Limb – Terminal


Limb Terminal cover

If you visit their Facebook page, this London, England set of rabble-rousers’ bio simply states: “Tune it down, turn it up.” And now that I’ve given Limb’s new album Terminal (New Heavy Sounds) a few spins I have to wholeheartedly endorse that mantra.

For a band that’s only been around since 2011 the rattling guitar tone and stellar production sure sounds confident. Rob Hoey’s throaty barks serve as the perfect complement to Pat Pask’s downtuned blues and Tom Mowforth’s forceful but controlled work on the drums. In terms of sonic quality, these Londoners sound on par with most doom acts on imprints like Relapse or Profound Lore. It’s groovy enough to show to your dad, but has enough impact to satisfy the younger heshers.

Terminal starts off with ‘Three Snake Leaves’ and at a running time of 1:45 it sets the stage for the headbanging to come, but it also drove me to a realization. Compared to typical Doom or Sludge offerings the songs on Terminal tend to come and go very quickly. There are four tracks that are done and over with in or less than three minutes. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it won’t wear out its welcome, but it makes you wonder how numbers like ‘Mortuary Teeth’ would’ve turned out given a little more room to grow. Truth be told the best songs here like ‘Spoils of a Portrait King’ and ‘Cocytus’ happen to be the longest in terms of length and for slowing the tempos down to Jimmy Bower levels of guitar crunch. And I’m not saying that playing slower is the key either as ‘Down by the Banks’ has a Clutch level of self-assured heavy rock swagger.

I don’t want to make it seem like this is a bad record by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, there’s only one moment on Terminal that feels uninspired and it’s the appropriately titled ‘Sleepwalkers.’ It’s all just a matter of these young Brits adding some tweaks to the songwriting.

England started it all with Black Sabbath and kept that momentum going over the years with legendary noise merchants like Cathedral and Electric Wizard. Only time will tell if Limb are up to that task, but I like their chances.

7.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ

 


Video: Phil Anselmo’s Superjoint To Tour King Parrot And Child Bite


superjointittakesgutstour

In a post to his website and social networks Philip H Anselmo (Down, Pantera, Phil Anselmo And The Illegals) has announced he will tour this summer with his band Superjoint on the “It Takes guts” Tour, which is the current incarnation of his Superjoint Ritual project. Joining the tour will be the Anselmo produced King Parrot and Child Bite. Superjoint had planned to start playing select shows, such as the last Housecore Horror Festival and their upcoming appearance at Hellfest in Clisson, FR. After originally calling the housecore Fest show “a one off”, the band is apparently writing new music for future release.

The Superjoint tour is on! US dates released. Down is also touring in the US this year. Check here for all dates and venues: http://www.philanselmo.com/?p=3795

Posted by Philip Anselmo on Wednesday, June 3, 2015

 

Trailer video for tour:

 

Superjoint Tour Dates (more TBA):

Jul 10 Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
Jul 11 Fitzgerald’s – Houston, TX
Jul 12 Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
Jul 14 Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH
Jul 15 Machine Shop – Flint, MI
Jul 17 The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY
Jul 18 Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
Jul 19 V Club – Huntington, WV
Jul 21 Greene Street – Greensboro, NC
Jul 23 Warehouse Live – Clarksville, TN
Jul 24 Vinyl Music Hall – Pensacola, FL
Jul 25 Warehouse – Shreveport, LA

Superjoint’s current lineup:

Phil Anselmo – Vocals

Jimmy Bower – Guitar

Kevin Bond – Guitar

Stephen Taylor- Bass

Jose Gonzalez- Drums


Eyehategod Book European Tour


eyehategod 2015EUsummer

Eyehategod will be venturing across Europe for an upcoming tour. They are still supporting their self titled album out via Housecore Records. During the tour, band guitarist Jimmy Bower and vocalist Mike IX Williams will appear on an special Q&A panel on April 10th at the Roadburn Festival in Tillburg, The Netherlands to discuss the documentary NOLA: Life, Death and Heavy Blues From The Bayou.

EYEHATEGOD – Staggering Backwards European Tour:
Mar 30: Kuudes Linja – Helsinki (FI)
Mar 31: Kuudes Linja – Helsinki (FI)
Apr 01: Klubi – Tampere (FI)
Apr 03: Debaser – Stockholm (SW)
Apr 04: Truckstop Alaska – Gothenburg (SW)
Apr 05: 1000Fryd – Aalborg (DK)
Apr 06: Atlas – Aahus (DK)
Apr 07: Loppen – Kopenhagen (DK)
Apr 08: Hafenklang – Hamburg (DE)
Apr 09: Roadburn Festival 2015 – Tilburg (NL)
Apr 10: Roadburn Festival 2015 – Tilburg (NL)
Apr 11: Durbuy Rockfestival 2015 – Durbuy (BE)
Apr 12: Bastard Club – Osnabrück (DE)
Apr 13: Cassiopeia – Berlin (DE)
Apr 14: Schlachthof – Wiesbaden (DE)
Apr 16: Lo Fi Club – Milano (IT)
Apr 17: Init – Roma (IT)
Apr 18: The Cage – Livorno (IT)
Apr 19: Freakout Club – Bologna (IT)
Apr 20: Gaswerk – Winterthur (CH)
Apr 21: Usine – Geneve (CH)
Apr 22: Mjc Totem – Lyon (FR)
Apr 23: Molodoi – Strasbourg (FR)
Apr 24: Le 106 – Rouen (FR)
Apr 25: Desertfest 2015 @ Electric Ballroom – London (UK)
May 15: Psycho California @ The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
Jun 20: Hellfest 2015 – Clisson (FR)

Eyehategod on Facebook

TOUR STARTS TOMORROW in Helsinki!http://eyehategod.ee/gigs.html Mar. 30 – Kuudes Linja – Helsinki, FinlandMar. 31 -…

Posted by EYEHATEGOD on Sunday, March 29, 2015


My Favorite Concert Memory – Jimmy Bower


 

Jimmy Bower, Photo By Evil Robb Photography

Jimmy Bower, Photo By Evil Robb Photography

The first concert I ever went to was the Rolling Stones Tattoo You tour. My dad worked at CBS, so we were in the press box. It was 1980, so I was about 12 years old. There was this chick in the press box next to me and she kept saying to me “I’m on acid! I’m on acid!” So she was tripping on acid really bad and my dad had to ask her to leave me alone. (laughs) My second show ever was Heart and Kansas. I remember me and my sister were behind the stage watching from there, and Ann Wilson walked out on stage. And she and looked up at me and my sister, saw us and she gave us a thumbs up. It was really cool that she saw us as fans, so young. It really meant a lot to me for her to do that, that she was cool enough to shoot a thumbs up over at me. And this really set the bar for how I have treated fans the rest of my life in my career.”

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AS TOLD TO KEITH CHACHKES

PHOTO BY EVIL ROBB PHOTOGRAPHY

 


Interview: Crowbar – 25 Years Of Sludging Out The Metal


crowbar

25 years is a milestone for any musical venture, and with Crowbar, they have crafted their own style around a slowed down tempo, riff oriented metallic rock sound that is often emulated but rarely topped.

You may recall some of their music videos appeared on a then popular MTV show called Beavis & Butthead, where viewers got a taste of two moronic animated youths cackling along and giving oddly scripted critiques to music videos of the time. They were chosen as one of those bands.

“We sent Mike Judge a package with a video, a t-shirt….’hey, here’s a couple videos of our band Crowbar. Have fun…make fun of us.’ Sure enough…we’re on Beavis and Butthead! What?! We thought it was great.”

“Occasionally…ok maybe once a year, somebody will say something and we’ll watch it. It’s great and it’s an honor to be on the program. It’s a great show,” recalls Crowbar frontman and guitarist Kirk Windstein, about those early years and the exposure they got from the iconic television series.

They released their tenth album earlier in 2014 titled Symmetry In Black (eOne), which reaches a new milestone in the band’s career. Sticking to a sound that they as much as their hardcore fans know very well, they created a record that hits as hard as they sound.

They began writing the record following Windstein’s departure from Down, the iconic riff rock outfit he was part of until 2013. From that point he made his focal point to be Crowbar and it began with the writing of the new album.
“I didn’t even start writing until September [2013],” explained Windstein. “We entered the studio in December. It was pretty close. Our mindset was good is not acceptable. It has to be great. I told that to the engineer. I produced. I think we accomplished our goals and everything else we set out for the record.

“I co-produced with Duane Simoneaux. He’s an engineer, but he adds a lot. He helps me with guitar harmonies and rhythms like guitar, piano, bass, drums, whatever. He’s a jack of all trades. He understands everything. He did so much work on this one that it’s co produced.”

One of the changes that came with his departure from Down was parting ways with bassist Pat Bruders, who until recently was doing double duty with both bands. Having to make a choice, Bruders stuck with Down and Windstein having to replace him with former Thy Will Be Done bassist Jeff Golden.

“I kind of gave him an ultimatum. I said I’m only doing Crowbar. If you want to stay in Down I understand that. But I said you can’t be in both. I’m happy and that’s all that counts. We have Jeff [Golden]. He’s a great guy and he’s one of my best friends now and he rocks with the band with us now.”

Making that decision did not always sit well with his peers as well as critics alike, but Windstein was never one to do things but his own way. “You have some people who said I should have stuck around with Down. People think I’m nuts, but I’m not. I believe in Crowbar. Even though Down’s a bigger band…you know who our crew is? My wife. She works for free. As much money as I made with Down…I work a lot harder. I carry my own guitars and set up my own shit. I don’t give a fuck. That’s the way I started out and that’s the way I am. It’s humbling.”

Photo By Meg Loyal Photography

Photos By Meg Loyal Photography

Windstein spoke about reaching this golden moment in his career, and whether it comes with any real surprise that he reached it at all.

“Yes and no. I mean the young dude in me was determined to do it. But to think the band has ten records and 25 years in, while a lot of bands have one or two records and fall off the face of the Earth. To be doing the same band 25 years in, it’s pretty amazing.”

He is proud of the sound he helped shape, but is a modest guy who appears more about the music than anything else. He became part of a musical movement within New Orleans who loved heavy music with a distinctive sound that sounded like no other. What came after that took a life of its own.
“I’m not surprised that it did and I’m not surprised because we did something that nobody else had heard or a genre to put us in. They made a genre called sludge. To me it’s just heavy music. They made it for bands like Crowbar and Eyehategod. Ok it’s close enough! Sounds good…”

“We didn’t know what to make of it. The public didn’t know what to make of it. To me it’s the highest honor to hear all these great bands call us an influence. We appreciate that very much.”

Photo By Kaley Nelson

Photo By Kaley Nelson

Crowbar has had a history of members coming and going, and some returning at various times. But despite their shuffling of lineups, Windstein has maintained good relations with many of them over the years.

“I keep in touch on and off with Craig Nunenbacher, obviously Jimmy Bower, Todd Strange a little bit, Matt Thomas emailed me out of the blue. I haven’t talked to him in years. It’s kind of weird. The guys who played on the records pretty much. I see Sammy [Duet] around New Orleans all the time.”

“Me and him [Jimmy Bower] kind of started it together, to be honest. ‘I wanna play guitar in a band’ – so he started Eyehategod. I would teach him stuff over the telephone on guitar – fret five, do this…back then we had nothing to do. It was cool. We kind of started around the same time as Eyehategod. It was our vision to do what Crowbar does”.

Photo by Meg Loyal Photography

Photo by Meg Loyal Photography

One thing that is undeniable is how Crowbar’s sound has grown over the years with their ‘less is more’ approach, and crafting a powerful sound that fans have grown to love.

“It’s because WE get better. The odd thing is, I’m 49 years old but I’m still the 13 year old kid with the tennis racket playing air guitar to KISS. The passion is stronger than ever. It’s stronger than it’s ever been to do Crowbar. It’s 25 years. I spent half my life doing it.”

As for Crowbar’s impact on music, he says he has not changed much but experience has groomed him into what he is today. “I’m the same guy I was but it’s me. I’m the same man, kid, punk mother fucker, but at 49 years of age. I did my time on stage and that’s where I belong and I do my thing. I do it stronger and harder and my heart is in it.”

Interview: Rei Nishimoto


EyeHateGod – Ringworm – Enabler- Phantom Glue: Live at Brighton Music Hall, Allston


Eyehategod-tour-poster

 

Sludge. The very name almost exudes a summer feeling about it. Just as black metal is clearly the music for frozen months of the year, great sludge and doom sounds like the music of the season for sun and sweat. This was evident by tonight’s show in Allston Rock City where we punished our ears and mangled our vertebrae in the name of metal for EyeHateGod. The band is enjoying a resurgence with an excellent new self-titled release, their first in 14 years. EyeHateGod is a band that everyone mentions as an influence, but certainly this generation is behind on their lessons in depraved southern metal violence. They are not a pretty band of well-manicured fake rockstars: these guys were born to the streets of disrepair, they are as real as it gets, and raw to the bone musically and mentally.

 

After chilling with my dude Bill Richards of Metal Wani before the show, we made our way up the block to the venue. Opening up the night are local favorites Phantom Glue and what a perfect band to open. A blend of weed-soaked grooves and crushing beats, if you are not familiar with their last album A War of Light Cones, stop reading this, go to their Bandcamp and buy it right now! We’ll wait a few minutes for you to come back and read the rest of this review. Anyway as usual, they were loud, raucous and crusty! The swelling local crowd filled up the room during their set, and headbanged lustily. If there was a list of bands that are going to the next big thing out Boston, a city with tons of quality underground bands right now, Phantom Glue would surely top the list or come close depending on whom you chat with. This was a good start to a fun night.

enabler (9 of 9)

 

Enabler came on next, although it seemed like an eternity for them to hit the stage. I am used to seeing this band play small stages, and never with such a big professional set-up such as this. The first few minutes of the Enabler set, you almost felt like it was their own headline show they raged so much. On the strength of their new album La Fin Absolute Du Monde (Creator-Destructor/Earsplit Compound), this is a band on the rise. Jeff Lohber does unreal amounts of rocking out with his lanky frame shaking all over the stage. His economical guitar style enables him to touch all the bases from thrash, death beat to a punky-blackened crust and back again with ease. Bassist Amanda Daniels rocks it finger-style, at a time when many prefer the attack of a pick. Don’t let anyone tell you other-wise, plucking bassists are better than pickers, especially in metal. She is also backing up on vocals much more than I recall from their earlier tours. Not only did they play a killer set, they are awesome people to hang out with, as I did, chilling in the van with Jeff for an interview after the set, along with my pal Matt Darcy of Nefarious Realm.

 

ringworm (10 of 11)

 

Every time Ringworm plays Boston, it’s a freaking bloodbath. The fact is they can’t help their history as one of the early leaders of metally-hardcore (I refuse to call them metalcore, people) from the Cleveland scene. There are fans that specifically come out to hear those old songs and bash people in the pit, and that’s fine with me. What Ringworm has actually done is matured into a veteran sludge act, capable of much more as a band than when they started out. Human Furnace is an approachable, mellow guy off-stage, but with a mic in his hand he is like a prize-fighter: out for blood. The pit had the most action it was going to have all night, but of course. Songs like ‘Amputee’, ‘Birth is Pain’, and ‘Dollar Whore’ are mandatory pain-inducing hymns for the modern age. The entire band seemed to be energized by the love for them in the room and played their asses off too.

eyehategod (19 of 23)

Earlier in the night I had seen Jimmy Bower outside of the club and and thanked him for my recent interview with him regarding Down. Back inside the tension was building to an unbearable level, although that could have been the beer and heat talking too. I had never seen this venue so filled up and body to body tight. There was a rare barricade tonight as well, as much for the band as it was there for the fans and you just knew what was coming. As the band hit the stage I again spied my man Bower, setting an entire six pack on his stack for drinking. I had to laugh! Mike IX Williams checked to see if the readiness was all, and then yowled into the microphone, “We’re EyeHateGod from New Orleans, Louisiana!” Just then an ear-drum wrecking wave of feedback came from the amps and just blew the top off this party. Even from my vantage point on the side of the stage it was perilously high volume. The impressive thing about the sound was it was loud without being too muddy, especially the guitars, which is a good thing. Mike dragged the mic stand around like a dead body while spitting his genius lyrics about pain, poverty, loneliness, and death at the crowd. If the band weren’t masters of all-mighty doom riffs, and were a coffee shop playing, acoustic jam band; I’d still come out to see Mike. He is one of the most compelling artists of the last 35 years, so whatever he is doing in your town, go see him whenever you can. True to form, it isn’t a Mike IX appearance in Boston without a “Where’s Seth? Is Seth here?” joke or two, in tribute to their late ally Seth Putnam (Anal Cunt).

eyehategod (3 of 23)

 

EyeHateGod plays with about as much musical telepathy as you would imaging a band around this long has. The interplay between the members on stage is not telegraphed, but there definitely seems to be a presence shared by them. Led by Bower, his playing dominates as he mans the corner of the stage, always jamming with a lot of passion. Aaron Hill, now filling the drum throne for the departed skin smasher Joey LaCaze, did a great job all night. He is definitely the perfect guy to carry on with. Meanwhile Brian Patton and Gary Mader just groove so perfectly together along with Bower, you have to take notice. Smashing through song after song, you wonder how these guys can stand the volume and the weight of the music. People all around me, losing their minds, to match the guys on stage doing the same. Newer songs like ‘Robitussin and Rejection’ fit in with classics like ‘Sisterfucker’, ‘Medicine Noose’, and ‘$30 Bag’ really well. By the end of the night Jimmy’s six pack was empty, the band looked drained, and everyone in attendance was spent. Thank you and goodnight!

 

[slideshow_deploy id=’6959′]

 

EyeHateGod Set List:

New Orleans Is the New Vietnam

Sisterfucker (Part I)

Sisterfucker (Part II)

Robitussin and Rejection

Medicine Noose

Agitation! Propaganda!

Methamphetamine

Parish Motel Sickness

Dixie Whiskey

$30 Bag

Kill Your Boss

 

EyeHateGod on Facebook

Ringworm on Facebook

Enabler on Facebook

Phantom Glue on Facebook

 

WORDS: KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES

PHOTOS: MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY

 

 

 


Back To Basics: Jimmy Bower of Down


Down '14 #8

Since 1995 Down has been the leading lights of metal. When the super-group released their debut NOLA (Elektra) it was an amalgam of the best of the best members of Southern influenced metal. Despite the great names among their ranks, they were almost an underground band, with little fanfare, that did a few short tours and then little else, at first. However, their fanbase grew over time, almost willing the band into full-time existence. Ever since 2001, the band has been regularly putting out fine releases, and passing on the torch to a new generation of other bands. With the release of the throwback feeling Down IV- Part II (Down Records) the band continues to cement their legend. Senior Editor Keith Chachkes chatted with the ever humble Jimmy Bower (EyeHateGod) about the evolution of the group.

 

 

 

 

We started off our chat with Jimmy by immediately addressing the departure of founding member Kirk Windstein from the group last fall. Whenever Down has lost a member in the past, it seemed to always be from within the Down extended family, and this has held true with Bobby Landgraf being chosen as the new guitarist:

 

Kirk left the band last year. He wanted to concentrate on Crowbar full time. So on this EP, we introduced Bobby. He was our stage manager for five years. It was really cool and made sense to get Bobby into the band. The first Down EP had a couple of songs left over from our other records. This EP was all new stuff. This was one of the smoothest records we have ever made. Like you touched on, it kind of gets back to the basics of Down.”

 

If you really think about it, you have to spend 24 hours a day with this person. You have to have the same influences. You have to know Down well enough, to know how to write a song with us. With Bobby, he’s been our stage manager for five years. He understands the Down sound and how we work. He is like family. He is family. We really like and respect his guitar style. He comes from the band Honky, which is really like a ZZ Top-style, Texas rock band that we dig. Like I said, you have to be able to live with this person. It was a really easy decision for us.”

Down IV part 2 album cover

 

 

Since this series of releases has been in the works for quite some time, we asked Bower if there were going to be any leftover songs from the Kirk era on future releases.

Kirk wanted to do Crowbar full-time. We completely respected that. But the cool thing about this EP as well, is all these songs are brand new. I don’t think any old riffs of Kirk’s or anything like that are going to be used or anything, just out of respect. Because he might want to use some of those riffs in Crowbar someday. Besides, riffs are too easy to write! (Laughs)”

 

 

Although some eyebrows were raised at the time two years ago, the decision by the band to release a series of shorter releases instead of just a couple of full-length albums has proved to be an inspired choice. Jimmy went into detail about the concept, and how it evolved once Landgraf came into the fold.

 

The whole idea behind the EPs was that each EP should reflect a different style and sound that Down does. We’ve got heavy stuff, mellow stuff, trippy stuff. Since Kirk left the band, we decided on this EP to just write a record with Bobby, you know? Just to have a fresh start. I’m sure the next EP will definitely reflect a different style. For this one, it just made sense with Bobby just getting in the band, you know, “let’s just write a good Down EP”. All the songs are brand new. It was one of the easiest records Down has ever made. All the riffs are brand new. Bobby came in with some riffs, everybody wrote riffs for this one and contributed. It’s great and it feels like a fresh start.

 

Down '14 #12

 

 

Several members of the band have long floated the notion that they band would make a mellow, acoustic album at some point in the future. Will this come to fruition soon? Bower reveals this as the possible direction for the next EP:

 

 

It will be more reflective of songs like ‘Jail’ on Nola and, like Down II. You know, Down II was really kind of an experimental record for us with a bunch of different styles. We’ve already started talking about that actually, and everything like that. That was the whole point of these EPs, to represent all the different styles of the band. We are back on track with that.”

 

 

Down is currently out on the Revolver Golden Gods Tour with Black Label Society, Devil You Know, and Butcher Babies. We asked about the challenges of not being the headline band for a change:

 

We are going out with Black Label. The only mis-fortunate thing about that tour is, we are only getting an opening slot. So I don’t think we are getting more than an hour. With that said, the plan is to definitely play songs off the new EP on the tour. At least three of `em. We’ve been practicing, and we’ve got three and have `em down pretty good. We’re just looking forward to people hearing the new stuff too. We’re really excited about it man. Again, the new material sounds really fresh to us, so of course we will be playing some of it live.”

 

1393457007downpentagram

 

2015 will mark the 20th anniversary of the NOLA album, and almost 25 years since the band was formed. Jimmy mused about the spark of friendship that helped created the band, and what his feelings are today about the group:

 

I remember when Down first got together, I thought the idea was amazing. We were all friends and it was a very influential time. We’d always hang out and listen to anything from Soundgarden to Sabbath to (Saint) Vitus or Witchfinder (General). It felt good for us as friends to get together. We’d all hang out, get drunk and listen to Vitus, Sabbath or whatever. It just made sense that Down was created. I am just honored to still be in it. We always told ourselves when we started Down, that this was the kind of band we could all grow old in and jam. I say this all the time that Down is really one of the biggest opportunities I’ve ever had as a musician, and it’s just a really cool thing to be involved in. And for it to still be going on, like you said, next year will be 20 years. It makes me feel old, man! (laughs)

 

Down on Facebook

 

KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES

 


Ghost Cult Magazine #18 is out now!


GC 18 cover ALike a bat out of hell……Ghost Cult #18 is here! The new issue features none other than Down on our cover.We interviewed Jimmy Bower about the changes in the band and their amazing new EP, Down IV, Part II. Issue #18 also includes interviews with Lacuna Coil, Beastmilk, Sevendust, Sabbath Assembly, Kyng, Amenra, ReVamp, Lord Dying, Anciients, and Dragged In To Sunlight. We also have complete coverage of the legendary Roadburn Festival, and a recap the 16th annual New England Metal And Hardcore Festival. Plus concert reviews from the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Carcass, Red Fang, Scale The Summit, The Ocean, & The Atlas Moth. We also have special feature with the late Dave Brockie, as well our largest section of album reviews to date. Made especially for your tablet device or smartphone! Check it out and tell a friend! Twice!

 

 

 


EyeHateGod – EyeHateGod


Eyehategod album cover

 

It’s hard to believe that it has been 14 long years since New Orleans’ sludge monstrosity Eyehategod last released a record. In that time although they have hardly complete touring nomads but they have certainly not been resting on their laurels, whilst in some way shape or form their name and presence has always been on peoples’ radar.

The time between albums has been very turbulent to say the least; with tales of addiction, natural disaster at the hands of Hurricane Katrina and even personal loss with drummer Joey LaCaze’s death. No wonder then that this self-titled album (Housecore/Century Media) sounds so pissed off. Front man Mike IX Williams especially sounds almost rejuvenated with rage and an energy that just about surpasses anything he has previously recorded.

Eyehategod were never going to completely shift their sound and the self-titled firmly continues with their trademark hardcore sludge style on a foundation of bone shattering riffs and punk pace and fury. The production sounds huge and gives these songs a lot more bite without taking away that raw vibe that the band have become stalwarts for.

It has been such a long time away from the studio and with a lot of roadblocks and tribulations in their way, but there should never have been any doubt on how this one turned out. Eyehategod continue to age like a good whiskey, seeming to improve as time goes by, but by no means losing their sting.

EHG band photo

 

9/10

EyeHateGod on Facebook

CHRIS TIPPELL

 


Down – IV Part Two (EP)


Down IV part 2 album cover

 

Releasing the second in their series of four EP s, Down is back with a vengeance on Down IV Part Two (Down Records). However, with the departure of founding member Kirk Windstein last fall, the wheels could have very easily have come off another super-group. Lucky for us, the resiliency of this band, even one with the legacy members that is has, cannot be questioned. They have added their tour manager and long-time friend Bobby Landgraf (Honky) to take Kirk’s place, and these kings of the super-group rolled on to their next release. In fact, they discarded the material they wrote with Kirk, let him take his many riffs with him, and re-wrote the entire new EP more or less from scratch with Landgraf. That takes a lot of balls for any band, but especially when the bar is set as high as it is for this one. Not only is there zero drop-off from the first EP, this release exemplifies everything rewarding as a fan of this band, and heavy music as a whole.

 

The opener ‘Steeple’ starts with a crushing slab of doom with all the epic, slow Sabbath-ian thunder they have always championed. When the thrashy, up-tempo main riff kicks in, you cannot help but smile. As per usual, a Down release packs in the quality riffs. Within the first two minutes of the track at least five distinctly different parts can heard; each more awesome than the last. The best part is, they all work together, and make sense in the context of the song. Phil Anselmo, is once again in fine voice, relying mostly on his mid-high range, which always has a sense of urgency to it. The repeating line of ‘steeple will fall…’ in the ending coda just entrances you. Who knew this band could be so kvlt? The song is a crusher and begins what feels like a real throwback to the first two Down albums. Coming up next, the single ‘We Knew Him Well’, has the signature sound you expect: grinding riffs, classic beats, and a catchy refrain sung by Anselmo. There are no signs slipping of the guitar sound from Landgraf and Pepper Keenan who trade hot licks, and swap solos seamlessly.

 

As much as the songwriting on this the EP sounds welcome and familiar, that doesn’t mean the band is resting on their laurels. Not one bit. ‘Hogshead Dogshead’ shows a growth, melding the hard hitting chops and incorporating inventive time signatures, stop/start timing parts, and classic-rock/blues vamping. Drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders are just locked in tight and nasty on the low end rhythms. There are also some sick solos for you guitar freaks to get sweaty over. ‘Hogshead Dogshead’ has a what I like to call the “happy summer-time vibe” to it; just a feelgood rock song that is not cheesy, along the lines of Queen, Thin Lizzy, and Deep Purple. What a rager! On the other hand, the molasses-drenched in hellfire riffitude of ‘Conjure’, begins a weeded-out dream groove. Halfway through, the track lifts off into some NWOBHM and thrash movements, with a few more surprises added in, before bringing it back around again. If ‘Bury Me In Smoke’ is Down’s very own ‘Sweet Leaf’, then this is their ‘Electric Funeral’. Like most of his recent work, we are also treated to some of the most memorable lyrics from Phil in his entire career. Emotionally crushing, and timeless too. This quite possibly the best song on the album and the best song of the collective Down IV series so far.

 

‘Sufferer’s Years’ is another slick cut full of Keenan’s signature chopping chord play. Once again, we hear a plethora of inventive changes in this song. Phil again kills with some neat double-tracked lines, accentuating his words with a wisp of delay effects trailing off at the end of phrases. Closing things out with another jammin track, the aptly titled ‘Bacchanalia’ just simmers with badassery until the last note. This song is so heavy, and so much fun that I can’t wait to hear it live. To top it off there is a stunning coda to the song that is not musically unlike classics ‘Jail’ and ‘Pray For The Locust’. One gets the feeling Down writes with all these little twists and turns as a gift to the listener and themselves too. When we look back on this part of their career, we will likely understand that these are less like regular EPs that other bands release, and much more like a mini-opus, in pieces. Down clearly realizes their collective vision, no matter who is in the lineup, every time.

 

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9.5/10

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KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES