I am fkn beside myself about a music release for the first time in maybe a year since Down released their third album on Tuesday, and it's a return to form since their first album is a bona fide masterpiece and their second was only medium by comparison. But the new album is completely in the zone. Also, to add to the excitement, they are at the Warfield on Friday night -- it's only the 2nd stop on their new tour, and the first is Reno tomorrow night, so really SF is the big one -- their first Friday big city show on the first week of their new album. All plans got changed (thanks to the perpetually cool wife who understands these matters, but isn't quite as devout a headbanger) for the show which is described as follows on their site:
"Beginning on the twenty-seventh day of September in the year of Seven, Down shall tour the United States with a few jaunts into Canada. It shall be "An evening with Down". There will be an introduction video and then Down and Down alone shall play for nearly two hours."
It's going to fucking rule. Down, for people who don't know, is a metal allstar band fronted by Phil Anselmo from Pantera, and also Pantera bassist Rex Brown just joined for the new album (and three other metal heavyweights). The band was a huge source of strife with Pantera because Anselmo did the first Down album (and also did another side project, Superjoint Ritual) when Pantera was in their prime and was supposed to be touring and recording a new album. He was also way low, so to speak, because of heroin problems and back problems from too much thrashing over the years. It led to the eventual, and fateful, breakup of Pantera -- one of the, if not THE, best metal bands ever. Which then of course pushed the other two Pantera members, brothers Vinne Paul (drummer) and Dimebag Darrell (guitar) in another direction with a new band Damageplan. It was at a Damageplan show where some psychopath shot Dime on stage while yelling "You broke up Pantera" (which is exactly as fans at that show reported after it happened, despite Wikipedia and other sources now being edited otherwise).
Anselmo became estranged with Vinnie Paul after this tragedy, but interestingly, the newly refurbished Down site has some blog entries from Anselmo where he speaks about this topic for the first time in his own words -- for those that follow this stuff, the only other time was on the VH-1 behind the music on Pantera where the magic of editing made Anselmo look more like the bad guy. Anyway, it was great to see his own words -- brief, reverential, and from deep Down.
Besides Mastodon, these guys are the soul of metal right now, period.
Love and respect to Dime and Vinnie Paul ... and here's to an eventual reconciliation between Vinnie Paul and Anselmo. Maybe the magic of Down riffs will eventually cure the rift, and Blacktooth Grins will flow like wine.
"Beginning on the twenty-seventh day of September in the year of Seven, Down shall tour the United States with a few jaunts into Canada. It shall be "An evening with Down". There will be an introduction video and then Down and Down alone shall play for nearly two hours."
It's going to fucking rule. Down, for people who don't know, is a metal allstar band fronted by Phil Anselmo from Pantera, and also Pantera bassist Rex Brown just joined for the new album (and three other metal heavyweights). The band was a huge source of strife with Pantera because Anselmo did the first Down album (and also did another side project, Superjoint Ritual) when Pantera was in their prime and was supposed to be touring and recording a new album. He was also way low, so to speak, because of heroin problems and back problems from too much thrashing over the years. It led to the eventual, and fateful, breakup of Pantera -- one of the, if not THE, best metal bands ever. Which then of course pushed the other two Pantera members, brothers Vinne Paul (drummer) and Dimebag Darrell (guitar) in another direction with a new band Damageplan. It was at a Damageplan show where some psychopath shot Dime on stage while yelling "You broke up Pantera" (which is exactly as fans at that show reported after it happened, despite Wikipedia and other sources now being edited otherwise).
Anselmo became estranged with Vinnie Paul after this tragedy, but interestingly, the newly refurbished Down site has some blog entries from Anselmo where he speaks about this topic for the first time in his own words -- for those that follow this stuff, the only other time was on the VH-1 behind the music on Pantera where the magic of editing made Anselmo look more like the bad guy. Anyway, it was great to see his own words -- brief, reverential, and from deep Down.
Besides Mastodon, these guys are the soul of metal right now, period.
Love and respect to Dime and Vinnie Paul ... and here's to an eventual reconciliation between Vinnie Paul and Anselmo. Maybe the magic of Down riffs will eventually cure the rift, and Blacktooth Grins will flow like wine.