Down
Formed: 1992
From:
New Orleans,
LA,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Down News
Below is our complete Down news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
Displaying records 161 - 170 of 170 1 2 ... 7 8 9 Last
Valume Nob In Talks With Demolition Records
VALUME NOB, the Louisiana based band featuring CROWBAR/DOWN guitarist Kirk Windstein on bass, are in talks with England's Demolition Records about the release of their already-completed full-length debut, entitled "Residue and Bones". If all goes well, the album could be released as early as March. The upcoming CD will include a track entitled "The 8 of Spades" dedicated to MOTÖRHEAD mainman Lemmy Kilmister. To listen to the song, click here.
"Residue and Bones" was recorded at American studios in Los Angeles with engineer Warren Riker (DOWN, CROWBAR).
VALUME NOB released an extended version of their previously recorded "The Most High" EP in October 2004 through Crash Music Inc. The CD contains the four songs from the original recording as well as two "live" bonus tracks and a 30-minute DVD interview with the band.
ex-Manager: Anselmo 'Was Beyond Anybody's Control'
In the February 2006 issue of Revolver magazine (web site), several of PANTERA's former business associates recount the band's amazing rise to the status of the biggest extreme metal act in the world and the circumstances that led to their eventual break-up.
Though it would be unfair to blame PANTERA's demise directly on vocalist Philip Anselmo's side band DOWN, it's clear that the project — as well as Anselmo's many other projects, like SUPERJOINT RITUAL — became another snowball in the avalanche of bad feeling that eventually overwhelmed the band. Certainly, the lack of direct communication between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers (Darrell and Vince) also had something to do with it, as did the "he said/they said" salvos that were fired back and forth between the two camps — with bassist Rex Brown caught in the middle — via interviews in print magazines and online publications.
"Really, it was just a complete lack of communication [within PANTERA], and the wrong things being said at the wrong time," offers Kim Zide-Davis, who joined the band's management team a few months after the group's "Far Beyond Driven" CD came out. "Philip doesn't have a real understanding that he needs to be careful of who he says what to, and how people can misconstrue what he's saying. It got to the point where I'd come into the office and Phil was out on tour with DOWN or SUPERJOINT RITUAL and had just said something else. Honestly, it was gut-wrenching.
"I spent the better part of the last three years [with PANTERA] working with them on and off, trying to keep them from disintegrating. The brothers were ready to go, and so was Rex. But Philip was beyond anybody's control."
"I blame the media for making a circus out of the fact that there were a few things I wanted to get out of my system, and we were going to take a break," says Anselmo today. "The media blew this 'we hate each other' thing up to the sky."
But while the "who broke up PANTERA" argument can (and probably will) rage well into the next millennium, the premature death of Dimebag Darrell ultimately renders it moot. Though drummer Vinnie Paul has vehemently stated that he and his brother would have never participated in a PANTERA reunion, Brown would like to think otherwise. "Maybe somewhere down the road we would've smoothed stuff out — the four of us getting together in a room and beating the shit out of each other or whatever," he says. "We can’t do that now. All that we can do now is move on and do the best we can and try to preserve the legacy that we built, and at least keep Dime's musical legacy alive."
The February 2006 issue of Revolver magazine — containing a lengthy interview with Anselmo and comments from many of the group's longtime associates — will hit newsstands on December 6.
Blabbermouth.net has assembled a series of links on the war of words that contributed to PANTERA's eventual demise.
Phil Anselmo: "I Would've Taken A Bullet For Dime"
Former PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo has spoken exclusively to Revolver magazine (web site) about the death of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Anselmo's much-rumored substance-abuse problems and the role the heavy metal media has played in PANTERA's eventual demise, among many other topics. Several excerpts from the article (published in the magazine's February 2006 issue, due to hit newsstands on December 6) follow:
Revolver: Tell me about the past year.
Anselmo: "Man, this has been the worst year of my life — it's been the worst year of many people's lives. Ever since… Ever since my guitar player was taken from me, basically."
Revolver: How much do you miss Dime?
Anselmo: "I miss him more than I can even begin to say. I think of him every single waking day — every 30 minutes, if not every five minutes.
"And… [he pauses] Trying not to get choked up here. I'm trying to compose myself. I speak with Rex [Brown, PANTERA's bass player] often. We both are dealing with it… I'm in therapy. I never had to see a psychiatrist before. I see one regularly now. They tried to put me on antidepressants, but I won't take them because I don't trust drugs at all anymore. I don't trust a fucking pill, not unless it's a vitamin.More...
Down Drummer Says There Will Be A New Studio Album
In a recent interview with Metal Maniacs magazine, EYEHATEGOD/SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist and DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower revealed that he is "sure we'll do another DOWN record. I've talked to Phil [Anselmo, DOWN/SUPERJOINT RITUAL/ex-PANTERA frontman] and everybody else. Everybody's expressed interest in wanting to do a DOWN record, so that's basically all it takes. Hopefully within the next year or two that can happen. DOWN records are fun. Phil's doing a lot better as far as handling [Dimebag's death]. It's been a big wake-up call for a lot of people over the the last five, six months. People are doing cool things with their lives; cool, positive things. Let's save metal!"
DOWN is the New Orleans "supergroup" featuring Anselmo, Bower, Pepper Keenan (guitars, C.O.C.), Rex Brown (bass, ex-PANTERA) and Kirk Windstein (guitars, CROWBAR). The band's sophomore album, "Down II", was released in March 2002 on Elektra Records.
Anselmo Working On New Project Body And Blood
Phil Anselmo is working on a new project, called Body And Blood. Little is know about it, except that Crowbar's Kirk Windstein (a former bandmate of Anselmo's in Down) and Valume Nob drummer Sid Montz are involved.
Philip H Anselmo; On Behalf of Darrell Lance Abbot
Pantera/Down/Superjoint Ritual Frontman Phil Anselmo has shared his thoughts of late concerning Dimebag Darrell's murder and Pantera of old at length. Here's his posting to his own philanselmo.com:
Philip H Anselmo; On Behalf of Darrell Lance Abbott-Pt. I
I’ve been stumbling around in a coma of loss. No truer lyric has been written than “You don’t know what you’ve got, ‘til it’s gone.” To explain my side of things with the hiatus of Pantera, please give me a moment and think about what I say. Think.
I joined the band in late ‘86/early ‘87, and the chemistry clicked like a vice grip, we hit it off like four bad mother fuckers could. Perfection. Dime, Vince and Rex could play fucking anything. You pick the style, they could pull it off. So in reality we had to find out where our musical hearts lay strongest. After short deliberation, our intention was to be the most devastating ‘hard core-heavy metal’ band in the world.
You know, when the so called heavy metal press first got wind of ‘Cowboys from Hell’ they were absolutely unsure what to think. More bad reviews than good at the time. The Reason? They had never heard a band quite like us before, and I can’t blame the press or anyone for not hearing the full experience, but there were flashes in songs like ‘Primal Concrete Sledge’, and “Message in Blood’. Once again as I have said before, the press remained basically unimpressed, BUT, with the heavy metal audience, the phenomenon of Pantera had already begun. Slowly but surely, the fan base grew larger and larger (the best fans in the world I say still!) More...
Anselmo Barred From Dimebag Darrell's Funeral
Former PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo did NOT attend the the funeral of DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott ? apparently because he was told that he was "not welcome" at any of the events honoring the late musician who was slain last week at a nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. Anselmo's former PANTERA/DOWN bandmate Rex Brown (bass) DID attend, as did a number of other high-profile musicians, such as Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY), Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS), Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS, OZZY OSBOURNE), Jim Root (SLIPKNOT), Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT), Paul Gray (SLIPKNOT), and Dino Cazares (ex-FEAR FACTORY).
Cantrell, Inez and DAMAGEPLAN singer Patrick Lachman reportedly performed acoustic versions of two ALICE IN CHAINS songs ("Brother" and "Got Me Wrong") at the funeral, while Eddie Van Halen gave a speech that included an impromptu playback of a phone message he had received from Abbott at some point before his death.
Anselmo On Dimebag: "The Best Of The Best"
Philip Anselmo's (Superjoint Ritual, Down, ex-Pantera) friend "J" has posted the following message on the official Down forum in regards to the tragic death of Damageplan/ex-Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:
"I don't have a big official statement. I do have a lot of inside knowledge on the Pantera feud from Philip's side and tonight he gave me the green light to let everyone else in on what I know. He trusts me to do this, and I take 100 percent responsibility for anything that is inaccurate, but I'm confident you all know I'm not going to touch on this subject unless it's from the heart. He didn't even give me any specifics except for the final part of this post... he just wants me to tell people what I know to be true. More...
New 4Q Radio Show, Seek Opening European Act
4Q Radio have thrown up a brand new show. The station, which will be on tour following Out for Blood later this Summer, is working with Coventry's Devilgrind Promotions in the hunt for a European act to open up for Century Media's Stampin' Ground at the Jailhouse on July 27th.
The show that is available for listening at www.4qradio.com is as follows:
Organ
Stampin' Ground
Soilent Green
Down
Fume
My War
Soilwork
Black Label Society
Murder One
Out for Blood
Hatebreed
Crowbar
Sworn Enemy
Cathedral
Johny Truant
Neurosis
Headline News
Down Leaves Elektra
Down, the supergroup featuring former Pantera duo Phil Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass), guitarists Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) and Pepper Keenan (COC) plus drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), have left their label Elektra. This seems to have happened following the disappointing sales of the ‘Down II: Bustle In Your Hedgerow’ album. Right now, the band are on ice, as the members pursue other projects, and it’s not known when/if there will be a third album.
In related news, siN's Metal News has an interview with Phil Anselmo, who answers questions about Down, Ozzfest 2004 and blank metal among other things.
