker and try it super old school, like the NOLA record was. Whatever it takes to make the song do its thing. What we hear in our heads is what the end product is going to be.   Does he ever surprise you by taking a song in a different direction? No, not necessarily. Sometimes we’ve come up with pretty cool stuff, like “Ghosts Along the Mississippi” and things like that. The song is never done until it’s gone to the mastering plant. Sometimes Phil does something that gives me a whole new idea, and I’ll go back and change the riff after he’s already put the vocals down — either get out of the way more or let it breathe more once I’ve seen what he’s done. Over the course of twenty years, have you ever come close to calling it a day, especially with the current state of the industry? I don’t know. I’m so underground that I’m oblivious to it. I don’t Facebook, I don’t do any of that s--t, so I just keep trucking along for the love of playing music, and in the Down world I can’t really notice a difference. I think people appreciate a real band like us. I don’t think we’ve been as affected as some other bands because we have a loyal following and we’re true to them and we expand. Each time we come through there’s younger kids at the shows because I think they’re tired of the bulls--t too. They want to see something real and they know they can rely on a band like Down. I think that’s helped us out. It’s probably hurt some bands that weren’t in it for the real reasons, but the ones who really enjoy what they do and have a love of music are the ones who remain unscathed because they’re not affected by something like that. But the fly-by-night bands who are trying to make something stick to the wall by networking or whatever the f--k you do, put s--t on the Internet and just rely on that instead of getting in the f---ing van and starving to death for the love of your music, that’s the ones who say the industry sucks! Read the full interview HERE!  

The legendary DOWN came through Atlanta last week on their headlining tour and crushed the fans in attendance. The band played through all of their classic hits and sounded as good as ever. Before the show I got to sit down with Jimmy Bower for a hilarious interview and you can check it out below. We talk about the tour, DOWN fans, the upcoming record, and much more! You can even find out what Jimmy would do if he was elected President! Enjoy!   View LIVE photos of Down in Atlanta: http://www.skullsnbones.com/profiles/blogs/down-live-photos-from-atlanta-by-shawn-evans  

Target Audience Magazine After an already rowdy crowd wavered between chanting “We want Phil” and “Down” repetitively, the band took the stage. Phil walked to the edge of the stage like the life of the party. He held two bottles of Beck beer in one hand, and grabbed the mic with the other. He announced, “Hey Atlanta. I want you to know that I know you are one of the hardest crowds and I’m acknowledging you.” The energy from the rapt crowd only grew as men and women in shirts representing bands from the Misfits to Black Label Society reached out for a chance to shake Phil Anselmo’s hand. Anselmo seemed genuinely happy in his Ghost t-shirt, and the energy from the guitarists Kirk Windstein and Pepper Keenan, with his “Riff Lord” tattooed Gibson, testified to the love Down has as a band for what it takes to keep going. For the most part, a typical metal audience swarmed about the Masquerade. Men and women in black, band t-shirts wearing jeans with chain wallets, and carrying beer. Some of the audience member’s eyes seemed shrouded with a darkness that comes from drug abuse, but many just looked eager to see one of their favorite bands. With sweaty people floating toward the stage from the back of the room, the parents of two children decided something needed to change from the place they secured front row, center. I really do think parents should think a bit more about the kind of show to bring a ten-year-old to, but the Masquerade security guys did a wonderful job sheltering the boy and girl on the side of the stage. Down works its fans into a proper frenzy and from the opening “Hail the Leaf” to the show’s ending with “Stone the Crows” and “Bury Me in Smoke” those at Atlanta’s Masquerade shared the night moshing in the pit as the boys on stage moshed and head banged with each other. Setlist from 9-23-11: Hail the Leaf The Path Lifer Lysergic Funeral Procession Pillars of Eternity New Orleans is a Dying Whore Losing All Ghosts Along the Mississippi Underneath Everything Temptation’s Wings There’s Something on My Side Eyes of the South Stone the Crows Bury Me in Smoke Review by Ellen Eldridge

GuitarWorld.com Over the course of 20 years and thousands of touring miles, the relationships that make up Down — vocalist Philip Anselmo, drummer Jimmy Bower, bassist Pat Bruders and guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein — have outlasted most marriages. “Tell me about it!” Windstein laughs. “I’ve been divorced twice! But you’re absolutely right — it’s like I’ve got four wives who happen to be guys.” Windstein and his betrothed spend most of their lives on the road, as they all have musical projects outside of Down. For Windstein, there’s Kingdom of Sorrow and Crowbar. For Keenan, it’s Corrosion of Conformity. Right now, both men are focused on Down’s current stretch of U.S. dates, a November leg through South America, and in the midst of this, a series of four EPs in the works, each showcasing a different musical side to the band, but all connected as the sum of the parts. It’s a chance to explore the many directions and influences that create Down, as well as a sharp move to remain in tandem with an industry in flux, where digital songs outsell physical CDs and six-song EPs stand a better chance than a 12-song disc. Keenan and Windstein phoned in from Texas to talk about what it takes to get down with Down. How does the rest of the band factor into the riffs and melodies that you both come up with? Keenan: Sometimes I try and write overly simple riffs or chord structures so that Kirk can have room to breathe and not be so structured by a technical riff. I think sometimes writing those riffs is a lot trickier than writing complicated, busy riffs, where you’re filling in all the negative spaces. So I tend to think like that, in terms of the “classic song structure; you’ve heard it before” kind of deal. Kirk will come up with things, and sometimes we’ll do variations on the same riff with Jimmy changing the drumbeat. That’s a pretty big Down trick too, where we hammer a riff into the ground and Jimmy does half time. Windstein: I bring in riffs, but it’s very seldom that anyone’s riff is not tricked up a little bit by the other guy. Phil is in charge of arranging the songs. As far as me writing with Pepper, a lot of times I have a riff and he says, “Why don’t you do this,” or he has a riff and I do all the harmonies. The thing we have is weird; it works great, but we’re two completely different schools as far as guitar players and styles. We couldn’t be more different from one another, but when we work together, it’s magic. Certain things he does really well and certain things I do really well, but we understand one another and where we’re both coming from as players because we’ve played together so long. The very incarnation of this thing was 1991, so it’s been, like, 20 years. We’ve done quite a bit of touring all over the world and quite a bit of writing, so it works out great. It’s like a symbiotic relationship in a way. It’s totally different, but we gel, we feed off of one another’s ideas, as do the other guys in the band. Everyone in the band plays guitar and writes riffs. In a lot of bands, one guy is the chief songwriter, but we get in there, throw around ideas, and if something clicks, we know it. Everybody puts their two cents in and we have what we think is a great final product. What do the guitar parts and solos need to do within this band? Keenan: When I play guitar with Down, I don’t have to sing, so it allows me to do more complicated things that I might not do with C.O.C. That’s the main difference. Sometimes there are pretty technical things going on when Phil’s singing, so that’s a different way to look at it. Windstein: I think we’re a throwback in a lot of ways, and one of the ways is, sure, we’re all about the riff, but we’re also about the songs, like, we all love the Beatles. We’re trying to keep alive something that in my opinion seems to have gone away, which is concentrating on not just being heavy or loud or the fastest kick drum you can play or the craziest arpeggio you can do or whatever. We’re trying to keep the spirit of the 1960s and 1970s and early 1980s rock and metal alive, which was really based around great songs. We’re proud of the music we make because we feel we are keeping that sprit alive and flying the flag for the old-school bands that it seems like the newer generation of bands unfortunately haven’t had the chance to experience. What is the key to working successfully with another guitarist? It’s easier said than done for some players. Keenan: Kirk and I love the same type of music. We see things easily, we know who’s got to do what solo and who’s got to do what riff by just the way the riff is or the way the solo is. If we need a fast, articulate solo, it’s going to be Kirk. If you need some David Gilmour melodic thing, it’s me. If you need the Michael Schenker shit, it aint gonna be me! We know it and we like it like that. We play to each other’s positive parts. It’s not like we sit there and practice all different kinds of music. I work on my strengths and Kirk works on his. And between those two, we’ve pretty much got it covered. Windstein: Right, and I think a lot of times it has to do with egos — one thing Pepper and I don’t have a problem with that a lot of guitar players do. We want to write great songs, have big riffs and make music that’s like a throwback, but we don’t have the egos. Some guys are so stuck on the solo that everything to them besides the solo is boring. They’re just waiting for their solo. We’re not those types of players. He does a lot more of the melodic kind of trippy stuff, the David Gilmour kind of approach, where I’m more — and he’d be the first to say this — if we have any fast solos, I do those. He does the weird effects and bendy stuff. It’s just a different approach. I honestly couldn’t imagine being in a band without two guitar players. I just couldn’t. It seems to me that something’s missing. I like the approach. For a metal band, you boys sure do have the funk! Keenan: That comes from me! We have some pretty ham-fisted shit going on if we want to, and we’re not afraid to go backward and do that. That’s the fun thing. We’ll go back and beat an E chord to death all day long; I don’t give a shit. If a song is going a certain direction, I think a lot of bands try to control it to put their sound on it, whereas we just let the song go and take its course and try to push it as far as we can in the song’s direction. Another thing is that we’re from the South, so of course some of that slippery greasiness is part of our thing, it’s part of the New Orleans thing. That’s one of the main things about Down in terms of being a heavy band is that we’re more into the melodic. Windstein: Oh, absolutely, and thank you! That’s very well put and I totally agree! To me, there’s one reason and that’s because we’re from New Orleans. We grew up on New Orleans music, which is funk and blues; it’s music you can shake your ass to. We play behind the beat a lot. In a band like Down, we would never dream of playing to a click track or anything like that. It’s all about being in the pocket. Jimmy is a great behind-the-beat drummer. That gives you funk. Funk is playing behind the beat. It’s got a groove. We can shift gears and go behind a groove. Live, it’s even slower than it is on record; we call it switching gears. We like switching gears. It brings an element of funk and old school into it. We all credit that to the environment we grew up in, which was New Orleans, which was the music and booze and having a good time, and ever since we were kids you’d be at your grandma and grandpa’s crawfish boil on the weekend and you’d be hearing Dr. John and the Neville Brothers and the Meters and all these popular New Orleans bands. It’s instilled in you. We’re a product of the environment we grew up around. To me, New Orleans is the best music town in the world. The best drummers, the funkiest, badass drummers, are guys like Mean Willie Green, Russell Battiste and Stan Moore. They’re monster drummers. It’s New Orleans. There’s something in the water down there. Down Gear Rundown: KIRK WINDSTEIN: GUITARS: One ESP Eclipse; two custom, single-pickup, double-cutaway ESPs. AMPS: Two Orange Thunderverb 50 heads, four Orange 4X12 cabs with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. EFFECTS: Maxon Tube Screamer, Boss Super Chorus, Dunlop "Slash" Wah pedal, MXR Phase 90, Boss TU-12 tuner. PEPPER KEENAN: GUITARS: Two Gibson ES-335s and one Gibson Firebird for drop-tuning. All guitars totally stock. AMPS: Two Orange Thunderverb 50 heads, four Orange 4X12 cabs with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. EFFECTS: Tuner, rack-mounted wah, MXR Phase 90, Ibanez Square Button Tube Screamer and the Electro-Harmonix Pog and thick-ass bass picks. — Alison Richter, GuitarWorld.com

After a two-year wait since their last trip to the midwest, metal superstars Down returned to IL and instead of playing Chicago opted once again to play in Libertyville at Austin’s Fuel Room. Hundreds of fans packed the restaurant portion of the venue waiting the extra hour delay for the doors to open and in doing so got themselves good and wasted before the venue doors even opened. Well over an hour later than the advertised start time, Pony Killer finally took the stage to begin the night’s entertainment. They announced they have a record coming out that will be produced by Phil Anselmo (singer of Down) which must have been an attempt to win over the crowd. They seemed like they were a band unable to decide what their influences or direction were. Sometimes they were heavy, often times they were psychedelic, sometimes they were experimental, and sometimes they were an indie rock band. All of this conflict occurred during every song. There would be small portions of songs that would sound really good and then suddenly they would go off in a completely different direction. The results were too haphazard most of the time. At times they showed real promise, but those times weren’t often enough unfortunately. In Solitude soon followed. These guys hailed from Sweden and their singer came out wearing some sort of raccoon on his head like he was Davy Crockett. They played some really great and rockin’ metal and their songs were powerful yet catchy and the vocals just a hint on the melodic side. They packed quite a punch and their songs were a bit longer than average with cool changes and lots of crunchy riffs and cool guitar noodling. They really put on a great show and won over a good portion of the crowd by the half way point of their set. After a huge delay while the crew and staff fumbled with monitors trying to get the stage ready for down, they took the stage after almost an hour wait. The crowd was totally wasted and impatient and they all started pushing forward and yelling for Down to start. It was clear the flimsy barricade would be about as effective as if they had just put up movie theater ropes and it was already bending and failing under the weight of the crowd. The security staff scrambled to try to move more equipment crates in between this flimsy rail and the stage but it was to no avail as the thing was already at a 45 degree angle and the entire staff sat against the stage with their legs out trying to keep the thing up the entire night. The crowd was close to rioting as well. When Down finally walked out and picked up their instruments, the crowd surged forward again and it was pretty clear that it was going to be a crazy show and possibly a dangerous one. The band started off with “Eyes of the South” and the crowd went completely nuts. Everyone in the front was being smashed but that didn’t stop the fist pumping and head banging and singing along. The band sounded great and Pepper, Phil and Kirk spent a great deal of time playing right at the front edge of the stage which was now only a few inches from the crowd since the barricade wasn’t doing much good. There was no calming down the crowd and at one point an injured guy got pulled out of the crowd and helped outside. Part way through the second song, “N.O.D.” the band stopped playing in order for Phil to instruct the crowd to pick up the people who had fallen and to ask them all to take care of each other. Once it appeared everyone out there in the sea of chaos was alright the band resumed the song and the rest of the show went off without any major incident. The band played a set list almost identical to the one they played in the same venue two years ago and that was more than fine with everyone in the crowd who continued to go insane while still guzzling adult beverages. The band fed off this chaotic energy and seemed to be enjoying the spectacle as they delivered a great selection of material spanning all three of their albums and all of them sounded great. The crowd sang along to every chorus too. In between songs Phil talked a lot about various things and took surveillance of the crowd to make sure no one was dying out there. It had to be one of the rowdiest shows the band ever played and the whole thing was more akin to an old hardcore punk show with how crazy it was than it was a big metal/rock show. When the band finished playing about an hour had passed and they ended the evening with their show closing trademark, “Bury Me in Smoke” where at the end it became an extended jam with guest musicians taking the place of the Down members as they stood and watched and shook hands with the crowd. One of the guests who just so happened to be in attendance was Charlie from Anthrax! The little jam went on for about five or ten extra minutes and then it was time to call it a night as the band thanked everyone and left the stage which finally gave the security staff a chance to breathe.’ Click here to view photos from the show.

Former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo stepped up to front a line-up that included Anthrax Scott Ian, Frank Bello and Charlie Benante as well as Slayer’s Kerry King, Megadeth’s David Eleffson, and ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, at this past week's Metal Masters Clinic, reports Banana1015. In what can only be described as the ultimate metal 'supergroup' the impressive heavy weight line-up took to the stage together to crash out some classic Pantera numbers including 'A New Level' & 'F***inf Hostile.' The performance went down at the Best Buy Theatre for only the 2nd annual 'Metal Masters Clinic' and those in attendance had to pitch themselves when Anselmo turned out for the all ready star studded line-up. Be sure to check both performances below.

PhoenixNewTimes.com As the lights dimmed in preparation for Down to come on, the atmosphere shifted. Fans the band has garnered over the past 20 years of existence packed into the pit. For the uninitiated, Down is made up of Phil Anselmo (Pantera) on vocals, Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity) on guitar, Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) on guitar, Patrick Bruders (Goatwhore) on bass and Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod, Crowbar, Down, and Superjoint Ritual) on drums, making it an official heavy super-group. Fans tossed plastic cups almost empty of beer, cheering and chanting "Down! Down! Down!" (which happened several times throughout the bands' set). The second the band walked on stage with Anselmo leading the way, the entire venue erupted in applause. While I know Down is a popular band, I can't help but wonder if most people are attracted to the music because of Phil's affiliation with Pantera. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't one of those people. Upon surveying the crowd and pumping his tatted arms into the air, Phil honored the troops and fallen soldiers and the fact that it was September 11 in gravelly voice, swigging from a beer. Then he shouted "This one goes out to all the smokers in Arizona! And if you don't smoke...well, you should," before launching into the grueling, shredding opening number, "Hail." On the opening note, the crowd simultaneously began head-banging and moshing in a large oval pit that lasted for the entire show, and was surprisingly friendly. When it comes to metal show moshpits, you never know what type of people may be taking out their aggression, from shank-holding skinheads at Slayer to punks stomping around at Pepper. At Down, tall dudes with dreads skulked around in between smaller guys doing roundhouse kicks and a handful of older girls trying to prove they were badass by swinging at anything that went by them. However, anytime a person went down, three others were there to boost them back up. The set lasted almost an hour and a half, and covered a nice range of Down's hits from their three studio albums. Phil liked to converse with the crowd in between the songs, all the while with the CFH tattoo on his skull glistening with thrown water, beer and sweat, explaining if there was a significance ("The song is for Dimebag!" before "Lifer," which was met with a tidal wave of devil horns and screams); or thanking the crowd ("It's awesome you guys came out on a Saturday night! Let's party! Oh...wait it's Sunday"). The difference in the crowd's aura was like night and day compared to the opening bands, where that usual metal show scent of stale beer and sweat was nowhere to be found. Phil shouted "good night" to the crowd the after "Eyes of South," swigging bottled water and spraying it all over the front couple rows. And to the constant chanting of the crowd, the band came back on stage and closed out with "Stone Crow" and "Bury Me In Smoke." Read the entire article

In the 20th year since its formation in New Orleans, Down is still touring and came to the Summit Music Hall on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. For the uninitiated, Down is made up of Phil Anselmo (Pantera) on vocals, Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity) on guitar, Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) on guitar, Patrick Bruders (Goatwhore) on bass and Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod, Crowbar, Down, and Superjoint Ritual) on drums. Opening the show were Ponykiller and In Solitude. Photos by Aaron Thackeray. Check out the photos at Westword.com!

Kirk Windstein recently sat down with Jenna Williams (The Scream Queen) at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem festival. Check out some exerpts from the chat below. TheScreamQueen.com: For your next album with KINGDOM OF SORROW, when you all do have time to work on it, how do you want it to evolve more with your sound and whatnot? Kirk: Just what we've already started to do, which is get away from like all the bands. All the heavy new bands are really... There's a lot of great ones, but there's a lot of very… We're trying to get away from the really fast stuff, double kicks, and whatever, and do more of an organic… 'Cause he [KINGDOM OF SORROW frontman Jamey Jasta] comes from a hardcore background. I come from a '70s and early '80s rock and metal background. So, we're organic. We just plug in, and you know, there's no triggers, there's no backing tracks, which is great, but that's not really what we want. We want to kind of get further away from that and get a little more into, you know, just doing our own thing; separating ourselves from that. TheScreamQueen.com: Whenever you're in the writing/recording process, whether it be with CROWBAR, DOWN, KINGDOM OF SORROW, or anything else; how would you translate your energy that you have on the stage and integrate it into a record? Kirk: It's a totally different world, you know? I mean, it's a different energy; the record is a different... Records are fun to make in the sense that when it's done, it's an accomplishment and you're like, "Wow, we created this piece of work that's going to last forever." But, it's not fun to make in the sense that it's — everything perfection. You really have to be on top of your game, everything's got to sound perfect, because it's going to be scrutinized, you know? Live, it's more energy and aggression and more raw, you know? And it's more of the vibe of feeding off the crowd, where in the studio, you're feeding off yourself. You're just like, "Jeez, I've got to play this thing right, so I can do it again." So the writing is enjoyable, writing is fun, playing live is fun, recording is not fun, but I do enjoy it. Like I said, in a sense of when it's done, you can look back and say, "Wow, I really accomplished something special." TheScreamQueen.com: What exactly did you want out of CROWBAR's "Sever The Wicked Hand" album? Kirk: Just to put out every influence and every element that's ever made up CROWBAR's sound into one record. Because I'm touched upon some of these things maybe on one song here and there over the course of the previous eight albums on our ninth album, but I've never put it all on one record. So to me, it's all a CROWBAR record because it's got everything in it, you know? TheScreamQueen.com: I was at your "Over The Under" [DOWN] release party and listening to that album now and all of your others in general, they're really full of life and passion. How do you give an album like "Over The Under" that "life" to it? Kirk: I don't know... I mean everybody's just passionate about what they do, you know? Phil's [Anselmo; DOWN frontman] such a good singer and he's really an emotional… He's the best singer out there today, as far as I'm concerned, hands down. Nobody sings anymore or screams; he's a throwback to fuckin' Glenn Hughes [DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH] and Ian Gillan [DEEP PURPLE] and David Coverdale [WHITESNAKE], and you know, real vocalists. I mean, Rob Halford [JUDAS PRIEST], whatever. I'm talking real vocalists. TheScreamQueen.com: With each DOWN album, the way they've progressed over the years, like the first one ["Nola"], you can tell it's raw, the second one ["Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow"], it's heavier in a sense and even more melodic, and then the third one ["Over The Under"], it's completely different with some of the sounds, lyrics, etc... How would you describe the evolution in your way? Kirk: It's the same mindset as, you know, the latest CROWBAR, even tenfold... You know, DOWN can do anything. DOWN can be heavy, DOWN can be acoustic, DOWN can be bluesy, you know, we can do anything. So, we like to touch upon all of those elements in everything that we do. Read the full interview at TheScreamQueen.com

MusicRadar.com

(c) Joby Sessions

The guys are heading back out on the road next week to begin tearing it up in the UK/Europe. It looks like they're gonna lay down some new tracks at the end of the month when they return from the other side of the pond. In the meantime, here's some pics of the guys jamming on some new shit in Nodferatu's Lair (Philip's studio). Not sure where DOWN is playing this summer? Check out the gigs page NOW! We'll keep you updated on new DOWN music.!

Examiner.com The South's finest metal musicians returned to New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom last night, as DOWN played a crushing set for a frenzied crowd of metalheads. After a stunning show at the Best Buy Theater Thursday night (my review here), Down played Philadelphia on Friday before returning to the tri-state area on Saturday. The New Orleans supergroup has been touring in fits and starts over the past few years, as work on a long-awaited album fourth progresses and the musicians share time with their other bands. This ‘mini-tour’ features only one last remaining date in Nashville, TN, before the group heads to Europe for a handful of festival dates. The lack of regular Down tour dates made last night and Thursday night’s shows all the more special, because after a year and a half since Down last came to New York City, one might have forgotten just how damn good this band is. Frontman Phil Anslemo is regularly ranked as one of heavy metal’s most talented frontmen, and it’s not just his ability to sing, scream, and croon with raw aggression and fervor. Anselmo projects ass-kicking bravado with every move he makes, and a Down concert is nothing if not an exercise in kicking ass for 90 straight minutes. In contrast to Thursday’s show at the modern, comfortable, flat screen-filled Times Square Best Buy Theater, the Starland Ballroom is a grungy club in an industrial area, and last night it seemed to be populated purely by aggressive security staffers and even more aggressive Jersey metalheads. While Best Buy is a great venue, Starland’s cramped quarters and ‘what-are-YOU-lookin’ at?’ sensibilities meshed perfectly with the violent music about to be unleashed on the thousand or so packed-in fans. Down kicked off the show with Eyes of the South, taking their time jamming out on the bluesy opening before exploding into full heavy metal mode, sending mosh pits into a frenzy and crowdsurfers appearing from every direction. Starland’s club-style layout forces fans up front into one small area and everyone else off to the sides, and the central floor was essentially one giant free-for-all, with bodies slamming into one another for the entirety of the show. Anselmo was in full messianic-frontman mode as usual, easily commanding the crowd in between bellowing through his vocals and thrashing around during instrumental breakdowns. The rest of the band hit that magical mix between tightly locked in and loosely jammy, pounding through slower songs with a groove that could knock an elephant unconscious on Lysergic Funeral Procession and Ghosts Along The Mississippi, and stepping up the pace as fans in all corners screamed along on heavier tracks like Lifer and N.O.D. Anselmo, sporting a visible head scar from his bloody run-in with a guitar at the New York show, dedicated an especially intense Losing All to everyone suffering from the economic downturn. The song also saw a violent scuffle break out just feet from the stage - watch my high quality video of Losing All, including an interruption by the fight, from the left sidebar of this page. Continue Reading...

Examiner.com New Orleans supergroup DOWN played a blistering, crushing set at Midtown’s Best Buy Theater last night, delivering a nonstop frenzy of mosh pits and headbanging from start to finish as not even a bloody gash in the head could stop singer Phil Anselmo from giving his all to the metal masses. Metalheads swarmed Times Square and the Theater District in the hours leading up to night’s three band lineup, with black t-shirt-clad fans appearing from every direction to the Crossroads to the World. While Best Buy has hosted a wide range of metal shows recently, from Cradle of Filth to Motorhead to Overkill, Down brings out a special breed of metalhead, and the band’s distinctive ‘Jesus with a cigarette’ image could be seen on t-shirts everywhere you looked, much as when Down last played the venue back when it was still the Nokia Theater (my 2009 review here). Down brought along fellow New Orleans band haarp, who are signed to Anselmo’s Housecore label, to open the show. The band’s sound could be described as sludgy, along the lines of Eyehategod, and honestly it’s hard to tell when one slow, nihilistic song ended and another began. But during what may have still been the first song, the very stoned-looking singer climbed down into the audience, and proceeded to stomp about the mosh pits, the stairs, and literally all the way back to the last row of the theater high-fiving amused fans, all while bellowing into his wireless microphone. Singing from the center of a mosh pit is a hard act to follow, but second opener Danava gave it their best, working their progressive-style metal into slow, trippy breakdowns that had fans in the audience breaking out sweet-smelling joints, although nothing compared to the smokefest that would accompany Down. The roar of the crowd was overwhelming when the lights finally dimmed around 10pm, and Down strutted onto the stage. Phil Anselmo, arguably one of the most messianic figures in heavy metal, announced “This is a song called Hail the Leaf,” and an hour and a half of absolute sonic madness kicked off as the smell and smoke of fans hailing the leaf filled the theater. The chemistry between musicians is what makes rock n’ roll truly shine - Jagger and Richards, McCartney and Lennon, Axl and Slash - but none of those duos have anything on the collective vibe the four members of Down give off (bassist Rex Brown is sitting out this tour). Guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein play like brothers, barrelling across the stage at each other, playing not only with their fingers but somehow using their entire bodies to blast out what could only be described as pure, raw, riffage. Drummer Jimmy Bower keeps a fierce beat that keeps everything glues together, and on top of the complex, sludgy yet tight waves of sound roars Philip Anselmo, alpha male extraordinaire. It’s not just Anselmo’s voice that makes him such a gripping frontman, it’s his ‘stronger than all’ attitude that emanates from his every movement. Down surfs that fine line of aggressive heavy metal without ever descending into real death or thrash, and on songs like Lysergic Funeral Procession the entire venue fed off the paced fire and rage Phil gave off, mosh pits churning and crowd surfers screaming along as they tumbled over the barricades in response to his gripping singing and frenzied screams.

Examiner.com On April 28th, New Orleans supergroup DOWN will be playing right here in New York at the Best Buy Theater. DOWN doesn't have hit radio singles, nor heavily played music videos. They haven't won Grammys, MTV Moonmen, or been featured in a television series, movie, or documentary. But come Thursday, April 28th, metalheads will be cramming into Times Square to see one of the best damn current heavy metal bands around. Over the past six months, I've had the pleasure of interviewing vocalist Philip Anselmo (here), guitarists Kirk Windstein (here) and Pepper Keenan (here), and now it's my honor to present drummer Jimmy Bower, who also plays in sludge metal group Eyehategod. Read the interview below, and if you haven't already, be sure to buy your tickets to DOWN's Best Buy Theater show or companion New Jersey performance at Starland Ballroom on April 30th. You can bet that the Hard Rock Examiner will be at both. Examiner: Hi Jimmy, thanks for speaking with me tonight, how’ve you been? Jimmy:: I’ve been good, thanks. Examiner: I think it’s been awhile since Down played a full-blown US tour, how is this one going so far? Jimmy: Well we did some shows down here in New Orleans, and then we went and played Houston, and Maxwell, Texas, right outside San Antonio. And that was cool, it wasn’t really a tour, we’re just doing some shows. So it’s been going good. We did four, and we have four more coming up including East Coast and Nashville. Examiner: You’re a busy guy, between Down and Eyehategod alone you’re full time in two bands. Do you consider either one of them your primary band, or do you just do your best to split time between them? Jimmy: Down is my first priority, totally. But since we finished touring Over The Under we’ve been taking a break, you know? So I’m taking advantage of that and doing some stuff with Eyehategod, but looking forward to the Down camp and we have a lot of good stuff coming up. A lot of shows coming up, so get the ball rolling. Examiner: Back in the 90s, when you were recording Nola, did you ever think that Down would become this wildly popular band it is today? You can’t go to any metal show without seeing at least one Down t-shirt in the crowd... Jimmy: No, I had no idea, no idea at all. I personally saw, or heard, the potential, you know? But I didn’t think that many people would get into it. That type of music. The whole stoner thing, you know what I mean? It’s been twenty years, so you got a generation gap, everything goes in circles, to me at least. But it seems like when we first started doing it, it was such a unique sound, and twenty years later it’s still unique and we’re still doing it, and the people we’ve influenced is what blows me away. Examiner: You referenced stoner metal, which is kind of a broad term... Jimmy: To me Down’s not a stoner rock band, we never aspired to be that or anything, but I think we just happen to get that tag, you know. Examiner: Well it sound great when you’re stoned, no doubt. Jimmy: Oh yeah! Like right now. (laughter) Examiner: On the live DVD you released, Bury Me in Smoke clocks in at just under 12 minutes. What’s the longest you guys have ever jammed on that song? Jimmy: A long time, because we usually invite friends up to jam, and that recording, that was in 2006. That was the biggest festival that me and Kirk had ever done in our lives, and we were just going for it. So that recording’s really special to us. That was the first time we ever played, Kirk and I, I mean Phil and Rex and Pepper have all played big shows before, but to me and Kirk, it was mind-boggling. Like wow, 11 in the morning, Bury Me in Smoke was awesome dude. It was everything going wrong at the right time, if that makes sense. Examiner: What was going wrong? Jimmy: Riffs. Riffs, dude. I mean it’s 11 in the morning, it’s not supposed to happen. In the whole picture thing it’s not supposed to happen, but it was just beautiful to me. We do that song, we always invite friends up, so anyone, and we just play it, and we play it forever you know? Phil’s girlfriend Kate, she always plays, our guitar tech Ozzy, it’s like one of those kind of songs that at the end we just make a big jam out of it. Examiner: So I cheated and looked at some of your setlists at the Texas shows, and I see that Jail has disappeared. It’s always been one of my favorite parts of a Down show, those 5 minutes of calm in the middle of the storm. Any chance it could reappear for the New York or New Jersey fans? Jimmy: I don’t know, maybe. Examiner: Who picks the setlists? Jimmy: Pretty much Phil. Phil writes it up, and everyone gets it, and if anyone has any special things they want to play that night... because we have so many songs to choose from, you know? Jail... maybe to the fans we don’t know, but to us it’s kind of like a bummer? Not a bummer, but a real mellow part in the show, you know? I don’t know, when you’re jamming live you just want to be like “ahhhhhhhh!” Continue Reading...

Examiner.com The Texas Independence Fest takes place March 4-6, and that marks two milestones of sorts: First, Southern dark, sludge metal supergroup Down is one of the bands playing (March 5 at The Cotton Gin in the town of Maxwell) after a couple of years off. Second, it means guitarist/singer Kirk Windstein is back doing what he loves. New Orleans natives Down (Windstein, former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo, Corrosion of Conformity guitarist Pepper Keenan, ex-Pantera bassist Rex Brown, Eyehategod drummer Jimmy Bower) are hitting the road while working on a fourth album that follows 1995's NOLA, 2002's Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow and 2007's Down III: Over the Under. All indications are the record will be out sooner than later and may even be previewed a bit at the Fest. But that's not all that's going on in Windstein's world. The leader of longtime sludge metal act Crowbar will be playing SXSW at Dirty Dog Bar in Austin's 6th Street District on March 18 with his main band, sharing the stage with Saint Vitus -- one of Down's big influences -- and Helmet on the Metalliance tour. Just the fact Windstein is playing again is a major victory. Windstein, whose Kingdom of Sorrow project with Hatebreed singer Jamey Jasta isn't to be outdone, had to forego KOS' Ozzfest tour last summer due to some personal demons. Windstein, however, has not only overcome those struggles. He's forged ahead musically. Feb. 8 marked the release of Sever the Wicked Hand, Crowbar's first album since 2005. Windstein, 45, discussed his bands, and his plight, when he phoned me last week: Q: It's great to see the return of Down. How much are you guys looking forward to this Fest? A: Very much, man, it's been a good while. We've been jamming a little bit. Phil came out and sang in practice the other day for the first time. We'd gotten together before and played a little bit but not really jammed that good. Q: What's the progress of the new album? A: It's kind of -- let's see. To explain that, it's kind of difficult. We have more than enough original songs that we think would make good material, but it tends to take time. We've recorded new material, and we'd like to play a couple songs out there, and fans obviously would want it as well. But it's moving along. We're trying to get something out as soon as we can. Q: You go back nearly 20 years with Phil having produced one of the first Crowbar EP's, and several years with Rex as well. What were the initial conversations like in the early to mid-90s when you guys contemplated forming Down, as far as what the band would sound like? A: Actually, me and Phil go back to being friends, I don't know, (to) 1983 or '84, and we were still kids. He was living in Texas. In Pantera, they were getting the idea rolling. Basically, Phil called Pepper. Me and Jimmy lived in the same apartment complex. And it just seemed to make sense: "Hey man, let's do a band that's influenced by Sabbath." But also Saint Vitus and Trouble that take a lot from Sabbath. In all honesty, the whole rest of '70s rock -- Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Lynyrd Skynyrd. "Let's do something different." We wanted to be able to grow and bring out all the influences that helped us get into music in the first place. Continue Reading...

MetalSucks.net Trying to keep up with the changes at a music festival is like trying to herd a pack of rabid cats. The South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival is the biggest musical kitty corral of them all. That’s why you have me here to help you make heads or tails of all your SXSW metallic/hard rock/punk rock/experimental/etc. needs. There have been plenty of line-up changes since my last SXSW music post over a week ago. First on the list is the welcome news that NOLA-sludgekings eyehategod will team up with doom metal pioneers Pentagram to close out the conference on Saturday, March 19 (both bands will be going on after midnight, so, technically, they are playing on March 20) at the Scoot Inn. They’ll be joined by a stellar group of bands including Cough and Naam. Other notable additions include YOB, Slough Feg, and Zoroaster. On a fricken’-frack note, it appears as if a few MetalSucks-approved acts have dropped off the SXSW calendar including Benea Reach, a band MS headcheese Vince Neilstein spotlighted a few weeks back, and Dredg. Vince and I are quickly becoming the Sports Illustrated curse for metal bands at SXSW. First, I wrote about Corrosion of Conformity, the stripped-down three-piece version with Mike Dean on vocals, and BOOM!!!, they’re gone. Then, Vince sang Benea Reach’s praises, and BOOM!!!, they’re gone, too. Wait, maybe we should write up an article or three on Emmure, I See Stars, or Asking Alexandria to see if the curse is real. Last time around, I told you the boys from haarp informed me they were going to be at SXSW as well. I am happy to report, they are not liars! haarp will be appearing on the Housecore Records showcase along with their labelmates PonyKiller, Warbeast, and their label boss’s band, Arson Anthem (featuring Philip Anselmo, Mike Williams IX of eyehategod, Colin Yeo of PonyKiller, and Hank Williams III). Speaking of the Housecore Records showcase, I am even more stoked about it now that I have learned two of Austin’s most well-known and entertaining heavy musical spectacles, Skrew and skatenigs, will be opening up the festivities. We’re talking serious metal industrial cowpunk metal straight outta the state capital city, back again, and ready to destroy the Has-to-be-way-too-small-of-a-room Emo’s Jr. on Wednesday, March 16. There will be so much musical history in this room for one night, it is going to be incredible. Skrew, of course, is the brainchild of former Angkor Wat guitarist and leader, Adam Grossman, who also played with Ministry. The skatenigs were Al Jourgenson’s right-hand band for years and feature former Revolting Cocks member, “Phildo” Owens. Not only that, but the new line-up also features guitarist Mike Scaccia (Rigor Mortis, Ministry) and bassist Casey Orr (Rigor Mortis, GWAR). Combine those forces with former Rigor Mortis lead singer Bruce Corbitt, who now fronts Warbeast, and it looks like we have ourselves the makings of a potential Rigor Mortis reunion. Hmm, yes? Maybe? Please?! The possibility is not far from a reality as the reformed ’80s horror death metallers just returned from the road this week. Top it off with Warbeast’s Scott Shelby (Gammacide), Arson Anthem’s Philip Anselmo (Pantera/Down/Superjoint Ritual) and Mike Williams IX (eyehategod) and we’re talking some of the greatest Texas/Louisiana-based (hell, anywhere-based) metal figureheads under one roof. Not to forget that 3/5 of Down will be at SXSW (Anselmo, Kirk Windstein of Crowbar, and Jimmy Bower of eyehategod) throughout the week. Unfortunately, Down will not be playing SXSW, as they will be headlining The Cotton Gin on March 5, in Maxwell, Texas, near Austin. Oh yeah, Testament’s Alex Skolnick will be bringing his jazz trio back to SXSW this year and will also be offering up a guitar clinic while he’s in town. There’s also former Ministry/Pigface drummer Martin Atkins appearing on two music panels for those of you with a SXSW badge. He’s bringing his solo presentation, “Welcome to the Music Business – You’re Fucked,” and will be participating in a debate entitled “Get Band Business Done Smart.” Atkins will also be appearing in the SXBookstore signing books and greeting fans. Other metal-related bookstore appearances include Philip H. Anselmo, horror/music video director Hart D. Fisher (Obituary, Dark Funeral), Sean Yseult (White Zombie), and yours truly. Hell, there’s even a Twitter rumor spreading that Tool will debut its new album at SXSW. But don’t believe everything you read Phew! That’s a hell of a lot of metallic info and that doesn’t even include the metal-related films at the SXSW Film festival or any of the metal day parties that take place all week and are free and open to the public. You can check out the metal films info right here. I’ll be tackling the SXSW Metal Day Parties very soon. Also, be on the lookout for the MetalSucks SXSW A2Z page to help you further prep for your trip. It will include venues, times, parties, etc. Here are the latest updates with new additions in bold and drops afterwards: Continue Reading...

Down has officially confirmed that they will be playing the Download Festival in Donington, UK on June 11, 2011. For more information and the complete lineup, visit DownloadFestival.co.uk More Europpean dates to follow!

TheHeavyChronicles.com

From time to time, I like to write an essay to praise an artist I really like, because it feels good (hey, it’s my blog) and it’s quite fun to read for those who also like the artist. This time it’s not really about a band or a solo act, it’s about a man the ordinary mortals don’t know much about. Ladies and gents, here’s for you the mighty PEPPER KEENAN and I’m gonna give you ten good reasons why you should know AND worship this legendary guitarist.

The sludge metal band may reach more listeners with latest songs Greg Dunbar, The Daily Evergreen The underground sludge metal band Crowbar trudges on with the Feb. 8 release of “Sever the Wicked Hand,” their ninth album since rising out of the darkness in 1991. Hailing from an era that spawned thrash metal and hardcore punk greats such as Pantera and Metallica, Crowbar remains alive and kicking while keeping to the genre they worship. “Sever the Wicked Hand” features two decades of experience in the obscure sludge metal scene and may be one of the band’s most powerful albums to date. Founding member and vocalist/guitarist Kirk Windstein’s guttural voice cuts through the album’s deep instrumental tones with dark clarity, like a bizarre preacher of the metal faith. His style can be compared to Phil Anselmo of Pantera. While Anselmo could reach notes in the heavens, Windstein prefers to dig into the bowels of Hell for notes pitched as low as the Mariana Trench. Male rock vocalists typically range from high baritone to tenor, but Windstein essentially gives the classic metal middle finger to this notion and traverses the weighty bass ranges. The first half of the album features slow, broken-down songs such as “Liquid Sky and Cold Black Earth” that crawl along at brutally sluggish tempos. However, the album’s title track severs the muddy pulsation and thrashes a hasty path in the album with its hardcore punk theme. “The Cemetery Angels” also speeds up an otherwise deliberately measured rhythm in the album’s first half. The album’s midpoint is an instrumental track unlike the rest of the record with its clean guitar tones and shadowy chorus, titled “A Farewell to Misery.” While possibly out of place in such a heavy album, it does lead well into the next song, a hard-hitting, hellish anthem named “Protectors of the Shrine.” Crowbar formed in New Orleans, which has inevitably given the band a heavy southern rock influence. Traces of this can be heard in “I Only Deal In Truth” and “Cleanse Me, Heal Me.” The album ends with “Symbiosis,” a multi-dimensional cadence combining the melodic and rhythmic elements of the previous songs for a dynamic finale that will leave fans with hands raised in devil horn fashion. “Symbiosis” also features one of the sole lead guitar riffs on the album, a surprising touch in a record full of crunchy chords. “Sever the Wicked Hand” is Crowbar’s latest release, but it may be the best album to introduce the band to new listeners. The thrash genre was prominent in the '80s and '90s but still resounds in Crowbar in the 21st century. TheDailyEvergreen

Interview and Photographs by: Brandon Marshall, SongExcess.com Kirk Windstein is arguably the Godfather of the NOLA Sludge Metal scene and undisputedly a key figure. Forming the first inception of Crowbar, back in 1989, Windstein has proven to be one of the heaviest power chord players. With his signature low-key doom guitar tone, melancholic lyrics and growls, Crowbar has gained much attention and influence, while maintaining status in the underground over recent years. In between masterminding Crowbar, Kirk has gone on to play with NOLA super group Down and Kingdom of Sorrow, alongside Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed and Derek Kerswell. On February 8th, Crowbar will release its ninth studio album, entitled Sever The Wicked Hand, Crowbar’s first studio album in over six years . While gearing up for a tour with Down, only to go back out on the road with Crowbar for a month long tour billed as The Metal Alliance Tour, Kirk had a chance to speak with Sonic Excess, a name that this site blatantly ripped-off from Crowbar’s album title with the same name, for an honest and insightful interview. Sonic Excess: Sever the Wicked Hand is Crowbar’s first album in six years. Did this recording take so long because of your commitments with Down and Kingdom of Sorrow, or have you been waiting for the right time to release? KIRK WINDSTEIN: A little bit of both. It did take so long because of the commitments with Down and Kingdom, and coincidently, it was a good time to release it. SE: When writing Sever the Wicked Hand, did you have to set-up outside the worlds of Down and Kingdom Of Sorrow entirely? Did you find yourself writing material that would be best suited for those bands? WINDSTEIN: I didn’t have to step out of the Down and Kingdom worlds. After doing this for so long, it’s easy for me to change my mind set in a second. It’s not uncommon for me to write, or be involved, with all three bands in one day. So, I’m able to separate them. SE: Was Sever the Wicked Hand the first album you wrote sober? Was it therapeutic? WINDSTEIN: It was. I mean every Crowbar guitar riff ever written was recorded sober. When it came to singing, I would be pretty tanked. Instead of getting a sore throat with the style I sing, it’s more comfortable bringing an ice chest full of beer in the booth. Singing sober, I never had done it. If it takes me two or three hours to record vocals, I would pound beers the whole time, and I would have a nice buzz by the time it was over. It took a little adjusting doing it sober. I guess I mistakely thought that alcohol brought out emotions; I would get more emotional vocals, because I was pounding beer. I found it was a false emotion. Once I became comfortable with my singing, I loved it. It’s been six months tomorrow since my sobriety and a lot to learn. I have reprogrammed my entire way of thinking on everything. I mean, I’m not a poster boy or anything like that. To each his own, and you have to live and lean. People are always asking about what I think about young kids experimenting. It’s normal. They are going to. Unfortunately, people are going to die from it, but that life, a dark part of life. Each person has do decide what’s best for them. To me, it was like “Why am I a slave to this shit. Why does everything revolve around beer o’clock?” Normally, if I would have press days, I would find any excuse on God’s green earth to drink. “Ohh I’m going to be doing interviews from 12:00 to 6:00”, and I would say the same shit over and over again. “Ohh fuck it. I’m going to get a case of beer and make it fun”. I realized the world does not revolve around beer. It’s difficult because down here in New Orleans, its available 24-7, 365 at any place you go. That’s what makes it hard. I had issues with cocaine years ago, and it’s the easiest drug to get off of. Erase the fucking coke dealer’s number from your phone, and stop going to the bars where you know it’s at. So, no big deal; there goes coke. But, trying to deal with alcohol, beer especially, it’s almost sacrilegious not having beer watching a football game. SE: Jamey (Hatebreed/Kingdom of Sorrow) hasn’t drank in years, and I know Rex (Down/EX-Pantera) had to give it up recently. WINDSTEIN: Jamey hasn’t drank in 5 years. On football days, we get what we call fake bombed on O’Doul’s, and it kind of gives you a placebo buzz. To me, it does taste pretty damn close to a real beer. Before I quit, I literally drank a case a day, chasing a buzz that wasn’t going to happen. SE: Congratulations, and it really shows on … WINDSTEIN: Thank you. I appreciate that. SE: Working with bands like Kingdom and Down, how has that had a positive impact on your songwriting? WINDSTEIN: When you surround yourself with talented people, something is going to rub off, something good. It’s just a side effect of working with talented people. It’s only natural that they rub off on me, and I rub off on them. So, it’s good for everybody. SE: For Sever the Wickhand, Crowbar released through E1. Why did you not release with Housecore Records (Phillip Anselmo, Down/EX-Pantera frontman’s record label)? It seems many of the NOLA metal bands are under Phillip’s label now. WINDSTEIN: It was my original intention to release the record though Housecore, but we will release stuff though Housecore like a live album we have ready to go. When we decided to do the Housecore thing, Down was my 100% band, at that time, and Crowbar became a side project. Down’s schedule started to slow down a bit, no pun intended, but it became a situation were I needed to do this on a big label that is established, has the resources, and the know how to promote it. To me, we have the best of both worlds with E1 in the US and Canada, Century Media in Europe, and with Housecore Records that we can release vinyl and do the underground in-house type stuff. So, to me, it’s the best of both worlds. SE: The Metal Alliance Tour featuring Crowbar, St. Vitus, and Helmet will be touring the states in late March and April. How did this line-up come to fruition, and how influential was St Vitus for you? WINDSTEIN: We had been speaking about doing the tour with St. Vitus and talked about getting Pentagram with a couple of other bands. We have had this planned since the summer. They (St. Vitus) came out at a time when there was nothing going on like them. To me, they took the (Black) Sabbath thing, the early Sabbath years and put a twist on it. When I saw them from the get-go, I thought they were great. I loved the doom and the slowness, and the fact that they had the balls to do it. They never gave a fuck what anyone ever thought about it. They did what they wanted to do, and that’s to be highly respected. SE: Kingdom of Sorrow will be on the Mayhem Festival. Will you be on the tour also? WINDSTEIN: Absolutely, 100%! SE: I went to a couple of the shows and thought, “WOW, Kirk looks a lot like the guy from Type-O-Negative”. WINDSTEIN: And thank god for Kenny (Hickey of Type-O-Negative). I wanted to do it, but I got home from Spain and my drinking just got out of hand. I wanted to do it, but Jamey (Jasta) and Phil (Anselmo) were like absolutely not. They both got me on the phone and just said look, you need to get your fucking live in order. For me, the downward spiral started, and it was all my fault, being over worked, being tired, and being lonely. All I did was tour, tour, tour, and record whatever. With Down, Phil doesn’t like to do more then three shows in a row because of his voice. With Crowbar, I just did 23 in a row. I don’t like days off. I like to play music. With Down, we would have three or four days off in Europe, and I would be fucking bored. I’m there to play music and fucking jam. I’m not there to be a tourist. It got to be where I would spend all the time at the hotel bar, and it got to be like, “What the fuck is happening?” It got to the point where I would wake up with the shakes, and I needed a drink. I got to the point where I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. It was ridiculous. I needed a lifestyle change. SE: Has being clear-headed given you a new appreciation for everything? WINDSTEIN: Yeah, this whole experience has been great. I have fallen in love with music again, because that’s all I have on that side of things. I don’t have the party side of it anymore. It’s music and business, and that’s a positive thing. Like I said, I got up at 5:30 this morning, and it’s all business. I jump on the computer, and, at that time in the morning, it’s 12:30 in the afternoon in Germany or 11:30 in the UK. So, the emails are always flying in from overseas, and that’s my schedule. I get up at 5:30AM, instead of going to bed at 5:30 in the morning everyday. SE: I interviewed Rex recently and he said that Down would be releasing new material in “bundles” once everyone gets the “mindset”. Are the upcoming Down shows to familiarize everyone again? WINDSTEIN: I think so. It’s put a fire under our collective asses to get the Down vibe going again. We have some ideas floating around. Down just has a way of taking it’s time, and that’s the nature of the band. Obviously, we have dates coming up, so we are going to talk and figure out a game plan. SE: Several songs have been written. I heard it is going to be comparable to NOLA. Is that accurate? WINDSTEIN: I think that’s accurate. The ideas we have in mind, and the approach we have taken to the writing, it’s simple stupid and don’t over think. That’s how it was in the beginning. In the beginning, it was for just us, and then, Jesus Christ it’s a real band and selling tickets, records, and tons of merch. Then, it was the normal stress of trying to top what we did before and trying to stay relevant. None of that shit was there in the beginning. I think we are literally back to square one, and we are doing this for us. I’m very proud of what we did with Down II and Over the Under, and I stand by them, but I think we are at a point with Down where we are like, “Ya know what, let’s start out simple, heavy and let Phil sing his balls out.” SE: Can we expect new Down material in 2011? WINDSTEIN: Yes, I would be very surprised if we don’t. SE: I gotta ask you one stupid question. How did you end up as the Incredible Hulk, trashing the dressing rooms at a Pantera show? WINDSERIN: One word and two syllables, Dimebag! We had talked about it one night over many many beers and Black Tooth shots. He said, “Why don’t we dress you up like the hulk and have you bash a bunch of shit up.” I thought, “Fucking great. Give me another shot.” We were playing Eagles Auditorium in Milwaukee, and we got off stage and walked into our dressing room… actually, I looked to my right, while I was on stage, and saw Dimebag grinning, and I just thought, “Ehhh something’s up.” As soon as I walked off stage, he took me into the dressing room with makeup, a wig, eyebrows, and the whole nine yards. He had a bunch of people backstage ready to roll. Literally, they dressed me up before Pantera hit the stage. I came out for did “Fucking Hostile” with them and bashed everything up afterwards. It was fun. SE: I must have seen that three or four times before I figured out it was you. WINDSTEIN: A lot of people did. Kids will sometimes ask, but it was definitely memorable. Thankfully, it was captured on video and will be on YouTube forever. SE: On a serious note, how has the oil cleanup been going? Has a sense of normalcy returned to the gulf? WINDSTEIN: It’s normal. I was in Europe for a majority of it, over the summer with Crowbar and Down, before it was fixed. So, I was away from the everyday news about it. For the most part, it seems like things are kind of back to normal. They are still out cleaning it up. Who know how long it’s going to take. We were in England, and we stopped at a BP. Our driver wanted to fill up, and we said, “Fuck no.” I’m not putting BP fuel in this buss. Fuck them. We have a BP down here, not far from the house. It’s the only one by us. They are lucky it didn’t get blown up, but it’s out of business now, and that’s a good thing. SE: How does it feel to be a source of influence for the new generation of bands Black Tusk and HAARP? WINDSTEIN: It’s cool. Anytime anybody digs what we’re doing, it’s cool, whether we do it for ourselves, or for people to enjoy. SE: Any last words? Anything you want to say or anything you want to get off your mind? WINDSTEIN: Thanks to all the Crowbar fans and supporters over the first 20 years. Let’s keep rocking. Get out and support metal and all music. People don’t understand the mindset of what’s going on. They really don’t understand that people are going to make music for themselves, if the industry continues to keep going the way it’s going. They think it’s cool that they can illegally download your shit, but keep doing it and watch what happens. I’ll make my own fucking music to listen to and give to my friends, whatever. I’ll sell it myself online. If shit doesn’t clear up in the next five years, I think we are going to be pretty fucked. People think it’s all fun and games. They think it’s the easiest job in the world, and they couldn’t be more wrong. It’s a great job, but it’s how I make my living, pay my bills, and how we feed our families. SE: Then, the same people bitch about high ticket prices. WINDSTEIN: No one makes money selling records anymore, unless it’s fucking Lady Gaga or Eminem. I like Lady Gaga by the way, and no disrespect to either of them, but regular bands like us don’t make money from selling records anymore. You wonder why the price of the merchandise is the way it is.? Number one, you gotta print it up; number two, most venues have a tax. They will charge 20% in a lot of venues. If people don’t want to pay for a concert ticket, they will watch you on YouTube. Years from now, bands will be doing pay-per-view concerts once a year and that will be it. That said, thanks to everyone who has supported Crowbar and real music, and fuck you to those who don’t! SongExcess.com

WYKKED WYTCH vocalist Ipek conducted an interview with Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, ARSON ANTHEM, SUPERJOINT RITUAL) on the January 27, 2011 edition of "Wytching Hour" show on Metal Messiah Radio between 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. (midnight) EST. You can listen to the program using the audio player below. ARSON ANTHEM's full-length debut, "Insecurity Notoriety", was released on October 12, 2010 via Anselmo's Housecore Records. ARSON ANTHEM was brought together in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with vocalist Mike Williams moving into Anselmo's spare apartment after his home and possessions were destroyed. Through this connection, Williams and Anselmo spent time listening to Anselmo's irreplaceable hardcore music collection. The members relived the days of early '80s hardcore bands, such as DISCHARGE, NEGATIVE APPROACH, SHEER TERROR, and many others. It didn't take long for the music to squash their cabin fever, and inspire them to create a new venture that is now ARSON ANTHEM. Anselmo knew of the underrated-yet-unbridled percussion skills that his and Williams' mutual friend Hank Williams III possessed, causing the contact to be made and the band to come together. Finally, bassist Collin Yeo was recruited, and the sound was born.

Keith Spera of The Times-Picayune recently conducted an interview with Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, ARSON ANTHEM, SUPERJOINT RITUAL). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. On coming to terms with his past, while looking to the future: "I don't know how you measure success in your life. But I'm happy. I'm relatively healthy. And when I look back on things, bands and people, there are negatives, there are the bad times. I choose to look at the positives. "It's OK to look back, but I wouldn't want to get stuck there. I'm the type of guy who is ready for tomorrow. I'm ready to put that foot forward." On the 20th anniversary reissue of PANTERA's "Cowboys From Hell" album: "Standing in front of Darrell's ['Dimebag' Darrell Abbott, late PANTERA guitarist] amp, it was always this treacherous, ripping, awesome sound. Capturing that sound onto tape back then where there was no Pro Tools, everything was organic … that was a trick. "We really worked on capturing that live feel. You can hear the jump in production; (producer) Terry Date opened up a whole new area. PANTERA, in my opinion, upped the heavy metal production game. People wanted their records to sound like this record." On taking pain medication throughout DOWN's 2006 tour while also drinking: "[I learned I] couldn't drink like I was 21 anymore. I tried. I damn well tried." "When you see the footage [on DOWN's 'Diary Of A Mad Band' DVD], it's like, 'I can't believe this is me all over again.' It doesn't come off any better than when I was (messed) up before." "I don't want to see that version of me anymore. It's ugly to watch." On his girlfriend Kate Richardson, whom he credits with helping him through his darkest day: "I love her. She is the anchor in my life." "She came into my life and caught the tail end of the worst part of Philip. She laid down the line: Me or the drugs, jack. I chose her, in good faith. And it's paid off, it really has." Read the entire article from The Times-Picayune.

Blabbermouth.net Jake Serd of the band FLIGHTRISK conducted an interview last month with bassist Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA, ARMS OF THE SUN) for Centrill 74 Entertainment on the 94.9 K-ROCK radio station in Danville, Illinois. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. DOWN — the acclaimed New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA) — has scheduled the following dates: Mar. 04 - New Orleans, LA - The Hangar Mar. 05 - Maxwell, TX - The Cotton Gin Mar. 06 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live Mar. 11 - New Orleans, LA - The Hangar Apr. 28 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theatre Apr. 29 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero Apr. 30 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom DOWN's three-disc (2 CD/1 DVD) release, "Diary Of A Mad Band", came out last October. It features a two-CD full concert recorded in London. The 130-minute DVD features footage documenting the 2006 return of DOWN from the practice room through the band's first European tour, and a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette entitled "Tyrades and Shananigans". In October 2008, DOWN released a "deluxe edition" of its critically acclaimed third album, "Over the Under". The deluxe package, which was made available as a Best Buy exclusive, included a DVD with over 30 minutes of previously unreleased live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. The album was released on Down Records in conjunction with Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group (ILG). Blabbermouth.net

DOWN — the acclaimed New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA) — has scheduled the following dates: 3/4/11 - New Orleans, LA - VIP packages available through DOWN-Nola.com 3/5/11 - Maxwell, TX 3/6/11 - Houston, TX - VIP packages available through DOWN-Nola.com 3/11/11 - New Orleans, LA -VIP packages available through DOWN-Nola.com 4/28/11 - New York, NY - VIP packages available through Ticketmaster.com 4/29/11 - Philadelphia, PA - VIP packages available through Ticketmaster.com 4/30/11 - Sayreville, NJ - VIP packages available through Ticketmaster.com VIP Ticket Packages will be available. VIP Ticket Packages include a General Admission Ticket, soundcheck (where applicable), meet n greet (you get one personal item autographed), T-shirt from the merch booth (day of show), laminate and a $5 gift card to the DOWN-Nola.com online store. VIP ticket Packages will be sold through DOWN-Nola.com for the two New Orleans dates and Houston. Maxwell is still being determined as to whether or not VIP Ticket Packages will be available for this date (as it's a festival). VIP Ticket Packages for New York, Philly and Sayreville are all scheduled to be sold through Ticketmaster.com. Tickets go on sale this week - stay tuned for presale information. DOWN's three-disc (2 CD/1 DVD) release, "Diary Of A Mad Band", came out last October. It features a two-CD full concert recorded in London. The 130-minute DVD features footage documenting the 2006 return of DOWN from the practice room through the band's first European tour, and a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette entitled "Tyrades and Shananigans". In October 2008, DOWN released a "deluxe edition" of its critically acclaimed third album, "Over the Under". The deluxe package, which was made available as a Best Buy exclusive, included a DVD with over 30 minutes of previously unreleased live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. The album was released on Down Records in conjunction with Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group (ILG).

GTMOMetal Jason Saulnier interviewd Phil Anselmo to talk about [Phil's] current projects including Down, Housecore Records, Arson Anthem and Pantera's Cowboys From Hell reissued album.

Phil Anselmo will be on the final episode of "That Metal Show" tomorrow, December 11th, on VH1 Classic. Phil appeared earlier in the season for an interview, but check out the Scrap Metal episode tomorrow for some never-before-seen clips including Phil playing some Dokken riffs. EddieTrunk.com

—by JJ Koczan, The Aquarian Weekly   New Orleans outfit Crowbar are unparalleled legends of sludge, and an entire generation of metal, whether it be Killswitch Engage or Chimaira or Hatebreed, have taken influence from their mammoth riffs and unrelentingly downtrodden atmospheres. Their first album in six years, Sever The Wicked Hand, will no doubt prove to be a highlight upon its release on Feb. 8, 2011, and in the meantime, their most recent tour will bring them to Championship’s in Trenton on Dec. 4, Santo’s Party House in NYC Dec. 5 and The Barbary Coast in Philly Dec. 6. It promises to be a late-year highlight, seeing Crowbar. They’ve played a couple shows recently in the South with the likes of fellow Nola dwellers EyeHateGod, and even done a little touring, but it’s the chance to see them in small rooms on this current tour that’s the most exciting, as guitarist, vocalist and band-spearhead Kirk Windstein has only been visible the past four years or so in his other acts, the supergroups Down and Kingdom Of Sorrow. We spoke before the details of Sever The Wicked Hand were announced, and the passion with which Windstein—completely sober for the first time in the band’s 20-plus-year existence—is approaching this new era of Crowbar was readily apparent. As the principle figure in one of the heaviest bands America has ever produced, it was a pleasure and an honor to speak to him about the album, the tour and going back to what’s long been thought of as his main outfit after so much time away. When he called in, he had just sent in the final artwork proofs for the album… What’s the artwork for the new record like? It’s killer. Kind of hard to describe. Mike D. from Killswitch Engage did it. He’s a graphic artist who does all their stuff, and he’s a huge Crowbar fan, so he contacted us about doing it, and he really did a great job. Because he’s a fan, he really put a lot into doing it. He’s a really nice guy, and he really did a great job. How were the shows you did down south? All considered, some of them we only had a week to a week-and-a-half to promote, they went really well. On this one, we’re not trying to put the carriage before the horse or anything. We’re playing really small venues and getting back to the roots of it all, which is what Crowbar’s about anyway. I’m just looking forward to doing these shows. We have 23 shows in a row, and that’s the way I like it. I don’t like days off (laughs). Is it strange for you to be focusing on Crowbar again after doing Down and Kingdom Of Sorrow for so long? Yeah, it’s a little strange. It’s strange, but also it’s really positive, because I’ve learned so much about everything—the business, about life. I’ve gone through so much since the last Crowbar record came out, and this is the first time that we’re actually on a real label in the history of Crowbar, which is an amazing thing. We’ve been on labels with people who have been nice people and really tried hard, but just didn’t have the resources, the connections, the money, the whole nine yards, to do anything for the band. In this situation, it’s a real label, there’s real bands on it, and it’s a really positive thing. For me, I’m addicted to work now. It’s unbelievable. My wife’s literally ready to stab me because I’m never not on the phone or the computer (laughs), and it’s great. I’m enjoying it, and it is strange. I’ve been in Down world since 2006. I still am. We had practice Wednesday and last night, we may practice tonight, depending. Me, Pepper [Keenan] and Jimmy [Bower] live here in New Orleans, and Phil [Anselmo] lives across the lake, about an hour and 15 minutes away, and Rex [Brown] is in Dallas, so me, Jimmy and Pepper have been getting together, writing stuff. During the recording of the Crowbar record, I’d show up at Down practice, jam with those guys for a couple hours, grab my guitar and head straight to the studio for Crowbar. That was weird. Because usually I’m in one band’s world. I’m in Down world, or Kingdom, if we’re doing something with that, or Crowbar or whatever. So having to juggle Down and Crowbar, being creative with both bands in the same day, having to finish up lyrics and do vocals immediately after helping write riffs for Down was kind of strange, but I juggled it and it was cool. How do you get in the different mindsets for different bands? You have much different roles in Down and Crowbar. Absolutely. Usually I’m in one band’s world. With Crowbar, obviously 80 percent of the riffs are mine, all the lyrics are mine, I’m the head dude. Everything’s focused around me. Where, Down, Phil is the main focal point, and main arranger. He’s the band leader, for lack of a better term, but everybody equally throws their weight in and really carries themselves with it. But it’s just different. To get into the mindset of any of the bands, I proved it to myself. As soon as I walk into the room and there’s Jimmy and Pepper, we plug in and start jamming, and I’m not even thinking about Crowbar, and then as soon as I leave there, I’m thinking about nothing but Crowbar, because I’m leaving to go sing that. I’ll literally have a bunch of scribbled down words and I’ll go, “Oh shit, I need to finish up these lyrics, and what the hell melody and phrasing am I going to use on this?” But it was cool. It did work out well and I’m very pleased with everything with the Crowbar and with what we’re writing right now with Down. Continue Reading...  

By: Elliot Levin



On July 24th, 1990, the once-glam metal band known as Pantera released an epic statement in the form of Cowboys From Hell. The album was to be the first in the new, revitalized purist heavy metal Pantera discography, and the statement was a loud, brash "f*ck you!"



Twenty years later, the music, power, success, and drama of Pantera and its members is far too lengthy to outline here, but vocalist Philip Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott celebrated their ten years of success as Pantera and their martyred guitarist Dimebag Darrell by rereleasing the Cowboys From Hell record with demos, liner notes, and even a previously unreleased track. With the release of the Ultimate Edition, which comes with a t-shirt, poster, and all kinds of Pantera tour memorabilia, Philip Anselmo, arguably the most outspoken and dominating frontman to ever represent heavy metal, called me and spoke at length about Pantera, Dimebag, and much more.



Examiner: Good afternoon Phil, this is Elliot from Examiner.com, how’s it going?



Philip: Good! What’s been happening, man?



Examiner: I’m good, it’s a real honor for me to be speaking with you today. We’re talking about the 20th anniversary release of Cowboys From Hell, there’s the whole box set, now there’s even the Ultimate box set coming out... it’s been 20 years now, and to this day, you go to a metal show, whether it’s Metallica, Cannibal Corpse, hell I saw Bon Jovi last week and there was a guy there rocking a Pantera t-shirt. When Cowboys From Hell first came out, did you have any idea what kind of impact you were going to make?



Philip: No, man. No way. No way no way no way. I think especially me, and pessimistic youngster I was, I think I knew our strengths which were definitely our live performance, and definitely Dimebag, but then in general, to this today, the tightest group of musicians I’ve ever personally played with, but we were so hungry back then, but to say that I had any inkling of what this record would mean 20 years down the later, nah. I had no idea.



Examiner: It’s funny, you talk about how tight the band is, I’m hard pressed to think of another metal band, another thrash act that only has one guitarist but still sounds as heavy as Pantera.



Philip: Yeah, that’s another thing. We’ve several times in the past had guitar players come up and jam, and no matter what, we’ve had some super talented people up on stage and we love them all, I gotta figure when you have a guitar player like Dimebag Darrell, stage left every night... Darrell was an incredible player, incredible stage presence, and he had a monster sound. And he’s always had a monster sound. When I first joined the band in 1987 he had that monster sound. So he was always an animal, always a beast on the guitar.



Examiner: I’m looking at the cover of the rerelease, which is the same front as the original Cowboys From Hell cover art. It’s the Wild West saloon, and you’re wilding out in midair, and Rex is just chilling with his bass, Dime is shredding... what’s Vinnie doing? Is he counting money?



Philip: Yes... (laughs). Yes, it’s funny, because people say “Hey is Vince eating a sandwich?” Nah, he’s counting money, or he’s holding a wad of money. He’s holding a lot of cash.



Examiner: Is there a story behind that cover? Did you guys have a specific vision in mind?



Philip: Well, there was no denying the power of the actual song Cowboys from Hell, we knew that was an anthem, for sure. And we knew it was one of our better songs as far as being memorable, I guess being anthemic, and I guess being those things in one word, but you know what I mean, we knew it was a good song, so I guess we went with that theme at the time. It’s definitely tongue in cheek, I’m not sure who came up with that idea, I remember sitting down and us talking about it, and the only thing I can really remember about it is when we actually did that shoot I actually stood up on a bar stool, there was no bar there, but I leapt off this thing so the photographer could get me high up in the air, and that first leap, I must’ve jumped a good ten times, but that first leap could very well have been the last leap figuring I busted my ass. I wish I could tell you more.



Examiner: Who actually came up with the term ‘Cowboys from Hell’?



Philip: Ooooh that’s a tough one man. To tell the truth, I think... I’m sitting here trying to remember and I’ll tell you what. On the back of Metallica’s first record, you go through the ‘thank you’ list, on the back of that record they thank the crew people, and then they call them the cowboys from hell. I believe I had read that, and I remember also Darrell when he played me that riff from Cowboys from Hell I was like godd*mn, that would be a fantastic title for the song, Cowboys from Hell, it was perfect. But I think I might have mentioned it after seeing it, I will say that I give full props to where I saw it first...



Examiner: And you think that was on the back cover of Kill ‘Em All?



Philip: Yep. Go check for yourself, I guarantee it. God, I hope I’m right. It was one of them Bay Area bands, I’m thinking of course it was Metallica. Thinking maybe it was Ride the Lightening, but I could swear it’s Kill ‘Em All. (Examiner’s Note: The Kill ‘Em All liner notes thanks the ‘Dogs of War’)



Examiner. I’m talking to you from New York City today, so talk to me about the Cowboys from Hell tour, do you remember when and where you first played here in New York?



Philip: The first time, I don’t remember the place, but it was... oh you know what, the first time we played in New York was probably the place called L’amour on that same trip in Brooklyn. We played there with Biohazard, before both of us were signed, yeah man those were the first couple of gigs. I remember the first real one was with Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus and previously, I guess I met someone who worked in the New York offices who said “hey Phil, there’s this guy named Lou. He loves your record. The Cowboys From Hell record.” And it ended up being Lou from Sick Of It All, Lou and Pete Koller, so there were like some of the first people who would come meet up with us, and that day of the show Lou and Pete from Sick Of It All, and others... New York is always just the most honest and nice people, and the coolest motherf*ckers man, you got me going down memory lane now, man. But yeah, Lou and Pete Koller took us in, and they just made us more comfortable than we probably should have been, because that was a tough tour man. Playing in front of a mainly Suicidal audience, and no offense to Exodus but Suicidal was the band on that f*cking tour, that was a challenge. And we ended up playing with gigantic chips on our shoulders, because really anything anybody’s ever remembered about Pantera, or knew at all about Pantera was what they sounded like before I was in the band, or what we sounded like a year previous. There was really no business with me doing a record with Pantera yet, but we did it, which is the Power Metal record. So we had this f*cking chip on our shoulders, and when we played New York City, and the first time you play New York in front of that many people it can be a daunting task. But we came out and I swear to you, right dead center of the f*cking pit, pardon my language, you see the Koller brothers going absolutely berserk man, so they got that f*cking pit going down right off the bat, and that always helps. When it’s that violent, you can feed off that, man.



Examiner: They say hindsight’s always 20/20, I think Dave Mustaine is pretty fond of that quote. Looking back, as the singer, and in your current role now for Housecore as a producer, are there any changes you’d want to make to the Cowboys record, again, from that producer point of view?



Philip: If there were such a chance, you gotta think man, heavy metal production was in a really odd place back in 1988, 89 when we actually recorded the record. Either you got good production or you got sh*t production, straight up. It was a hit or miss thing, and honestly, heavy metal production, once again I gotta turn to Metallica to say they were the first ones to really bring that bite to the f*cking guitars, so they really upped the game. But I also have to say this. Dimebag Darrell had known James Hetfield, and Lars, and all those guys a long time, even before I’d met them. I was still living in New Orleans, and Dimebag would tell me stories about them coming down and playing and Daryl said, he told me he taught James many, many scales, and they taught us a lot about sound, the sound actually coming out of the amps, so you know Metallica got that ripping sound, but like I said when I joined the band in 1987, when you were standing in the loop with Dimebag, that f*cking guitar sound was shredding. But to get that sound from one room to the next room, and onto tape, no Protools, no tricks and whistles back in the day, just pure organic tracking, it’s like that was a trick. So it’s funny, Dimebag has this monster sound, we bring in Terry Gates for production and Vinnie Paul’s pretty damn good behind that production and behind that mixing board as well. So you know, the Cowboys From Hell record to me is a step as far as our sound goes, but absolutely not the finished product. So for me it was the high end on the record, for me it’s a pretty biting record, especially once Cowboys from Hell drops, and kicks in, it’s got a little bit too much high end for me.



Examiner: That’s the only critical change you’d make? Otherwise you’re still happy with the record 20 years later?



Philip: Well, you know I could pick it to shreds, but why pick it to shreds? It really laid a heavy duty foundation for what was to come as far as sounds in heavy metal. I’ve said this before but I mean it with all my heart. Cowboys From Hell was a great launch pad for the Pantera sound, but I don’t really think our sound or style really culminated until Vulgar Display of Power. But like I said, Cowboys was a good launch pad when it came out, but not the complete genuine article.



Examiner: So I got a couple of questions not necessarily Cowboys From Hell related, but I gotta run them by you.



Philip: What the hell, go for it, whatever



Examiner: A couple of weeks ago was Dimefest 2010, and the whole Internet was excited because they were saying that you and Rita were cool again, and you were going to make an appearance, but then you got sick... I gotta ask if you can clear up what happened there.



Philip: Rita and I... it’s been well over a year now, maybe two almost three years since we’ve been cool. I don’t think that’s anything that either one of us are going to go out and boast or brag about or anything like that, it’s just between us and that’s fine. But the thing about Dimefest was... I’ll tell you what man. I went to LA, I did That Metal Show, I did a bunch of press, and you gotta understand, I’m down in Louisiana. And I left Louisiana and it was a good 87 degrees. I got to LA, and it was uncharacteristically rainy, and there was this chill in the air, and we flew back man, and the next thing you know, this motherf*cker, ME, of all people, who never gets f*cking sick to save their life, all of a sudden it’s like motherf*cker man, it got me. It got me, this strain of pneumonia that just killed the old chest, you know? Real hard to breathe, real annoying. Yeah, I got sick man, so to tell you the truth, I went to see the Saints and the Steelers on Halloween night, that’s the first time I’ve been out of this f*cking house and the last time I’ve been out of this f*cking house. I’m still feeling it, I’m getting over it.



Examiner: Well it’s good to hear you’re feeling better, but can fans hope that at Dimefest 2011, you’ll be up there singing?



Philip: Well, it depends. It depends on where I’m at in 2011... you know, any festival or any tribute to my guitar player I respect it, I understand it, I get it. But if I’m gonna be there... maybe it would only be fitting if the other two be there as well. That make sense to you?



Examiner: To me? One hundred percent. But I can only hope that Rex and Vinnie see it the same way.



Philip: You got it.



Examiner: This past summer, the guys in Drowning Pool were on Ozzfest, and they covered Cowboys from Hell live (watch video here), and the crowd loves that Bodies song, but they went twice as crazy when that Cowboys riff came out. How does it feel knowing that twenty years later, at Ozzfest 2010, there were still 10,000 kids moshing to that song?



Philip: Man, I guess that leads me straight to the fans. I can’t praise them enough, if it weren’t for the fans we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. By all rights, I was a hard headed young man, and I would do things for reaction, and I would do things out of spite, and again from that proverbial chip off the old shoulder. Pantera, that was a gamble there. Cause even though we were a heavy metal band... you know, I shaved my head on purpose. I was f*cking damn dead sick and tired of prototypical long haired, long maned lead singer, “how’s everybody feeling out there to-night,” you know? It was f*cking boring man, I wanted to change the pace of that, I wanted to bring hardcore attitude to heavy metal, or thrash or whatever you wanna call it. We knew musically what we were good at, but to bring that attitude and bring it live, proved to be detonating as far as the crowd goes. And as far as my personal communication with those people, you know? They appreciated me for it, instead of this 100 foot barrier, we had people f*cking doing stage dives off of Vinnie Paul’s kick drums. Our stage was theirs, and when things got to be huge and the arenas, it was my job to make sure those motherf*ckers felt as close as possible even though they were being held behind barricades and security guards and sh*t. You know, the fans, man. It’s the fans. Like I said, it was a gamble. Either they were going to love us or hate us, and for a long while there it was like that. Either people looked at us and said “wow they’re f*cking different,” or they looked at us and said “I don’t get it,” and turned their heads. And it was all for them man, for sure. So yeah, we had kind of the best of both worlds, we had the hate, but as it turned out, the love conquered that hate. So I gotta hand it to the fans, I’ve said it a million times, even on the phone with you just now, it’s the f*cking fans, the best fans in the world. Pantera fans are unique man, very unique. And sh*t man, I bless them every day.



Examiner: So I’ve been listening to the Cowboys From Hell record pretty much nonstop for the past few days now, and when you consider the album as a whole, which is kind of a lost artform... a lot of kids these days, they load 5,000 songs onto their iPods and hit shuffle and don’t listen it straight through anymore...



Philip: Dude, you sound just like me. Goddamn. I think it’s kind of rare people just stick in one record just to hear one record, it’s like I’m gonna load it in my iTunes, throw the f*cking package away, and hit shuffle.



Examiner: It’s a tragedy. But so that’s my question, I don’t listen to music that way either. It’s gotta be the whole album start to finish for me. Just this morning I was listening to Kill ‘Em All in my car, and like the breakdown on Four Horsemen... there’s moments that everytime I hear them, it just grabs you. Do you have a particular moment, a breakdown, a drumfill, a scream, any specific part on the Cowboys record that always leaps out at you when you hear it?



Philip: Well, you know, in a festive type of mood, you hear that riff from Cowboys from Hell and you take a look around you and there’s a lot of people around you and they’re grooving on it, that makes you feel pretty good, but as far as a personal pang into the soul, I gotta give it up for the Primal Concrete Sledge, man. It’s just, the more the time, the more precursor of things to come, that was the last song to just pop out organically, when we wrote Cowboys From Hell that was the last song to come out from us, and I think, you listen to that song then you hear Vulgar Display of Power, you can easily hear how this is a bridge into Vulgar Display of Power, and could even have been on Vulgar. So Primal Concrete Sledge whoops my ass every time I hear it, man.



Examiner: Well for me, there’s one moment that always hits me in the gut, and that’s at the end of Cemetery Gates, when you give a last scream, and then Dime’s last guitar wail and you can’t quite match that, that just gets me every time I hear it. How did you guys come up with that bit right there?



Philip: He was imitating me, man! (laughs) I was gonna do it regardless, but at the end of the day, machine beats man! I was trying to go higher, trying to lay my track, but after hearing it, it was like “you motherf*cker, you had to outdo me.” But he did, he did it, and once again man loses to machine.



Examiner: So not to mix up bands too much, but last month I was talking to Pepper about the Diary of a Mad Band DVD that Down just released (read that interview here), and I asked him about the song Jail, because everytime I see Down playing live that song just gets me like nothing else. And I asked him about the lyrics, and he said “I don’t know, you gotta ask Phil.” And now I have you on the phone, so could you take a minute and tell me what the lyrics in Jail are about?



Philip: (Sighs deeply) I would say more about self-incarceration... and absolutely self-incarceration. I’m not talking about literal jail, even though I could be, it’s kind of one and the same. You’re only as free as your mind lets you be, so if you’re, I guess stunted and fear controls you in any way shape or form, then you’re in some sort of a private jail. And I know at the time, when we recorded that Down record, I don’t think I had any definitive lyrics up until that point, we had written the song and I really just had a melody for it, but I think that’s like right when I started feeling a little bit too much pain for any type of tolerance, and then I was receiving no answers medically. And believe me, those answers were sought. I saw several medical doctors but everybody threw their hands in the air and said “well, you got a busted bone in your back. What do you want me to do?” So I felt like there was really nowhere to go. You mix that with painkillers or whatever the hell I was doing at the time, I’m sure, absolutely positive that was one of the starting points to where I was taking maybe too many painkillers, not knowing their strength, not understanding their mental residue that they leave behind, the synthetic crap that makes you think you want more, then makes you think you can’t do things without them. The whole controlling factor of the whole thing, which breeds fear. So I was coming from that place... sometimes when I write lyrics, I can place either myself into the idea of the lyrics, or nine times out of ten I’ll leave it all up to the listener to decide what is this song about. But on that particular song, I did insert myself I believe, and if I hadn’t inserted myself before, I certainly have now. So I was crying out man. You can go back and listen to a lot of my songs, I know you just brought up Jail, we’re talking about Jail, but there’s a lot of songs in the past where Philip Anselmo is kicking and screaming like a little kid, hoping someone will notice fucking how not happy I am right now. And it’s well documented but it’s the truth. But in Jail, to get back specifically, Jail is a cry for f*cking help. And a personal one.



Examiner: The way you describe it makes me think of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, that idea of isolation, build a wall around you kind of idea.



Philip: Wow, I’ve never even thought of it like that before in my life. I’m not a big Pink Floyd fan, not that I don’t like them or appreciate them, just to this f*cking day I’ve never been turned on in the right way. That’s a good song though, The Wall is a good song, and I see your analogy perfectly, I just... wow. I never put the two and two together.



Examiner: I wanted to hit you with a football question too. Here in New York it’s pretty fierce Giants and Jets territory, but in my fantasy team, I have Lance Moore, Jeremy Shockey, and Pierre Thomas. So I’ve been rooting for your Saints all season, but Pierre Thomas has been causing me some trouble...



Philip: Ahh he’s been causing everybody trouble. But if you look at the play where he got his ankle hurt, versus Atlanta week 3, it’s a treacherous motherf*cking tangle. Very, very treacherous. And he still came back in that game and ran a big beautiful screen after that. So you know, every report about Pierre Thomas, no it’s not a high ankle sprain, no there’s no broken bones, no there’s no broken tissue, we just don’t know... (for more on the Saints and Philip's complete and extended football remarks, click here for New Orleans Saints Examiner Danny Cox)



Examiner: So one final question, you’ve probably been interviewed what, 10,000 times?



Philip: Yeah, maybe.



Examiner: What’s the most ridiculous, or obscure, or personal thing that a journalist has ever asked you?



Philip: Well, there was this guy the other day, maybe a couple of months ago. He asked me, and this is kind of ballsy dude, he says “I got a question for you, it’s not my question, it’s off of the internet.” I’m like okay. I don’t remember what site. So I said go ahead, shoot. So he says “Rumor has it you have a 10” dick, and the question is, have you ever bottomed out on a black chick?” And I’m like... well first of all, think about the question here before you really really want to ask this question. Are you insinuating that black women have bigger vaginas than white women, or japanese women? What are you saying here? That was a little off the f*cking wall.



Examiner: Well on that note, thanks for talking to me Phil! It’s been a real honor. And I’m looking forward to the next time Down comes to New York, Pepper promised me it would be sometime soon.



Philip: Hell yeah man, New York has always been fantastic. To all of my friends in New York, I just wanna say what’s happening, I love you, and I’ll never forget you. Rest in peace Pete Steele.



The Cowboys From Hell Ultimate Edition Box Set can be bought at Amazon via this link. Click here for part one of this interview, and stay updated on upcoming shows, on-sales, interviews and more by subscribing at the top of this page, or follow me at twitter.com/NYROCKEXAMINER.

Philip Anselmo of Down, Arson Anthem and Pantera meets horror actor Bill Moseley for the first time in this exclusive "Rogue on Rogue" feature moderated by ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino...



Philip Anselmo of Down, Pantera and Arson Anthem Meets Bill Moseley of "Rogue River" for "Rogue on Rogue"All artists are driven by demons to some extent.



Behind the most powerful music and films, there's always some kind of thirst. It's that desire to push boundaries. It's that hunger to shake things up. It's that unquenchable fire burning through convention. It's that combination of blood, sweat and tears that makes an album like Arson Anthem's Insecurity Notoriety so brilliantly brutal. There are four souls driven by those classic demons propelling Insecurity Notoriety—Mike Williams [Eyehategod, vocals], Philip Anselmo [Pantera, Down, guitar], Hank Williams III [drums] and Collin Yeo [bass]. The album sprays vitriol like shrapnel, as all classic hardcore should.



Insecurity Notoriety is just what heavy music needs. You can feel that blast when it officially drops on October 12, 2010 via Housecore Records.



Legendary Down and Pantera frontman Philip Anselmo continues to conjure sonic intensity like no one else. Between founding Housecore Records and riffing on Insecurity Notoriety, there's no shortage of inspiring and invigorating music coming from Anselmo. In addition, he's got Down's new DVD, Diary of a Mad Band, a down-n-dirty look at the band on the road. You've never seen the road like this...



Horror stalwart Bill Moseley is driven by the same demons. He's become a fan favorite from playing psychos like "Chop Top" in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Otis in The Devil's Rejects and House of 1,000 Corpses. He's worked with everyone from Sam Raimi to Rob Zombie. Now, he's taking another turn at nefarious and malevolent in Rogue River, continuing to create real evil on screen.



There's an inherent connection between horror and heavy metal. "Evil Dead changed my life," Anselmo enthusiastically exclaims. "It was like Slayer's Hell Awaits, and they even came out about the same time."



That's not the only crossover between horror and heavy metal though. For this exclusive "Rogue on Rogue" feature, Philip Anselmo meets Bill Moseley to discuss their respective discoveries of music and horror, some pretty hilarious stories, favorite flicks and so much more.



Pick up Arson Anthem's Insecurity Notoriety and Down's Diary of a Mad Band and don't miss Bill in Rogue River!



 



 



 



 



 



When did you both find music?



Bill Moseley: I think it was when I was on my way to church on Sundays. I started playing bongos on the car dashboard because I didn't really like going to Sunday school [Laughs].



Philip Anselmo: That's where your musical career started? Believe it or not, the most influential album for me—when I was just a mere shrimp—was Walt Disney's Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House [Laughs]. It was side 2. The first side is a narration. It goes into this wind and howling banshees! I kept the whole house up with it. I lived in the French Quarter, and there was music everywhere, but that one record with all the shrieks and groans was it for me. As a kid, I'd be imitating that stuff. I think that's where I started using my voice. Not to mention, the whole house shook with Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. My folks were of that era. There you go!



Bill Moseley: My mom played Scott Joplin's "Rags," and the first '45 that I ever had was "Take this Hammer" by Leadbelly. I don't know why that was [Laughs].



Philip Anselmo: Wow! I inherited my folks' record collection. KISS was a staple when I was a kid. Other than that, it was The Beatles and Frampton Comes Alive—what a record at the time!



Bill Moseley: Your parents were into that?



Philip Anselmo: Yes!



Bill Moseley: We are of a different generation [Laughs].



When did you both become horror aficionados?



Philip Anselmo: When did you discover horror?



Bill Moseley: 10 years before you [Laughs]. I was actually crawling into the living room at night.



Philip Anselmo: It's the same story!



Bill Moseley: I'd see movies like Beginning of the End with the giant grasshopper and Killer Shrews. When I grew up, there was still black and white TV. I was told to never get out of bed once you're put to bed. I'd sneak down the hallway, try to avoid the creaking floor boards and go in and watch the "Midnight Movie." I'm from Northern Illinois.



Philip Anselmo: Did it have a horror host?



Bill Moseley: Yup!



Philip Anselmo: That's great! Your story is pretty much the same as mine [Laughs]. We had a black and white TV, and there was the "Saturday Matinee," which was a horror fest. As a matter of fact, I was home alone and I saw Mario Bava's Black Sabbath, but that's a later memory. There was the afternoon show, and then the Saturday night show had a horror host, "The Guru." Honestly, the most impactful one was the "Sunday Morning Movie"—films like Fiend Without a Face and How Awful About Allan. Believe it or not, those were on TV! Shit like that flipped me out. I would sneak up and beg my mother every night, "Can I stay up and watch Night Gallery?" [Laughs] I was sneaking out of bed too though.



Bill Moseley: My family was very Halloween-friendly, for all of the religion and whatever was going on. My dad loved to "arrange things" to take us kids to that scared the crap out of us on Halloween. He'd take us to the old "Hermit's House" at the edge of town. He'd park the car 100 yards down the street and say, "Go back there and get something off the front porch!" This was a house lit only by an old lantern with a bunch of old newspapers stacked outside.



Philip Anselmo: That's awesome! When you're a kid, you can see the ghosts in the windows.



Bill Moseley: We'd get up there, and somebody would scream! We'd all run back to the car. We'd go to the cemetery and dad would arrange it so the cops from town would bust us with the lights flashing and we'd freak out!



Philip Anselmo: He'd arrange it? [Laughs] That's incredible. As well-known as New Orleans is, it's a really small city. Man, they always had the neighborhood haunted houses. It stuck with me so much that I started "The House of Shock" in New Orleans. That's still a gigantic haunted house. I'm not associated anymore, but I was always Halloween-friendly as well. I loved the old rickety amusement park rides. I used to live for that shit. It's torn down now, but the only amusement park that we had in New Orleans was called Pontchartrain Beach. It was right on the water, and they had the roller coasters and all of that. However, it was The Haunted House! They'd play that Goddamn Chilling Thrilling Sounds soundtrack through the fucking speakers [Laughs].



Bill Moseley: Would you get in a car to go through the haunted house?



Philip Anselmo: Yes! It was this big Grim Reaper-type car. The skull would be holding you in his arm, and you're sitting in his fucking lap. It would break down so we'd get out of the cars, go running through and touch the props and shit. It was awesome.



Bill Moseley: I just went to a screening of Fun House!



Philip Anselmo: I like watching that movie for the fact that they're showing that haunted house. Those are killer memories.



Is there a real personal exorcism on the Arson Anthem record for you?



Philip Anselmo: When we'd created Arson Anthem, I'd come from a stint with Down. I'd done a stint with Superjoint Ritual, and Pantera had finished. Hurricane Katrina had blown through. When we came back home, Mike Williams' house was burned down in the riots after Katrina. Musicians were displaced, and everybody was scattered. We were fucking frustrated, man. Mike lost his record collection, which was legendary. He had every punk record you could think of from the beginning the genre. It's all melted plastic now. We were going through my stuff—which is pretty extensive—and reliving the days of Agnostic Front, Black Flag, Sheer Terror and Righteous Pigs. Then, we were like, "Let's jam!" In one way or another, that first EP we did was really out of blatant frustration. It was our spin on what moved us so much during that golden time in the mid-80s to the late 80s. That was when there were actual scenes. The scene in New York had hardcore matinees in the afternoon. No matter where you went, New Orleans had a great scene, and Texas had a great scene. You can't leave out California either. The best two bands to come out California were Black Flag and Slayer. Doing the second Arson Anthem—which is 17 songs and 30-minutes long—there was magic in the air. Hank III plays the ever-loving fuck out of the drums. I'm not a great guitar player by any stretch, but I'm pretty creative. I've always played guitar so that isn't so much of a departure. It's like going back and listening to your favorite hardcore record of the time, but there is something that comes to life there. There's a lot of attitude, and I'm proud of it.



Fans can depend on the Housecore Record label.



Philip Anselmo: To every music movement or scene, there is always a thriving underground. It may not be a scene in a city anymore, thanks to Facebook and all of this shit [Laughs]. I like gigging bands that will get out there and play live. That's the difference. As a musician, I like to think and hope that not all of the fucking notes have been hit. I'm looking for those missing notes and the difference in music. With Housecore, it's not just a metal label. There's extreme music of all kinds. There are genres and sub-genres. There are bands I've got like The Sursiks. Where am I going to lump them? They're definitely not a metal band. Frank Zappa-ish, sure, but no….Genius, absolutely! Take a band like haarp. You can get their first two records through TheHouseRecords.com. Don't think you can't! [Laughs] What I'm most proud of is their third release! I produced this fucking record, and it is a monster. It's coming out November 23rd, and it's called The Filth. haarp is a wide open vessel. They are conceptually bizarre. They're fucking great at what they do. There's an eclectic bunch that I'm dealing with here. We're not simply packing on bands to have this gigantic fucking catalog. It's one thing at a time. There's no pressure on the artist. That's another reason why I started Housecore. I don't want a record per month. I want motherfuckers to take their time and do the record the best they fucking can. Not many people get that opportunity to sit there and take months to finish a product. If it's worth it, let's do it. There's no rush here at Housecore. Take it easy. Be proud of what you put out.



How important is music to acting?



Bill Moseley: It's really important! I like to put together a soundtrack for characters. When I go into battle, I can chill out during my downtime and listen to the music that sustains that character and sometimes illuminates it. It's essential. Those are all kind of strands of the same rope. You have to hear something in your head when you're doing those characters.



Philip Anselmo: I get exactly what you're saying.



Bill Moseley: I actually did one scene in Army of Darkness, and I was hearing "The Ride of Valkyries." It was 4am, and I was on a horse. I was under about 30lbs of rubber, because I was the new captain of the army of the dead. I was leading a charge. I had a sword in one hand and the reins of my horse. I had a white milky lens over one eye and a patch over another with a little pinhole through it so I could actually see a little bit. I was leading another horse that had a rubber skeleton in the saddle, so I had to keep that low to pretend the skeleton was riding his own horse. We had to charge down through 100 extras with swords, pikes and torches at four in the morning in Acton, California. It was cold as shit. We ended up doing three different takes, and it was scary.



Philip Anselmo: How long was each take?



Bill Moseley: That was probably a five-minute take, which is a really long one. The situation was very perilous so I needed something to concentrate me, so it was "The Ride of the Valkyries." Somebody actually did fall off their horse, and I think he might've broken his back so there was a bit of a delay. The crew van showed up. Then there was a police car. That went away. Eventually a fire truck pulled up. That went away. About an hour later, an ambulance showed up and they actually carted the guy away. It was dangerous stuff.



Philip Anselmo: A five-minute take of one thing is long! I know that from doing music videos. Then again, that's an awesome story right there…



Bill Moseley: That was a stressful job!



Philip Anselmo: But now you can smile about it [Laughs].



Bill Moseley: I want to know your top five favorite horror movies.



Philip Anselmo: That's tough! Honestly, I get on different trips. I get on Karloff trips, man—roles that people don't know too much about. He's obviously a character actor, but I think he's one of the most underrated in a certain way. Of course, the image of Frankenstein sticks forever. However, right after Frankenstein, he did The Old Dark House, where he's Morgan the Butler. What a fucking movie! It moves at a snail's pace. The atmosphere is insane. It's got Charles Laughton and a young Melvyn Douglas, who was later in The Changeling. I saw that in the movie theater. I think The Changeling is one of the best haunted house films I've ever seen. Then there's stuff like The Black Room, where Karloff does a dual role. He's a twin brother. Bedlam's a great one. Then there's the original The Bodysnatcher with Karloff and Henry Daniel. It's so great!



Bill Moseley: When I did the remake of The Night of the Living Dead, I was told to prepare for the part of Johnny. I ended up using Die Monster Die with Karloff. I studied that.



Philip Anselmo: That's an awesome movie! I went through a phase of Lucio Fulci. He was relentless with the gore. I like atmosphere. I love Mario Bava. The atmosphere in Kill Baby Kill is incredible. How about all of The Exorcist spin-off movies? Demon Witch Child!



Bill Moseley: [Laughs] You know!



Philip Anselmo: I guess it's just a memory of being a kid, but I have an awesome collection of all the old TV series like Ghost Story and Boris Karloff's Thriller, which has great atmosphere and stories.



Bill Moseley: There's Night Gallery too!



Philip Anselmo: Night Gallery is awesome! You can't leave out The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits.



Bill Moseley: Have you ever thought of writing a horror movie or putting out your own horror stories?



Philip Anselmo: As a kid, I used to do this and that.



Bill Moseley: Let's do one!



Philip Anselmo: I would do it. Given the outlet and the fucking time, I think I could pull it off. That's a heads down project, but if you say let's do one, then let's do one! It'd have to be pretty harsh.



Bill Moseley: [Laughs] Of course!



Philip Anselmo: We have to pick an awesome subject. I like to think that not everything's been discovered yet.



Bill Moseley: One of the reasons was happy to play Chop Top in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was because The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had really disturbed me. It had hurt me deep. I made the mistake of thinking if I watched it another eight or nine times, I could push back from it. It only pounded that wedge deeper into me. It really freaked me out that rural America could be like that. I was young at the time. I was thinking everybody would be a hippie spiritualist at their core and not looking to eat me or my friends [Laughs]. I made it to Austin, TX in the Spring of 1986 to shoot Chainsaw 2, and I met Tobe Hooper for the first time. We were talking about Chainsaw, and I was shocked because he said he considered that a comedy! He thought that was funny, and I was shocked! He'd warped my mind for ten years, and now he's telling me it's funny [Laughs].



Philip Anselmo: Question, low budget, under-the-radar, did you catch a movie called Chasing Sleep?



Bill Moseley: No, I'm going to have to add that one to the list.



Philip Anselmo: It's a gritty disturbing film. You need to see it! It's a really trippy movie about this guy just imploding.



What's up with Diary of a Mad Band, Philip?



Philip Anselmo of Down, Pantera and Arson Anthem Meets Bill Moseley of "Rogue River" for "Rogue on Rogue"



Philip Anselmo: Down has a DVD out that documents us getting back together. In 2006, we got back together after this long hiatus. I'd been through a major back surgery. I was just six months out, and that was pretty unexpected. It's raw. I hadn't really sang in a long time. We had never been to Europe as Down. Separately, we'd all been to Europe in our other bands, but Down hadn't been. We had this core audience there, and we got a slot as the unannounced guest on the Download Festival. It's the biggest shindig as far as summertime festivals go in the UK. We booked shows all around that for a month, and the DVD documents that pretty well. It's very raw, and you get to see how far we've come from that point.



What are you up to, Bill?



Bill Moseley: I've got a movie called Rogue River that's premiering Monday night at the Screamfest L.A. horror film festival. That is another happy film with me doing horrible things to people [Laughs]. I have a CD out called Spider Mountain No Way Down, and our music video for the song "No Way Down" is incubating right now. It should be ready some time in November.



—Rick Florino

10.11.10



Should Philip and Bill collaborate?



For more Philip check out our in-depth interview about Housecore Records here!



For the last "Rogue on Rogue" with Wes Craven and Corey Taylor of Stone Sour and Slipknot click here!

SET TO GUEST ON THE FULL METAL JACKIE RADIO SHOW THIS WEEKEND Legendary musician PHILIP ANSELMO (ARSON ANTHEM, DOWN, PANTERA) is featured this month on the cover of legendary metal periodical DECIBEL MAGAZINE! The feature discusses all areas of ANSELMO’s musical career, including his new album with ARSON ANTHEM, entitled Insecurity Notoriety. You can purchase your copy of the new issue featuring ANSELMO here. ANSELMO is set to appear as a guest on the Full Metal Jackie syndicated radio show this weekend (10/22-10/24). The stations carrying the Full Metal Jackie radio show vary (as do the air times), so please visit this site to find out when ‘Temptation’s Wings’ will debut near you: www.fullmetaljackieradio.com. Along with the new ARSON ANTHEM record, ANSELMO and DOWN released their new CD/DVD set, Diary of a Mad Band. Both records are available in stores now! For more information on PHILIP ANSELMO, ARSON ANTHEM, and DOWN, please visit these sites: PHILIP ANSELMO: www.thehousecorerecords.com ARSON ANTHEM: http://www.myspace.com/arsonanthem http://www.thehousecorerecords.com/ DOWN: http://www.down-nola.com/ http://www.myspace.com/downnola http://eastwest.ilgpress.com/down/media/  

Examiner.com This past Saturday, I had the amazing pleasure of talking to Pepper Keenan, guitarist for supergroup Down. With the long-awaited “Diary of a Mad Band” DVD set finally released, Pepper spoke at length about the live DVD and CD, meeting his rock idols, and jamming with Metallica and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among many other topics. Read my review of Down’s last local performance here, and highlights of the interview below: Examiner: So you have the live Down CD and DVD out now, you’ve been working on it for years… I’ve personally seen Down play a half dozen shows since you really got back on the road in 2006, and I always felt that the studio records don’t capture the live energy of the band. Do you think these discs do justice to the live show? Pepper: Yeah, pretty much. We did it as crude as could be done, it was really important to me I didn’t want it to look like some ESPN shot thing, I wanted spit on the camera lenses and just up close, cause Down is not really a pretty band. Not much finesse, don’t need much filmwork to make it happen, it’s more about the energy, you know? That’s why I was so set on editing the songs, and not letting anyone else do it. Examiner: Who did the actual editing? Pepper: Me. Me and Jimmy, just making sure that when the heavy parts come in, it feels like it does when I’m on stage seeing how it goes down. It was a fun process, it was definitely cool trying to keep the energy and just the raw cameras and all that stuff kinda add to the edge of how the thing looks, and sounds. So when you hear something, when you see a live DVD nowadays, large fancy cameras and stuff, and the band is really raw, it doesn’t match each other. The Song Remains the Same, Led Zeppelin, when they’re playing Black Dog, the footage looks how it sounds. Nothing digitized, nothing like that. A lot of people don’t know this, but it’s a different show each night, in the order of the setlist, in the order of the tour. There’s different sets each night, but I wanted to try and make each night on film be the order of the tour. So it starts in Hamburg or whatever, ends in Donnington, Examiner: So each track is from a different show? Pepper: Yeah. Yeah it was tricky. I wouldn’t do it again, but the concept of doing the European tour, not just one city but the whole night, so all that footage, all the venues you see, that’s the actual venue in that city. The one that says Stockholm, Sweden, that’s the show in Stockholm. Examiner: So that’s the CD and DVD? Pepper: No, the CD I don’t remember how we pulled it together, it’s the same tracks but I think in a different order. Examiner: Talking about live Down, one thing that really makes the experience for me is the song Jail, because everyone’s moshing, rocking out, and all of a sudden the lights go down, turns purple, and you guys just jam for five really tranquil minutes. First of all, how did that song even make it onto the NOLA record, which is otherwise pure metal. Pepper. It was just a good riff I had, mellow thing, and Phil’s into that kinda sh*t, as am I, and we might even do an EP of a whole bunch of songs like that, we’ve been talking about that for awhile, some campfire sh*t, play it at a funeral, wherever. Something to play outside of a heavy metal parking lot or something, somewhere where your friends put this on if you’re sittin’ in the middle of nowhere in the dark, it’s another dimension. But we enjoy playing those kinds of things in those situations, and I think our fans enjoy listening to them in those situations. Examiner: You have the whole band harmonizing at times too, not just on Jail but on songs like Eyes of the South, and Beneath the Tides. How do you guys decide when you need a four piece harmony? Pepper: Well we all can sing, we all play in different bands so we can’t just stand there. A lot of bands don’t have that option, in the heavy world, nobody does that sh*t. Examiner: What are the lyrics in Jail about? I’ve always wondered. Pepper: Dude I have no idea. You’d have to ask Phil. It’s just a doomy, heavy song, people love it. And I guess they can extrapolate what it means to them, but I guess it’s about being trapped, somewhere inside yourself, who knows? Everyone’s got their own opinion on that one. Examiner: I guess the other really defining live Down song is Bury Me in Smoke, which always closes out the set. Can you ever see moving that around the setlist, or is that the closer for now and forever, like Freebird? Pepper: Well I guess it’s like our Freebird, you’re right, I don’t think we’ve ever not played that song last. It’s just riffs, what else is there to do? Examiner: Who wrote that riff? Pepper: I did. I remember when I wrote it. We wrote that song all in the same room, that thing just fell out, we were done in like twenty minutes, and we just sat there and laughed our asses off. Examiner: And you knew right away there was something golden in there. Pepper: Well I already had the concept of a song called Buried in Smoke, and Phil just ran with that and we were gone. Examiner: Can you talk to me, generally speaking, about live tracks versus studio tracks? Obviously the live ones have the roar of the crowd, sometimes improvisation or on-stage jamming, would you consider them better than the studio, or just different? Pepper: Well studio is one thing, you have to throw those ideas out when you’re playing live. If you wanna hear the record then stay home, but we definitely put the edge on some of the live stuff, try to make it more entertaining. People don’t realize, on that tour, on this DVD, we didn’t have an opening band. We were playing two, two and a half hours a night. Examiner: I remember, the US shows were fantastic, easily some of the best I've ever seen. Pepper: Yeah, so no other bands on the bill, and no other bands in our world were playing two and a half hours, other than Metallica, but that’s arena sh*t. So we had the opportunity to stretch stuff out and do all kinds of sh*t. Examiner: Phil is pretty well known for his onstage… rants, for lack of a better word. Are those included on these discs? Pepper: (laughs) Yeeeah. Go to the Norway show, he really lets loose. It’s funny, it’s hilarious. Examiner: So these were based off recordings from 2006, which was before Over the Under came out. And so it only has songs from the first two records, was it tough not to include footage from new songs and later shows? Pepper: No, we were just picking strictly from that era. The whole reason we even did that European tour was because we got through a bunch of rough sh*t with Katrina, and Dimebag being murdered, and all of us dealing with different sh*t, so we decided to go to Europe and just play shows, we’d never been to Europe before. So that’s the whole premise of the DVD, we go to Europe to get our heads straight, and lucky we were smart enough to bring a film crew with us, and the rest is history. Examiner: So it’s more than just a live CD or DVD, it’s really the story of the band coming back to life. Pepper: Yeah, I think the whole intro is a whole spoken word thing, talks where we’re at, where our heads were at, the whole 2006, where it came from, where it leads to. It starts with us just trying to jam in Phil’s barn, and ends with us playing in front of 100,000 people at Donnington during Bury Me in Smoke. Yeah, that’s heavy man. It’s not just a live DVD. It’s a film about overcoming obstacles. Examiner: Everyone in the band are already established musicians. You’re in CoC, Jimmy in Eyehategod, Kirk’s in Crowbar, but I think Rex and Phil’s time in Pantera is the best known, especially record sales-wise. And obviously after Dimebag’s death there was a lot of drama in that regard, but in the early days, was it ever tempting to cover a Pantera song? Or a CoC song for that matter? Pepper: Everyone was so busy in those bands, Down was just one thing we did for sh*ts and giggles when we weren’t on tour. We all lived in New Orleans, we’d just come home during Christmas, and we’d all get together and jam and catch up and get to writing songs. It started out pretty simply like that. Examiner: Well is it ever tempting to tease the crowd with a riff from say, Walk, or Becoming? Pepper: No, they’re pretty separate entities. People know, we could do it at the drop of a hat if we wanted to. But Phil doesn’t like to go back, unfortunately you can’t go backwards, it ain’t ever gonna happen, without Darrell there’s just no point. Examiner: Well I don’t know if you’re the right guy to ask this to, but the fantasy floating around the metalhead world is that Phil and Vinnie will reconcile, grab Zakk Wylde, and go out on one last reunion tour, just for the fans. Could that ever happen? Pepper: Absolutely not. Not with Zakk Wylde I wouldn’t think. When Bonham died in Zeppelin, that was it. Ain’t nothing you can do man. Examiner: Sure, but then they did the O2 shows a couple of years ago with his son on drums, and it was a nice farewell bit. Pepper: They did one show, and they’ll never do it again. Examiner: I think that’s more of Plant / Page issue than anything else. Pepper: It took ‘em what, 29 years to do that though? Examiner: Well Plant doesn’t seem to really care about it anymore. Page seems like he’s dying to get back out on the road. Pepper: Well Plant’s on the road, he’s busy all the time. There’s a bar around the corner from my house, I saw him there about four months ago. In New Orleans, Maple Leaf, right around the corner, famous music joint. Examiner: Wow. Do you get a lot of opportunities to meet your own personal rock heroes? Pepper: Yeah, I met Jimmy Page this summer. I met him, we were playing a festival in London, and he was there to see ZZ Top I think, and we were playing the same day as ZZ Top. I went to the window and there he was, old dragon pants. But he was very cordial, super nice man, what do you say to a guy like that? I asked him about Achilles’ Last Stand. Examiner: Are there any other rock stars or celebrities you want to meet that you haven’t yet? Pepper: I’d love to meet David Gilmour. Examiner: Oh you and me both. Pepper: He’s a bad son of a bitch, man. I’d like to pick his brain for two hours, maybe more than that. Examiner: Speaking of guitar gods, I wanted to ask about the solos in Down. Because you and Kirk don’t really write flashy, Van Halen-style double tapping solos, but it’s not the atonal stuff like Slayer does either. How do you decide if a song needs a little lead guitar, and how to do it? Pepper: Well the song does the talking man, when you’ve been doing this for so long… how many people try to overpower a song and put their stamp on it, as opposed to letting the song do its thing? For me, going (mimics flashy guitar solo) at some place that didn’t need it, for me that’s off. The song tells you what to do. It ain’t rocket science. Examiner: But you don’t really see much double tapping stuff that tends to be stereotypical heavy metal. Pepper: I live in New Orleans, Louisiana, I don’t live in f*cking Germany. I live in the South. I listen to Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers. I don’t need to double tap. I can do more with one note than most jerks can do with double tapping out their ass. Examiner: Okay, so now I think we’re at the most critical question of this interview, which is when does America, and especially us here in New York City, get to see Down play live again? Pepper: That’s a good question. Right now we’re working on new material, so we’re trying to keep up more of a brisk pace, once we get some new sh*t out. We’re moving backwards towards the NOLA sound, go-for-the-throat kind of sh*t. We’re not putting too much time into the production of it, like the last two records we did. Which I enjoyed doing, but now it’s time to go backwards a little bit, have some fun. So maybe this summer. Examiner: So summer 2011? Pepper: 2011 summer, bank on it kid. Continue Reading...